Andrew Sullivan rightly wonders why a neocon like Ralph Peters can point to the carnage in Gaza and conclude that the Arabs can't govern themselves, then turn around and say that we have to remain in Iraq because, well, even though the Arabs can't govern themselves, and we have neither the will nor the power to govern them, well ... um ... uh...
You see?
I think it's abundantly clear that the Arabs of the Middle East can't govern themselves. Full stop. You wan't proof? Pick up the newspaper. Read a history book. It's not genetic (so please spare me your "racist!" accusations), but cultural. Everybody should get a copy of David Pryce-Jones's "The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs," and read all about the dead-end of shame-honor culture, which renders any compromise with an opponent -- a necessity in democracy -- into an occasion of dishonor and an admission of weakness.
I see no hope of saving Iraq from itself. Today Gaza, tomorrow Iraq. We should get out, and take as many Christians and other religious minorities, as well as Muslim Iraqis who helped us (and who will be murdered for that after we leave), with us as we can.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
The shame/ honor culture isn't unique to the Middle East and China and Japan have managed to grow their economies in spite of it.
R. Steven Humphreys' "Between Memory and Desire" is a much better look at the social, political and economic conditions that make so many problems in the Middle East so intractable. Essentially, there are a lot of incentives to acting in ways that guarantee short-term survival at the expense of long-term sustainable growth. In the Far East, shame/ honor culture probably played a large role in reinforcing positive behavior.
To give a sense of what Humphreys thinks of the Middle East's chances of change, the title is a reference to the "Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot.
The comparison to China and Japan is inapt. Both countries have long recognized the problem, and they've taken steps to deal with it. This not just at the top, but across their cultures. While neither society matches up to western standards, they're light years ahead of the Middle East, and have been so for decades.
As to the Arabs, they can govern themselves, just not with democracy.
I'm surprised no one has made the connection between Bush's efforts to bring Democracy to Iraq and the David Lean film, "Lawrence of Arabia", particularly the ending of the film where Lawrence's hopes for Arab self-rule comes crashing down.
Indeed, the connection provides a great opportunity for some political cartoonist to portray Bush as Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence, complete with keffiyeh and agal.
Indeed, the connection provides a great opportunity for some political cartoonist to portray Bush as Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence, complete with keffiyeh and agal.
Sure, and it would also be an opportunity for him to lose his job and be excoriated for racism by the usual suspects.
Unfortunately, there's only one lesson to draw from Gaza: The Palestinian Arabs are barbarians and Palestinian culture is a "culture of death" (does that phrase sound familiar, fellow Catholics?). No two-state solution will be possible unless the Palestinians curb their blood-lust for Israel and for each other. Unfortunately, the Arabs will ignore the Palestinians (as they have for decades) because the Palestinians serve as the perfect foil for anti-Israel (and anti-Semitic) policies.
The Middle East is going to get a lot worse before it gets better -- and it will only get better when the Arab Muslims are so humiliated that they will reject their bloodthirstiness and the "religion" that serves as a cover for it.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.