Some people have clucked with worry over the trip to Indonesia next month, but politics in that country are going better than politics here. There's hope for peace in Iraq (and the Middle East) only if Israel makes peace with the Palestinians, or vice-versa, and Bush knows that damn well. But even staid outlets like the Newshour and the Christian Science Monitor have been unequivocal about Bush's support for Sharon last week. "He appears to have cemented the view widely held across Arab states that the US is no longer the 'honest broker' it once was in the Middle East," writes the Monitor.
The U.S. does not need to be loved around the world in order to serve as a responsible stabilizing force, but Bush's utter blindness or apathy toward Arab opinion is appalling. I'll feel safer in Indonesia.
UPDATE: The King of Jordan snubbed Bush over this issue from California, meaning he decided to cancel his date in Washington even though it was on the way home.
posted by Michael Scott Moore |
12:24 AM
