It's the people, stupid

[Matariki]

Good op-ed on Aljezeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/2011219122242386295.html

The project for a new Arab century
The birth pangs of a new Middle East are being felt, but not in the way many outsiders envisioned.



No sooner did former US president George W. Bush come into power in January 2001 than a much vaunted neo-conservative doctrine came into full swing, wreaking havoc across the Middle East. Throughout the eight years of the Bush presidency, the levers of power - the political, the economic, the scholarly and, importantly, the military - were all employed towards one ultimate goal: The project for the new American century.

Bush's neo-con backers had prepared the manual for his presidency well before time. With their man in power, the greatest force of Western power since the Roman Empire set about changing the world in the name of neo-conservatism, to "promote American global leadership", we were told.

At the receiving end of the mighty American military-industrial complex were the people of the Arab world. The basic premise was to utilise maximum US force, power and influence to create a new Middle East, one obedient to the interests and objectives of the US. The central focus was the preservation of the superiority of Israel and the utilisation of American hard-power to eliminate any threats posed to it. The benign undercurrent, we were told, was the need to spread democracy across the region. After all, democracies do not fight wars against one other.

read the rest...

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Thank you. Sharing :) n/t

[Tejas]

2. FYI, if it matters.

That is the flag of Bahrain in the picture.