Mahathir, not Chalabi, is the only realistic alternative to the Islamists.
Chalabi is a convicted thief, willing to allow the looting of his nation by foreigners, in the name of economic liberalism. His constituency is in Washington, not Baghdad. And even he is getting restive, under the regime of the Control Freaks who want to dictate every detail, and share no power. He accepts being a Quisling, but he wants it to be a bit less obvious.
Mahathir's consistently anti-American statements are exactly what give him legitimacy. I say "anti-American", rather than "anti-Bush", because Mahathir has made a comprehensive critique of American economic, cultural, and military hegemony. He is a nationalist. But he is one of those rare nationalists, who seek power by peaceful methods, rather than dreaming of military conquest. Malaysia, in its history as an independent nation, has never made war on any of its neighbors. Even Singapore was left alone, when Malaysia had ample excuses to occupy that temptingly rich and small island.
Yes, we are "shuffling the deck" in the ME. And who knows what cards will turn up. I think the Jokers were removed, like the one about Iraq becoming a pro-American liberal democracy. And the secular thugs, like Nasser and Saddam Hussain, they are being removed, too. We can turn up a Mahathir, or a Bin Laden, those are the two choices: anti-American nationalist, or anti-American Islamist. The nationalists, we can live with. |
