Originally posted by Shuckins
Moammar Ghadafi making submissive gestures to the West...and promising to be a good boy!?.
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt suddenly announcing that he would allow free elections!?
Syria turning over a prominent member of Saddam's family to the new Iraqi government!?
Israel pulling out of Gaza, tearing down settlements on the West Bank, and the Palestinian leadership promising to make sincere efforts to stop terrorist activity!?
Lebanese civilians, along with many western governments, and even the Saudis, demanding that Syria withdraw its forces from Lebanon...and the Syrians actually acting as if they will!?
This isn't the Middle East we have all come to know and loathe! What the 'ell is going on over there?
Libya goes whichever way the wind is blowing. Right now its in our favor, despite any gaffes on Bush's part, and as long as we don't do any major screw-ups it probably will for the forseeable future.
Egypt isn't "suddenly" allowing free elections, it's something they have been moving towards for some time. The other events in the Middle East have supported it changing now, such as the successful (depends on your point of view) elections in Iraq and those held by the Palestinians. Egypt has been wanting to go this way for some time, and there just hasnt been a bandwagon to jump on until now.
Syria is starting to see which side of the table the bread gets buttered on. It's all well and good to side with the "holy men", but they don't have much of a retirement plan. They also ask for lots of money, and lots of support, but dont give much back except prayers. Which are of dubious value anyway, since most of the major Muslim leaders aren't buying into their jihad. The line between "divinely inspired" and "mad as a hatter" is a fine one indeed.
Israel doesnt have much choice if they ever want to send their kids to school without armed guards on every street corner. They never had a real alternative so long as Arafat was in charge. He talked a good talk, but he was who he was. They see a real chance now to work this out, and have to show they will bargain in good faith. This is one of the biggest sticking points to the negotiation. I hope it works.
The Lebanon of today is not the Lebanon we all grew to know and love in the 80s and early 90s. That Lebanon is long gone, and the one that exists today is a retreat for Arab playboys from every country in the Mid-East. Yachts, nightclubs, fancy restaraunts and every luxury you could imagine are available in Lebanon today. Most of the Arab countries have been uneasy letting Syria call the shots there for some time, but haven't wanted to "rock the boat" by demanding they witdrawl. Now there is a good reason for it, and they can (again) jump on a bandwagon.
None of this can be credited directly to the US. However, almost all of it can be traced indirectly to our efforts and policies in that area. Do I think this was part of Bush's plan? Heck no. But as was stated before, I'd rather be lucky than good. And I'd say we got really lucky. I'll take it.
