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Turmoil in the Middle East

Whatever the true reason for the present turmoil in a number of countries in the Middle East, there can be little doubt that the US is "on the nose" in the region.      In his latest blog posting on FP - "Lessons of Benghazi (and beyond)" - Professor Stephen Walt analyses the situation in which America finds itself (American personnel, including its ambassador, killed in Libya) and anti-American outbursts in various Arab countries.

"This tragedy also reminds us of the deep hole that the United States has dug for itself in the Middle East over the past fifty years or so. Once upon a time, the United States was widely admired throughout the region, but that is decidedly not the case today.  There are reasons why anti-American extremists hate us (and it's not just our "values"), and there are also reasons why they think that attacking Americans will win them greater support. Similarly, there are reasons why governments that pay attention to public opinion are often reluctant to embrace Uncle Sam too closely. In particular, numerous surveys of public opinion show that there is considerable anger at U.S. foreign policy among the broader publics in the Arab and Islamic world, fueled by what these peoples see as indifference to Muslim lives, one-sided support for Israel, our cozy relations with assorted Middle Eastern monarchies and dictators, and our hypocritical behavior regarding human rights and nuclear weapons. To acknowledge this broader context in no way justifies the events of this week, but ignoring this broader context is a surefire recipe for responding to it in the wrong way.

Even some of the people who favored democratic change in the Middle East understood that it would be a challenge for us in the short term, because opening these systems up to greater participation would also open them up to overt expressions of anti-Americanism and create governments that were less compliant or predictable than the old authoritarian orders. But change was going to happen sooner or later, and it's not likely to be reversed for long. The legacy of the past five decades won't be removed by a couple of presidential speeches, or even by an extended tilt in the direction of "reform." It will take time, patience, forbearance, and somewhat different approach to the entire region."

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