(Tablet) Hanin Ghaddar - For years, we've been preached to by visiting American diplomats and think-tankers and journalists about the virtues of democracy. We've been told that if we speak out to defend our rights, we will be supported by America. And now we've been betrayed. For many liberal Arab citizens like me, it looks like the U.S. is siding with the Shiites against the Sunnis. It is helping Assad, Hizbullah, and other allies of Iran stay in power. The U.S. has picked the Resistance axis over helping potential democracies to grow. In Lebanon, where I live, Hizbullah - an organization sponsored and directed by America's new Iranian partner - has repeatedly used force to block every effort toward democracy or reform. Why is Iran, which has one of the worst human rights records in the region, and which has and still is using violence all over the region, a potential ally to the U.S.? The writer is managing editor of NOW-Lebanon and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
2015-04-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive