iHaveNet.com
World - Arab Revolutions Need Not Be Americanized | Middle East
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews
Arab Revolutions Need Not Be Americanized
William Pfaff

HOME > WORLD

 

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

The annual meeting of the Club of Monaco's Institute for Mediterranean Political Studies serendipitously coincided this year with the long-awaited Arab revolutionary awakening, to the disquiet of many Israeli members of the Institute. However, the unrest also inspired passionate attention from them, as well as from the other forty-odd members of the group, all experienced observers of Mediterranean events, and many of them notable actors in recent Middle Eastern developments and conflicts.

A new Middle East, indeed! But not the one that American policymakers expected when the George W. Bush administration launched its riposte to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, launching the "Great War on Terror," which the last few days have made irrelevant.

It was not the terrorists or Islamic radicals that launched this revolution or that are likely to unmake it -- even if they wished, and even if it could be unmade. It could certainly veer onto a destructive course in some places, as in Libya, and it already seems to be lagging behind the expectations of many of its makers, who are likely to intensify if not radicalize their demands if the provisional governments of Tunisia and the Egyptian army allow themselves to be outstripped by events, and if reform is resisted in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and Iran.

And indeed, if Israel refuses to change course. While touched by apprehension, some officials display an astounding complacence. A high Israeli political figure replied to my suggestion that American policy towards Israel might change by saying, "We got along before without America, and we can get along without America again." Not all Israelis might be comfortable with that sentiment.

So far this revolution has made its way without western intervention, and it would seem best for it to so continue. The politically and ideologically conditioned American official response in this situation is to search for potential allies to support, hoping they will become the new leaders. Restraint would be a better course, combined with multilateral humanitarian aid in the short run, to cope with the thousands of refugees uprooted by the fighting in Libya, followed by low-key multilateral support sought by the democratic forces that do emerge. The European Union would best lead this because of the residual knowledge and institutional intimacy that still exists between some of the European states and their former colonies. They know better what they are doing and are likely to be regarded locally as sure to eventually go home.

The U.S. is badly compromised by its recent history in the Middle East. A Benghazi political scientist, Abeir Imneina, is quoted in the French press as being hostile to any external intervention. She says local committees, made up of lawyers, magistrates and teachers, are linking up with committees in neighboring communities near Benghazi to cope with the inevitable disorder and prevent a power vacuum despite the lack of civic structure that was part of the Gadhafi regime's systematic hostility to any popular political manifestation. She says that Americans in particular should stay away because, if they come, "they won't leave, and Benghazi will become Iraq."

She hasn't heard the latest news, which is that Americans are getting fed up with foreign wars. The mood in Washington is shifting towards ending the global adventurism of the past decade that has killed hundreds of thousands of bystanders as well as what the Obama government identifies as "violent extremists," while also provoking further violent extremism.

Lost in the news has been an extremely significant speech on Friday, February 25, by departing Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Survivor of the Bush administration and often criticized as a careerist, Gates actually is ending his government career as one of the last -- or perhaps it is as one of the first -- sane men in a Washington gone mad during the past decade.

Speaking to the cadet corps of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., he told them that in their military careers they are unlikely to serve in another large ground war like those in Afghanistan, Iraq and, before that, Vietnam -- "invading, pacifying and administering a large third-world country." The odds on that are low, he said.

"In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should 'have his head examined,' as General [Douglas] MacArthur so delicately put it." Such was the reply that MacArthur gave President John F. Kennedy when asked if the U.S. should send combat troops to Vietnam. Kennedy did not do so, so long as he was alive. President Lyndon Johnson was the one who did, under immense pressure from Congress and from Kennedy's ideologically intoxicated former advisers.

Implicitly, Gates was answering two questions that every politically conscious high official in the G.W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations has been afraid to answer, or has suppressed within him- or herself the true answer: Why did we attack Iraq? Why are we in Afghanistan?

