In The Middle East, Nothing Breeds Success Like Obama's Failure

Guy Bechor writes that, in contrast to the Bush administration, under the Obama administration the US is perceived as week and the Middle East dictators are acting accordingly:

The victory of Egypt’s ruling party and the independent candidates who belong to it, by a fantastic 95% majority, takes the Middle East years back. In the wake of the departure of the man perceived to be a menacing sheriff – President George W. Bush, who demanded democracy in our region – and in the face of a weak president like Barack Obama, leaders in our neighborhood are no longer scared of the United States or the West.

The brutality is back, and along with it the arrests, abuse of the opposition, and the secret police.


After the Syrian president won the elections two years ago by a phenomenal 97.5% majority, and the Tunisian president won by an 89.9% majority a year ago, the implication is that the old regimes and their imaginary legitimacy are back. The fear that overwhelmed these regimes after seeing the downfall of their colleague, Saddam Hussein, has evaporated. Democracy, even for appearances’ sake, evaporated along with it.

And yet--that just might be a good thing--in the Middle East, where the Muslim world has shown itself unprepared for democracy, the resultant chaos is now being replaced with the stability that has usually accompanied Muslim dictatorships:

In the wake of democracy’s demise, stability had been restored in Arab states and the regimes there regained their pride.

Political Islam, which rose under the forced democratization, had been curbed again. In Egypt, not even one representatives belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood was elected.

The return to the 'old' stability is only to Israel's benefit--it has found itself to be the unexpected beneficiary of the fear of Shiite Iran and this political Islam.

I suppose that is good as far as it goes, but if in the end Iran is not stopped--if it not only acquires nuclear technology but also continues to extend its circle influence, then it will be of little comfort to the Arab world to have Israel sitting in the same boat.

Hat tip: P David Hornik

Technorati Tag: Iran and Arab World.