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Source: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DeanBarnett/2007/01/05/return_of_the_realists
Return of the Realists
[Townhall.com] Dean Barnett - Our body politic just can't manage to completely scrape off the wise old men who fancy themselves "realists," such as Brent Scowcroft whose Jan. 4 op-ed appeared in the New York Times. The title of his piece implies that when those like Scowcroft were running things, the Middle East collectively adored us. Empirically speaking, the Middle East as a whole has not been "on our side" the past 30 years. Saddam wasn't on our side. Iran hasn't been on our side. The Assads haven't been on our side. When Arafat wasn't busy stealing from his own people and amassing a personal fortune, he was arranging the death of a U.S. ambassador and facilitating countless other acts of terror. While ostensibly "on our side," the House of Saud was funding Maddrasses that peddled the most pernicious forms of hatred. And yet Scowcroft feels that there were halcyon days of yore when the Middle East was "on our side." In truth, it's Israel who has always been on America's side. There's no need to strategize on how to return Israel to the American fold. For the past fifty years, Israel has been the only outpost of peace and democracy in the Middle East and remains our sole reliable ally in the region.