The answers are that we acted to gratify the ego of one president and defend the career interests of another, to serve venal and sectarian interests, and to advance promotions in what has become a militarist professional army. God may forgive us. History -- and the Iraqis and Afghans -- may not.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

 

  • Japanese Government Confirms Meltdown
  • Officials Claim Positive Signs on Japanese Reactor
  • Nuclear Meltdown at Quake-Damaged Japanese Plant
  • U.S. Geologists Explain Science Behind Japanese Earthquake
  • The Slow Decline of North America
  • Will Libya Again Become the Arsenal of Terrorism?
  • How a Libyan No-fly Zone Could Backfire
  • Superpower Obligations
  • Caught in the Middle East Minefield
  • You Cannot Kill an Idea
  • Democracy Must Be the Future of the Middle East
  • Arab Revolutions Need Not Be Americanized
  • Bahrain and the Battle Between Iran and Saudi Arabia
  • 'New Chapter' in the Middle East
  • Embarrassing Times for Al Qaeda
  • Western Intervention in Libya Should Not Fly
  • Yemen: Divided Dissent
  • Egypt: The Road Ahead
  • Egypt: First Steps
  • That Other Middle East Protest
  • Arab World's Obsession With Israel Is Fading
  • Time to Rethink Arab Arms Sales
  • Cote d'Ivoire: Power Gridlock
  • UK - Latin American Relations: Rearranging The Deckchairs
  • Mexico: Cracking Down
  • Ireland: A Work In Progress
  • WikiLeaks: Unsteady Drip
  • A G-Zero World: New Economic Club Will Produce Conflict Not Cooperation
  • The Post-Washington Consensus
  • Currency Wars: Then and Now
  • Currencies Are Not the Problem
  • The Advantages of an Assertive China
  • China's Search for a Grand Strategy
  • Will China's Rise Lead to War?
  • Getting China to Sanction Iran
  • How al Qaeda Works
  • Fighting the Laws of War
  • Cambodia: A Temple and a Tempest
  • A Welcome Foreign Policy Caution
  • A Politically 'Comatose' Middle East Awakens
  • New Regimes in Arab World Could Highlight American Hypocrisy
  • Egypt in Danger of Becoming America's Greatest Middle East Enemy
  • Middle East Unrest Spreads to Libya
  • The Tunisia Effect
  • The Arab Revolt
  • Far East and Middle East: A Study in Contrasts?
  • Arms Sales for India
  • The Indian - Pakistani Divide
  • Iraq: From Surge to Sovereignty
  • Doing Multiculturalism Right
  • Germany's Immigration Dilemma
  • World's Top Ten Circular Buildings and Structures
  • Freedom Fever
  • Revolution and the Muslim World
  • Discovering Fire
  • A Truth More Powerful Than an Army
  • Egypt's Dim Future
  • Demographics of Arab Protests
  • In New Arab World United States Cannot Straddle Fence Much Longer
  • The Wealth Gap Around the World
  • Revisionist History of Bush Democracy Agenda Doesn't Hold Up
  • What the Egyptian Uprising Means for Investors
  • The Real 'Realism' on Israel
  • Shaky Restart to Inter-Korean Talks
  • The Threat of Civil Unrest in Pakistan and the Davis Case
  • Davos Man and the Real World
  • From Davos to D.C., A Crossroads Moment for the World
  • The 10 Countries With the Most Debt
  • Egypt: The Distance Between Enthusiasm and Reality
  • Egypt Revolt Part of a Long History of Uprisings
  • Hope Amid the Chaos in Cairo
  • Egypt's Uphill Economic Struggles
  • The United States - Egypt Breakup: Washington's Limited Options in Cairo
  • Egypt a 'Textbook' Foreign Policy Dilemma
  • Egypt's Widening Discontent
  • Egypt Aflame
  • Obama Meets Foreign Policy Test in Egypt
  • Tunisia: Moment in the Sun
  • Hunger Fuels Discontent in Middle East
  • No Justice, No Peace
  • American-Israeli Policy To Be Tested By Arab Uprisings
  • Israel, Turkey and Iran: Neighbourly Strain
  • Israel: Testing Times
  • Syria: Washington's New Direction
  • Russia: A 21st Century Alliance?
