NOW PLAYING: THE MIDDLE EAST REFORM PLAN
(BBC)
(al Jazeera)
An early draft of this plan was apparently "leaked", and it's been well-reported in Arab media
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are against it, calling shenanigans.
Turkey's Abdullah Gul won't support it.
A good suggestion in this Daily Star editorial:
The poster child for US President George W. Bush's regime change-driven agenda in this region is Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, whom the US holds up as an example of a wise change of heart in turning away from developing weapons of mass destruction. Libya has been transformed from an evil and dangerous land for the West to a friendly and responsible polity, and an attractive investment venue. It should also be the place where Bush and his G8 colleagues could most easily and quickly promote democracy in an Arab country, without war, regime change, Congressional resolutions or cooking the books on intelligence evidence. If the US and friends truly seek to promote Arab democracy, they should start in Libya, which has proved amenable to accepting US suggestions on other issues.
Maybe if the U.S. treats Gadhafi really, really well...Ironic that this week we're burying a president who made war with him.
In any case, it's very good to see the Israel/Palestine conflict brought to the fore. Maybe someone in the Bush Administration finally recognize that that is the issue most holding back reform. Leaving aside who hit who first, the I/P conflict is one of the engines of jihadism, and the U.S. has to be seen as taking a less-biased approach before any initiative gets off the ground.
p.s. Here's Bush's Freedom Gap Speech (Warning: Contains confident references to non-existent WMD)
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