I had a long talk today with a very prominent Arab liberal, who I'm not at liberty to identify, but who I consider to be one of the very smartest and most incisive of the Arab intelligentsia. This is someone with a long record of condemning Saddam Hussein and of supporting democratization.. in short, the very definition of the kind of guy you want on your side if you are an American promoting reform in the Middle East.
The frustration and bitterness this individual expressed towards the Bush administration was striking even to me. He feels betrayed and alienated by Bush's policies. He is deeply suspicious of everything and anything that they now say. He has absolutely no confidence in Bush's democracy rhetoric, and feels that Arab liberals are worse off today than ever before.
Listening to him really drove home to me how much Bush has cost us in the region. More to say about this later.. have to run.
Tell me about it. I was in Cairo pre & post war and it was deeply frustrating. For pro-democracy advocates throughout the Middle East, this war has de-fanged their arguments. The case for democracy is now inextricably linked to American failures in Iraq - and it's a bit different for the average egyptian to argue against the idea that American is out to conquer the region when battleships are passing through Suez.
Posted by: Kirk | July 20, 2004 at 11:13 AM
I'll tell you exactly what Pres. Bush has done - the Talibanization of Fallujah, to be followed by most of Iraq.
Posted by: qawukzi | July 20, 2004 at 02:56 PM
I'm taking a trip to Cairo in September. What should I expect?
Posted by: praktike | July 20, 2004 at 03:03 PM