  • Russia: Podium Pressure and the 2014 Winter Olympics
  • Montenegro: The Survivor Exits
  • Kosovo: A Way To Go
  • Belarus: Back in the Freezer
  • Korea: A Glimmer of Hope
  • Humanitarian Workers: Aid for the Aid Givers
  • U.S. Officials Talk Tough With China
  • Obama Presses Hu Jintao to Let U.S. Banks Into China
  • Obama Served Peace Prize too Early
  • America's China Syndrome
  • Tunisia's Lessons for Repressive Regimes
  • Tunisia: A Popular Uprising But Then What?
  • Unrest in Tunisia and Ivory Coast Send Tremors Through Africa
  • Afganistan: Nurturing a Narco-State
  • Top Global Risks of 2011
  • China and United States Need Overarching Concept for Interaction
  • China's Growing Military Might Poses Many Policy Questions
  • Britain and China: Then and Now
  • How Repressive Regimes Use the Internet to Keep Power
  • Islam's Hijackers and Hijackees
  • WikiLeaks: Diplomacy as Usual
  • Africom: Soft Power Warriors
  • Nigerian Elections: Levelling the Playing Fields
  • Nigerian Elections: Changing of the Old Guard?
  • Sudan: Beyond Southern Sudan
  • Afghanistan: Deadly Addiction
  • The Euro: Until Death Do Us Part
  • Russia: Rewriting History
  • Gulf States Should Take a DIY Approach With Iran
  • Back to 'Normal' in the Middle East
  • America: Uneasy Engagement
  • America: Flying Into Turbulence
  • Obama and Human Rights: Continuity and Change
  • Western Economy on Suicide Watch?
  • South America Enters Middle East Quagmire
  • The Political Power of Social Media
  • West Is Best? Why Civilizations Rise and Fall
  • Exploring the Influence of Culture on Military Doctrine
  • The Good News About Gas
  • Less Than Zero: Bursting the New Disarmament Bubble
  • Why Moscow Says No
  • A Third Way to Palestine - Fayyadism and Its Discontents
  • The Dangers of a Nuclear Iran
  • Plan B in Afghanistan
  • The Fallout of the Global Gun Trade
  • Finish the Job: How the War in Afghanistan Can Be Won
  • Why the Rich Are Getting Richer
  • A Leaner and Meaner Defense
  • Defense Is On The Table
  • The American 21st Century
  • Culture Matters: Real Obstacles to Latin American Development
  • A Wave of Christianophobia
  • Lessons From the Iraq War for Afghanistan
  • Foreign Policy Review Suggests a Losing Effort
  • Iran: Glow, Little Glow Worm, Glow
  • Believe in Violence and Be Saved
  • Colonialism Still at Heart of Africa's Growing Pains
  • The Empty Chair
  • North Korea: The World's Problem Child
  • Save the North Koreans!
  • For Middle East Peace, Israel Must Prepare for Nuclear War
  • Iran Nuclear Talks: A Widening Chasm
  • A Sordid Dance in Afghanistan
  • Holding the Course in Afghanistan
  • As New START Debate Rages, Quiet Nuclear Progress With Russia
  • Argentina Needs to Face Education Debacle
  • A World Full of Fault Lines
  • Facebook, Twitter and the Search for Peace in the Middle East
  • China's Leadership: Fractures Finally Showing
  • China: Uncertain Leap Forward
  • Britain and China: Being Friendly
  • Belarus: Land Between
  • Sudan's Referendum: Prickly Interdependence
  • Saudi Arabian Foreign Policy: Limits of Being Helpful
  • Iraq Refugees: Seeking Safety
  • Troublesome Partner in Afghanistan
  • NATO Presses on With Futile Effort in Afghanistan
  • Counterfeit Medicines: Health and Harm
  • Food Supply: Lunchtime Blues
  • Cybersecurity and Society: bigsociety.com
  • America's Credibility Deficit
  • Global Warming Conference Faces Meltdown
  • WikiLeaks Disclosures Not Earth Shattering
  • WikiLeaks May End Up Helping America
  • WikiLeaks and The Invisible Government
  • Wikileaks: More Than Just an Embarrassment
  • Wikileaks: Undiplomatic Diplomacy
  • A WikiLeaks Wake-up Call
  • Will WikiLeaks Hobble U.S. Diplomacy?
  • How WikiLeaks Can Make Us Less Free
