The reason the Bush policy in the Middle East is not working is that he is trying to push what is right for us in a part of the world with very different desires. The elections that Bush said would produce peace and stability is establishing in power what the people want but those elements are at odds with Western Objectives.
On the first trip abroad taken by Karen Hewes after Bush appointed her Ass Sec of Spin, she met with 500 young women in Saudi Arabia. These women tried to explain that what Bush was trying to sell, such as equality for women, was not what the people wanted. They explained their Islamic values were very different from western values. We have scene it in the elections in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon to a lesser degree then in Palatine but the fatal flaw in the Bush policy is that peace in the Middle East will come from free elections. What is taking place is the people select leaders that mirror their thinking. As hard as it is for us to accept, many in the region view bin laden as a hero not the terrorist we see. That was clear in the demonstrations in Pakistan after the CIA killed about a dozen civilians in an attempt to kill the number two man to bin laden. We need to go back to square ONE for a strategy in the Islamic World!
