Monday, June 18, 2007
The Fundamental Contradiction...
...in our current foreign policy is noted by Andrew Sullivan: Democracy just ain't what it's cracked up to be in the Middles East.
Meanwhile, we decided to back (and arm) Fatah, the "moderate" faction of Palestinians -- and they go get their Hamasses handed to them by a better trained fundamentalist opponent.
So, what do we do in Iraq -- arm marginally more secular Sunni insurgents against al Qaeda in Iraq fundamentalists?
Result -- a marginal "win" for the Sunni insurgents in Anbar province -- for now. Of course, the government of Nuri al-Maliki, is fundamentalist Shiite. How soon before our erstwhile allies take the same arms we've given them and turn them against the Shiite majority -- thus creating enough anarchy to force us to step in between the two factions once again?
While being shot at with our own guns?
I sort of understand the tactical reasons for doing this, but after a while when you do make the same tactical move which ends up backfiring, shouldn't it call into question the overarching strategy which the tactics were supposed to implement?
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Meanwhile, we decided to back (and arm) Fatah, the "moderate" faction of Palestinians -- and they go get their Hamasses handed to them by a better trained fundamentalist opponent.
So, what do we do in Iraq -- arm marginally more secular Sunni insurgents against al Qaeda in Iraq fundamentalists?
Result -- a marginal "win" for the Sunni insurgents in Anbar province -- for now. Of course, the government of Nuri al-Maliki, is fundamentalist Shiite. How soon before our erstwhile allies take the same arms we've given them and turn them against the Shiite majority -- thus creating enough anarchy to force us to step in between the two factions once again?
While being shot at with our own guns?
I sort of understand the tactical reasons for doing this, but after a while when you do make the same tactical move which ends up backfiring, shouldn't it call into question the overarching strategy which the tactics were supposed to implement?
Labels: Fatah, Hamas, Iraq War, Palestinians, Shiites, Sunnis
