ShellGames

MidEast and US

I have seen and heard so much, from all sides, about the Mid-East, the US's involvement in it, and the feelings of the Arab world towards us.

Seems they don't like us.

Wonder why?

Could it be our unending, unfailing, unreasoning support for Isreal for the past 40, 50 years - what seems like forever - that is making US to be the big old bad guys? After all, Isreal and the Arabs have been enemies since, what... Moses' days? And we've done nothing but keep that going.

We need to change our Mission, our backing, our assistance levels, our way of thinking if anything is ever going to change over there, as far as how they perceive us, the US. We need to become an absolute 3rd party - neutral to all but fairness for all sides and peacefull, fair resolutions of disputes.

From the NYT:
Bush Said to Be Frustrated by Level of Public Support in Iraq
"WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 — President Bush made clear in a private meeting this week that he was concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq and frustrated that the new Iraqi government — and the Iraqi people — had not shown greater public support for the American mission, participants in the meeting said Tuesday.

"More generally, the participants said, the president expressed frustration that Iraqis had not come to appreciate the sacrifices the United States had made in Iraq, and was puzzled as to how a recent anti-American rally in support of Hezbollah in Baghdad could draw such a large crowd. “I do think he was frustrated about why 10,000 Shiites would go into the streets and demonstrate against the United States,” said another person who attended."

I believe this "lack of support" has to do with just what I'm talking about - the big Western bear, who's been supporting their enemy through wars with all their neighbors for the last several generations, comes in and all but conquers their country, stirs things up to such an extent that things go from bad to worse, and now we want appreciation for it? That is asking for a bit too much.

We have not shown ourselves to be interested in much more than our own interests, rather than the "good of the people" whose country we are now trying to run.

posted by DadEO @ 11:47 AM