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U.S. needs to adopt neutral Middle East policy
Ian Bezek
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Opinion
The terrorist attacks of the past week in India that killed hundreds are a somber reminder that we as Americans must carefully rethink our diplomatic policy toward the Middle Eastern region of the world.
And while Obama's election should bring the end of the War in Iraq, more change is needed.
The latest flare-up of tensions between India and Pakistan serves as a striking reminder of why our Middle East policy is so flawed.
We tried to make a deal with the devil by cooperating with Pakistan's authoritarian, terrorist-coddling, human-rights abusing government. We also claim to be friends with India's government.
India and Pakistan are mortal enemies who are constantly at knife's edge over the disputed territory of Kashmir. We've been playing both sides of a dangerous game. Our last attempt to play both sides occurred with Iran and Iraq during their war, and we soon ended up at war with both our former allies.
The Pakistanis and Indians have long-standing issues regarding religious and diplomatic differences. There is nothing that a western Christian government is going to accomplish by trying to bring peace in a religious dispute between Hindus and Muslims. We need to quit being the world's policeman; we are not part of the solution to India or Pakistan's problems.
It isn't just our relations with India and Pakistan that are flawed. Our diplomatic policies with the entire Middle East need to be changed. As I've noted in a previous column, we are allied with Saudi Arabia, which carries the distinction of being arguably the worst abuser of human rights on the entire planet.
One would expect that since we treat the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia as good pals, we'd also be on good terms with the Iranian regime. But while we arm Saudi Arabia to the teeth, we condemn Iran for building a military and compare them to Nazis while claiming they have nuclear weapons.
We all remember Bush lying about WMD's in Iraq this time is no different. Iran and Saudi Arabia both have horrid militaristic fanatical Muslim-led governments. It is entirely hypocritical to ally with the Saudis while threatening to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age.
And while Obama's election should bring the end of the War in Iraq, more change is needed.
The latest flare-up of tensions between India and Pakistan serves as a striking reminder of why our Middle East policy is so flawed.
We tried to make a deal with the devil by cooperating with Pakistan's authoritarian, terrorist-coddling, human-rights abusing government. We also claim to be friends with India's government.
India and Pakistan are mortal enemies who are constantly at knife's edge over the disputed territory of Kashmir. We've been playing both sides of a dangerous game. Our last attempt to play both sides occurred with Iran and Iraq during their war, and we soon ended up at war with both our former allies.
The Pakistanis and Indians have long-standing issues regarding religious and diplomatic differences. There is nothing that a western Christian government is going to accomplish by trying to bring peace in a religious dispute between Hindus and Muslims. We need to quit being the world's policeman; we are not part of the solution to India or Pakistan's problems.
It isn't just our relations with India and Pakistan that are flawed. Our diplomatic policies with the entire Middle East need to be changed. As I've noted in a previous column, we are allied with Saudi Arabia, which carries the distinction of being arguably the worst abuser of human rights on the entire planet.
One would expect that since we treat the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia as good pals, we'd also be on good terms with the Iranian regime. But while we arm Saudi Arabia to the teeth, we condemn Iran for building a military and compare them to Nazis while claiming they have nuclear weapons.
We all remember Bush lying about WMD's in Iraq this time is no different. Iran and Saudi Arabia both have horrid militaristic fanatical Muslim-led governments. It is entirely hypocritical to ally with the Saudis while threatening to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 9
Jon
posted 12/02/08 @ 5:32 PM MST
Criticism is one thing, but your entire rant about the JOOS, oh sorry I meant Israel, completely ignores history. Israel was ratified by a United Nations charter, which by your logic of the UN as an end all authority on everything makes Israel a LEGITIMATE country. (Continued…)
zeb smeester
posted 12/03/08 @ 5:58 AM MST
Your article was one of the worst cases of selective history I have ever read. A few notes: You claim hipocricy when comparing our diplomacy with S. (Continued…)
Landon
posted 12/03/08 @ 10:51 AM MST
In response to " Neutral Middle East Policy":
Ian, why not try reading a book or two! You say we need to adopt a neutral Middle East policy, when in fact that was our official stance during the war between Iraq and Iran. (Continued…)
Aharon A
posted 12/04/08 @ 10:16 AM MST
Nice Article Ian....
Jon, Landon, and Zeb........ Please read before you comment...
Folks, Its is easy to find information these days, just look up 'Israeli massacres' and you will find thousands of articles about that. (Continued…)
Poster
posted 12/05/08 @ 1:32 PM MST
Ian and Aharon,
Thank you for trying to educate the naive public about Israel, for the only thing they believe is what the media indoctrinates.
Assaf Nathan
posted 2/16/09 @ 4:12 PM MST
Wowow,
I live in israel and used to see all kinds of opinions on the web from all sorts of people around the globe.
In the past i tried to answer or educate people a little bit about Israel and its history, or our way of life, but i understood fairly quickly that this is futile, there is just too much ignorance and false facts drifting that i just had to give up. (Continued…)
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