February 01, 2007
Where we screw up, Iran steps in
Oh. Damn. Connecticut native George Bush is being outplayed by the Iranians in the Middle East. Like no one could see that coming...
"It's very bleak and it's very dangerous," said Dakhil, the Saudi writer. "We have a sectarian civil war in Iraq now and this is drawing sectarian lines through the region. This is the most important, the most dangerous ramification of the American war in Iraq."
It's not surprising that the heavy handed tactics of Americans (and, in Lebanon, the Israeli's) have had a deleterious effect. What is surprising is the extent to which Iran is stepping up their aid and support to those affected, creating goodwill from the Mediterranean to the Gulf.
"The United States is the first to be blamed for the rise of Iranian influence in the Middle East," said Khaled al-Dakhil, a Saudi writer and academic. "There is one thing important about the ascendance of Iran here. It does not reflect a real change in Iranian capabilities, economic or political. It's more a reflection of the failures on the part of the U.S. and its Arab allies in the region."Added Eyal Zisser, head of the Middle Eastern and African Studies Department at Tel Aviv University in Israel: "After the whole investment in democracy in the region, the West is losing, and Iran is winning."
Yeah, we've been thinking for a while that you gain more friends with honey than you do with bullets... but no one in Washington seems to be listening (they all think foreign aid is a waste of money)
In Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, a banner hangs near a bridge wrecked by Israeli strikes last summer: "The Zionist enemy destroys, the Islamic Republic of Iran builds." Even before the 33-day war ended, Iran had provided Hezbollah with $150 million to begin rebuilding, some of it going to victims in $10,000 bundles of crisp U.S. currency, according to a Shiite politician who spoke on condition of anonymity."You want me to give you my opinion? Honestly?" asked Hajj Hassan Sbeiti, a 44-year-old merchant, his face breaking into a wry smile. "If you say hello to me, you probably like me. If you say hello to me and ask what I need, you're a friend. If you say hello to me, ask what I need and put money in my hand, then you're going to be my brother."
Oh, sure... attacking Iran is a natural. We're guaranteed to make friends that way. Just look how well it's worked in Iraq. Quit with the bullshit about Iranian nukes and let's get down to winning the war of hearts and minds.
Posted by mcblogger at February 1, 2007 12:16 PM
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