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Gale Force Winds in the Middle East

(Foreign Policy) Aaron David Miller - America seems to be front and center (again) in the Arab story. There is an enormous reservoir of anti-American sentiment in the Arab world, and it has been brewing for years. A disturbingly large minority of conservative, militant Muslims don't like anything about us - particularly our culture's openness, tolerance, permissiveness and high bar on protected speech. We are perceived among many as modern day colonialists throwing our weight around, not taking Arab and Muslim sensitivities seriously, supporting Israel, invading Iraq and Afghanistan, methodically whacking Muslims with Predator drones, bucking up Arab oil sheikhs, interceding in the Arab world when it suits our interests (see Libya) and allowing the Arabs to fend for themselves when it doesn't (see Syria). This anger has been loosed by the Arab Spring as public opinion is now freer to shape the political climate in the region. The "Arab Spring" is really an Islamist Spring. That doesn't mean that militant Muslims are taking over the world - the Islamists are divided and constrained by their newfound responsibilities of governance, and in Egypt's case dependence on the West for economic support. But it does mean that when fair and free elections are held, Islamist parties do very well. We should give up our illusions that we can significantly influence the Arabs' political future or that we're in for anything other than a wild ride in a stormy, turbulent, and churning Arab world. The writer is a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
2012-11-01 00:00:00
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