If You Don't Like Us, It's Your Fault.

Think back a little bit. Remember when people wished that the whole world could be free and democratic? Especially in the Middle-East where we store our future supplies of oil. Well actually we don't store any of our oil there, although some folks think we should just declare all their oil to be our oil. The expectation has always been that if only countries would give up their monarchies and dictatorships, they would automatically become mini-Americas. Also the thinking was that they would all become our closest allies and suddenly support Israel's right to exist. Now all of a sudden some of those countries are gaining their freedom, or at least appear to be doing so, and now we're frightened they won't like us as much as the dictators being replaced. Some folks are demanding that our government intercede to make sure these countries do become or remain our close friends. How do you suppose our government might pull that cat out of the hat? I mean, if we were really to be honest with ourselves, we'd admit that these folks in the middle-east just don't trust us. There are several very good reasons for this. The monarchs we've been dealing with for many decades have, all the while, been telling their people that we're to blame for all their woes. As if that weren't enough, they don't trust us because we are basically European, and Europeans were the ones who invaded their part of the world  during the Crusades. Those folks have long memories. They never forget things like that. And to prove they were right, we've invaded two of their countries during the last decade. Now in our minds, it's been to defeat terrorists and find WMDs. Thing is, we keep trying to fight a shadow enemy with a noontime war effort. There's no shadow at noon. That war requires a whole new set of combat rules. We haven't come up with that set of rules and strategies. So, to the Arabs living there, it looks like another Crusade on our part. How should we expect these folks to see us? As their saviors? Dream on. The longer we stay there, both as combatants and as thieves, steeling their oil wealth (their way of thinking), the less likely we'll be perceived as their friends. Problem is, we don't see ourselves as being wrong about anything. Neither do they.