  • Wikileaks: Small Revelations That May Cause a Big Idea to Take Hold
  • G20 Summit: Hitting Singles in Seoul
  • The Consequences of Fiscal Irresponsibility
  • GDP Now Matters More Than Force: Policy for the Age of Economic Power
  • What Population Growth and Decline Means for the Global Economy
  • Leading Through Civilian Power: Redefining Diplomacy and Development
  • The Future of American Power: Dominance and Decline in Perspective
  • Who Do You Call If You Want to Divide Europe?
  • The Game Changer: Coping With China's Foreign Policy Revolution
  • Why the Retirement Age Is Increasing
  • Religion's Growing Influence in International Politics
  • The Difficulty of Integrating Rising Powers
  • Ban-ki Moon Has United Nations 'Drifting Into Irrelevance'
  • Bachelet Faces Uphill Battle at U.N. Women
  • Murderous Tactics Fueling Terrorist Propaganda
  • Benjamin Netanyahu: A Hawk in the Ointment
  • Diminished Capacity
  • Moscow's Modernization Dilemma: Is Russia Charting a New Foreign Policy?
  • NATO Summit Unlikely to Answer the Most Important Questions
  • Franco-German Call for Change in the EU Meets with Much Opposition
  • A Tenuous Deal in Iraq
  • Conflict or Cooperation? Three Visions Revisited
  • A New Global Player: Brazil's Far-Flung Agenda
  • Pax Ottomana? The Mixed Success of Turkey's New Foreign Policy
  • Rise of the Mezzanine Rulers
  • Globalizing the Energy Revolution
  • Democracy in Cyberspace
  • The Digital Disruption
  • Africa: Agriculture's Final Frontier
  • A Reading List for the Twenty-first Century
  • Latin American Leaders Could Have Learned From South Korea
  • Region Ignoring Venezuela Coup Threats
  • To Fight Corruption, Start Cutting Red Tape
  • New Congress Won't Lead to 'Fortress America'
  • The Shifting Balance of Power
  • Checking China's Territorial Moves
  • Why China Has a Point About Quantitative Easing
  • China's Rate Hike: Winners and Losers
  • Taiwan's Shadow
  • Fools Rush in Where Europe Rushes Out
  • Germany to Muhammad: Go Home
  • Can NATO Nudge Russia Westward?
  • French Demonstrations Tell a Familiar Tale
  • Chavez a Pain for Spain
  • Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
  • Petraeus Follows Iraq Formula in Afghanistan
  • Heavy Handed Intervention Has Stalled Arab-Israeli Peace Process
  • George Clooney Urges Obama and Media To Focus On Sudan
  • Fighting Hunger in Des Moines
  • Rise in Tourism to Miami May Signal Danger Ahead
  • Peru May Be Next Latin American Success Story
  • Nobel Winner Right About Risks of e-Books
  • Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
  • Chavez a Pain for Spain
  • Economic Woes Put Brittle Nations on Edge

 

Available at Amazon.com:

Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World

Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)

Enemies of Intelligence

The End of History and the Last Man

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource

Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water

Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization

The Great Gamble

At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes

Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century

Dining With al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East

Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy

 

Copyright 2011, WILLIAM PFAFF; DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

Recommend

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

Job & Career Search

career & job search                    job title, keywords, company, location
  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

World - Arab Revolutions Need Not Be Americanized | Global Viewpoint

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy