Comments on: Arab Agenda

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:33:06 +0000

And in support of John's final point, ken, you might want to take a look at the 7 Rules of the Arab Parallel Universe, written by an Egyptian.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:30:51 +0000

The underlying problem we face is not Arab opinion, it's superempowerment, a fancy word meaning that a rather small number of people can do a heckuva lot of harm. As John notes, Arab opinion has been anti-Western for a long, long time. It's only recently that it's become important. The question is how we cope with reality of this superempowerment given a narrative set 60 or 100 or 1,000 years ago without a great deal of change (and one we probably can't influence in other than geological time). I don't find any of the alternatives particularly appealing. Bush's answer was viral democracy. Unfortunately, without the other accoutrements of liberal democracy (rule of law, rights of minorities, individual rights, etc.) it doesn't solve the problem and, unless Iraq gets a lot better fairly quickly, it's discredited. So, what's left? The only benign solution I can come up with is economic development (something we've historically been pretty good at) but I'm not hopeful given the constraints of the societies we're dealing with. And there's still the superempowerment.

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 20:12:33 +0000

Ken: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! You mean like all the wonderful progress we made under 8 years of Clinton? One thing I'll give Clinton: his promotion of civil society in the ME. That that same project didn't work out so well for Bush is another matter that's going to be analyzed for the next 25 years. The problem is that there is a narrative, set in stone, that started in 1947 (unless you're going for an earlier date, like the Sykes-Picot agreement; or maybe the Crusades). Facts no longer play much of a part in the way Arabs view what's happening in the region. Memories and the stories they tell each other and themselves are far more important in forming and locking-in opinion. That is why standing on the sidelines is sometimes the more fruitful action.

By: G.A.Phillips

G.A.Phillips — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 19:20:18 +0000

Ken please tell us how? because the tactic that you use, as in blaming Bush and the Republicans don't work, because if it did there would not be any more problems in the whole wide world again for ever from the determination of your zealous efforts in using this solution.

By: The Arab Media and America « Michael P.F. van der Galiën

The Arab Media and America « Michael P.F. van der Galiën — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:15:26 +0000

[...] 23rd, 2007 by mvdg Dr. James Joyner links to Marc Lynch at Abu Aardvark, who “has been keeping track of the major agenda items at the wide [...]

By: ken

ken — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 15:38:04 +0000

So, when they’re really unified in concern about something they reflexively direct their anger at the United States even when they blame internal actors. If that’s the case, it would seem that there’s not a hell of a lot we can do to alter Arab public opinion any time soon.

You learned the wrong lesson here. Marc Lynch is only looking at the worsening diplomatic effort of the Bush administration.

To conclude from that that WE cannot do a lot to alter Arab public opinion is false and defeatist. We can, after we get a Democratic administration, begin to repair the damage wrought by the Republicans . It will not be easy and it will take a while to have any effect. But it is possible.