The Middle East

I've wondered about W's recent trip through the Middle East. It seems to me almost like he suddenly woke up and thought - Golly, I have only a year left in office. Maybe I'd better do something that looks like I've been paying attention, and maybe I should do something about promoting peace in the Middle East.

It's about time. And I'm not the only one who thinks that. The following is from Bill Moyer's blog on the PBS web site.

In his conversation with Bill Moyers on this week’s JOURNAL, journalist Craig Unger said: "It does seem at times we don’t seem aware of the consequences of our actions. We go around talking about democracy, but the Saudis, of course, are a brutal theocracy. There’s not much in the way of human rights there. The whole vision of democratizing the Middle East, I think, really, in practical terms, has fallen by the wayside. And America’s objectives really, when it comes down to it, seem to be Israel’s security and oil... The whole vision is in tatters right now. And it’s very unclear what options the United States has... Our policies are so full of contradictions. And I think if you go back to the roots of it, it was built on so many misconceptions that a lot of this is coming home to roost."

Then Moyers (on the blog) asks: What do you think?

Is Unger correct that Israel’s security and oil are the foundations of America’s policies in the Middle East?

Does U.S. involvement with and support of non-Democratic regimes undermine the goal of "democratizing the Middle East?" Is that an appropriate objective of American foreign policy?

How would you reformulate American foreign policy to fit the world of 2008?

Definitely things for us to think about during these presidential primaries.

Today's photo is another snowy scene from Colorado.