Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The winds of change
This is not going to win Fouad Ajami many friends on the academic left:
Suffice it for them that George W. Bush was at the helm of the dominant imperial power when the world of Islam and of the Arabs was in the wind, played upon by ruinous temptations, and when the regimes in the saddle were ducking for cover, and the broad middle classes in the Arab world were in the grip of historical denial of what their radical children had wrought. His was the gift of moral and political clarity.
In America and elsewhere, those given reprieve by that clarity, and single-mindedness, have been taking this protection while complaining all the same of his zeal and solitude. In his stoic acceptance of the burdens after 9/11, we were offered a reminder of how nations shelter behind leaders willing to take on great challenges.
Read the whole thing.
9 Comments:
By 
, at
Tue Jan 08, 08:20:00 AM:
Mr. Ajami's comments are all true, in my view. Mr. Bush and his advisors (because despite these glowing terms, I can't yet believe that this was conceived entirely by him)correctly perceived the moment in 2001. Perhaps because of his connection to the world of petroleum, he had enough knowledge of the culture and politics of the region to bring a unique and responsible perspective to that moment. (Gore? Kerry? Those who doubt that God watches over these United States, although it may be sometimes by the slimmest of margins, should consider how these two fabulists would have behaved in these circumstances.) However, the enormous wager placed has yet to be cleared. We must remain steadfast and allow that chance that Bush has established for the Arabs to flower and take hold in the truest sense. It is undoubtedly true that the autocrats are playing a waiting game now, expecting America to grow bored of this "adventure" and move on to others. That cannot happen and the candidates on both sides of the aisle in this election year could do no better than to make that abundantly clear to all who pay heed.
By , at
Tue Jan 08, 09:13:00 AM:
Interesting comment Jeremiah. However I would simply suggest that Bush simply did what he thought was right. As he has continued to do.
By , at
Tue Jan 08, 09:15:00 AM:
That's simply one to many simplies for such a simple sentence. ; - )
By , at
Tue Jan 08, 09:38:00 AM:
Well and simply put - and I would correct my own statement to read "Arab social initiatives" rather than "Arabs". As most well-educated people in the West know, Arab civilization has flowered and borne fruit in many ways over many centuries and they do not need any cover from the US to be proud of that historical fact.
By 
Noocyte, at
Tue Jan 08, 12:31:00 PM:
I am currently reading Professor. Ajami's _The Foreigner's Gift,_ and enjoying it immensely. His writing feels like a big frosty tumbler of clear ice water after spending hours in a stuffy wine bar. It is just that refreshing to read someone who truly Gets the profound influence that Bush's policies stand to exert on the macro-evolution of Arab and broader ME civilization.
We must not give the faint-hearted, solipsistic voices on the Left and Right the opportunity to prevail. A rich new crop is tentatively rising from the desert, and they would devour the seed corn...and tax us for the service.
By David M, at
Tue Jan 08, 01:19:00 PM:
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 01/08/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
By antithaca, at
Tue Jan 08, 02:57:00 PM:
By , at
Tue Jan 08, 03:41:00 PM:
Hillary would have done better to stand by her initial support for the war and taken a principled stand in support of democratic reformation in the MidEast.
At a time when all the Democrats were touting "courage" as their mantra, not a one of them, least of all Mz Clinton, could muster the requisite cojones to support the initiative.
If only the issue could have been framed in terms of humanitarinism/liberalization or somesuch. There were no WMD there, so there.
Now Clinton needs a wedge issue to separate herself from Obama. Too bad for her she's not nearly as smart or principled as she would like to believe.
By Consul-At-Arms, at
Thu Jan 10, 12:01:00 AM:
I've quoted you and linked to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/01/re-winds-of-change.html
