TRIFECTA:

Arabs See Danger, not Hope, in Iraq: Most think the war heightened instability in the region. Even allies mistrust the United States' intentions. (Shibley Telhami, March 14, 2004, LA Times)

On the eve of the Iraq war a year ago, I conducted a public opinion survey in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. It was no surprise that the vast majority of Arabs, like many around the world, opposed the war. Most striking was their profound mistrust of American foreign policy and of the stated U.S. objectives in Iraq. Unlike American predictions, the large majority of people in the region anticipated that the Middle East would be less democratic, that terrorism would increase and that the prospects of Arab-Israeli peace would diminish as a result of the war. One year later, this view has grown stronger.

The point is that it increased instability--the stable situation pre-9-11 was intolerable. Meanwhile, representative government is emerging in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kurdistan--and liberalization is occurring almost everywhere else; the Israelis are preparing to give the Palestinians their own state; and the best al Qaeda can manage is exploding backpacks in European train stations. Mr. Telhami's seeming belief that the Arab world knows what's good for it is amply refuted by its history.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 14, 2004 9:17 AM