Just What the Region Needs

It was considered a major gaffe on Bush's part when he reffered to what was then the War on terror (and is now the Global Struggle Against Religious Extremism) as a 'crusade'. Apparently, though, he really meant it (courtesy of the BBC):

President George W Bush told Palestinian ministers that God had told him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq - and create a Palestinian State, a new BBC series reveals.

In Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs, a major three-part series on BBC TWO (at 9.00pm on Monday 10, Monday 17 and Monday 24 October), Abu Mazen, Palestinian Prime Minister, and Nabil Shaath, his Foreign Minister, describe their first meeting with President Bush in June 2003.

Nabil Shaath says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'"

Abu Mazen was at the same meeting and recounts how President Bush told him: "I have a moral and religious obligation. So I will get you a Palestinian state."

Striving for peace and security in the Middle East is a noble goal, but telling people about your divine inspiration to invade another country isn't exactly a prime example of the ideological 'fresh air' that is needed to help the region's moderates take control. Especially, you know, when much of the fundamentalist terrorism arises from their belief that God has given them a heavenly mandate to invade and conquer other countries.

Oh, but it doesn't end there. Karen Hughes is now the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, and she has recently embarked on a 'listening tour' of the Muslim world, in which she's trying to improve America's image by recounting trite anecdotes about the wonders of American freedom.

Triteness, of course, doesn't equal falseness or even insincerity. But man, I don't know how many people are going to be won over by this tale told to a gathering of Turkish feminists:

"I am a mom, and I love kids. I love all kids. And I understand that is something that I have in common with the Turkish people."

Then there was the infamous incident in Cairo where she informed a group of Egyptian journalists that "'Under God' is in the US Constitution" which is not only wrong but a fairly seirous slander against the character of the US government.

Clearly, Hughes knows absolutely nothing about either Arab/Muslim culture, and she appears equally ignorant of how to make American culture appealing. Fred Kaplan of Slate remarked that "Let's say some Muslim leader wanted to improve Americans' image of Islam. It's doubtful that he would send as his emissary a woman in a black chador who had spent no time in the United States, possessed no knowledge of our history or movies or pop music, and spoke no English beyond a heavily accented, 'Good morning.'"

I have my doubts about this whole scheme. It seems that if the Middle East and the Muslim world is ever going to look on the U.S. with favor, both parties are going to have to change signigicantly. It'll take more than cheesy propoganda to achieve that.