Look, Read, Learn

This map (click to enlarge) accompanies this article from the Economist and it's the most informative thing I've read about the Middle East in a while. Managing our interests in the Middle East has never been easy, but it's a lot harder now. The nuanced truth, that (a) we have allies in the Middle East other than Israel, (b) moderate Arab leaders are willing to deal with us because they have as much if not more to lose from radical Islam than we do, (c) Saddam Hussein, though hostile to the US, was a stabilizing force in the region, in a region that needs stabilizing forces, (d) Israel's hankering for over the top retaliations, the kind that American hawks feel are essential in the war on terror, are making groups like Hizbullah sympathetic to a much wider audience in the Middle East, and (e) that Iran's growing influence in the region is seen as detrimental by other Arab states. This list could go on but the point is that the dumbed down version of world events and foreign policy that the American public is subjected to serves no one other than republicans hoping to cling to power. Let's hope that whomever takes over the White House after this administration understands these nuances and is willing to put real national security and effective diplomacy at the top of their agenda.