The WaPo has an article on reactions on the “Arab Street” to the liberation of Baghdad. I found this one particularly … interesting:
“No, no, no,” yelled Shaaban Mohamad, watching television at a Cairo bookstore. “If the U.S. really wanted democracy, they would have taken out just about every Arab leader we have. This is very suspect. The U.S. just wants to protect Israel and wants the riches in the region.”
A bit of a mixed message, don’t you think?
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What’s interesting is that the Arab nations were calling a UN meeting for yesterday, but postponed it when images from Baghdad showed people cheering.
The war, itself, was never in question. It’s the peace that concerns me more, coupled with neocon rumblings about Syria and Iran.
Funny how little was made of bin Laden’s tape when it was released the other day. Wasn’t he the one who ordered the attacks on September 11th? Hussein had nothing to do with that.
Short memory, the US people have, eh?
Actually, I haven’t seen much impact from the bin Laden tape from anyone, domestic or international. I suspect either a lot of folks assume it’s a fake, or bin Laden’s current influence on things is assumed to be limited.
Of course, just because the US military didn’t drop everything in Iraq and start bombing indiscriminately anywhere there are tape recorders in the world doesn’t mean that US intelligence isn’t (or has been) doing anything to track him (or his body) down.
I agree, though, that what happens with the peace is critical, both in terms of getting Iraq back on its feet and in terms of how we deal with Syria and Iran (and Saudi Arabia, and all the other countries of the Middle East).