I agree with you that what is needed is a change in underlying trends, not the least of all is the reactionary anti-American attitude of the masses in the Middle East.
However, I am not sure that bombing it to the stone age (which it was arguably not as far from as one may wish) behind a smokescreen of blatant lies, half truths, and paranoid delusions, invading and occupying the said country, and killing thousands of its civilians is the best way to go about endearing the US to the world.
My (uneasy) feeling is that in the medium-long term, this will breed even more anti-Americanism, for now all their paranoias ("US is on a crusade on the Muslim world", "It's after our oil" etc) has found some base to draw conclusions from.
So, you put a democracy in the center of the Mideast.. Over a period of years, this will bring about changes in the fundamental attitudes that resulted in 9/11.
If only it were that easy.
There is already a democracy in the Middle East, one with more than a 90% Muslim population. Turkey has been a democracy since its establishment in 1920s. Turkish women got the right to vote before their English and Swiss sisters. They work, study, bare their breasts on the beaches or in magazines, etc. There is a Jewish minority that practice their religion as they wish, with their numerous synagogues. The Greek Orthodox Church is still based in Istanbul.
Fat lot of good that has done to the Middle East, especially re influencing other nations to move towards democracy.
Tradition is a very powerful undercurrent in the behaviour of masses, and it is a dangerous error to assume that residents of the Middle East are just Americans with a darker skin color and a weird religion, who, if only they had a baseball bat behind the door, a sixpack next to the couch, and the remote control in the hand, they would be happier.
The Middle East has a tradition of consensus-building. The Middle East is made up of tribes, where the leader of the tribe has the responsibility to take care of decisions for the good of the rest. The leader-to-be of the country, therefore, is expected to meet with these leaders and reach on a consensus as to major issues. Then he has their support.
For these people, democracy looks like the majority imposing its will on the minority. I will probably agree with you on whatever you say as to why it is not and why it is a better system than that of the ME traditions, but the fact remains that that is the PERCEPTION - and perceptions are all that count.
Now, you can say "We will change all that". I am not entirely sure it will be that easy, though. And in the meanwhile, during that gradual change (if at all), there will be a resistance to the occupation, there will be more dead Iraqis and more dead Americans, there will be more religious propaganda on both sides ("My God is greater than their God", for God's sake).
Given that background, it looks to me like anti-Americanism will grow in the short-medium term rather than diminish in the Middle East.
One thing they are not is stupid. They see very well the interest US has in occupying Iraq for a couple of years - geopolitical power, oil, etc. I would like to believe that all the US wanted to gain through its invasion of Iraq was to turn it into a democracy, but I honestly don't. And I am not Muslim, and although I have lived in the Middle East for a long time, I have little to do with its traditions and way of life. Now, imagine what the average Iranian thinks about why US invaded Iraq...
I could go on for a long time on this issue, especially now that I seem to have found someone who argues in a rational and civil manner, but other engagements beckon.
Just one last word, though - Planting a democracy, if it does happen one day, is a nice albeit overly optimistic idea. Still, it does not address the most important reason for anti-Americanism in the Middle East - the Israeli-Palestinian issue. They are all aware that unconditional and infinite support from the US is the single most important reason why Israel can continue a brutal occupation of their "Muslim brothers". Until that issue is solved, there will be little change in the Middle East resentment of the US, regardless of how many countries US magically transforms into democracies... |
