On connecting the Islamic world to the global economy, the long fight is the good fight
Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 6:22PM ■"Generals Offer Sober Outlook On Iraqi War: Slow Progress Cited in Training Local Force," by John F. Burns and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 19 May 2005, p. A1.
■"Blowing Up an Assumption: The weak link between religion and suicide attacks," op-ed by Robert A. Pape, New York Times, 18 May 2005, p. A29.
■"Kuwait Grants Political Rights To Its Women," by Hassan M. Fattah, New York Times, 17 May 2005, p. A6.
■"Bush Ties Trade Pact With Egypt to More Freedom," by Elizabeth Becker, New York Times, 19 May 2005, p. A4.
■"Uzbek Crackdown Fuels Instability In Central Asia," by ,Wall Street Journal, 19 May 2005, p. A1.
Iraq won't be "cured" any time soon. Insurgencies aren't solved in the short run, only the long term. The average "victory" takes about 10 to 12 years, as history teaches. So there's only one sort of progress, and it's called "slow."
It's not a war of ideas, meaning our political concepts versus their religious fanaticism, so if any of you want to embrace the straw-man logic that religion drives suicide bombers, be my guest.
But, frankly, Pape's research proves nothing of importance, other than to perhaps disabuse people of the role of religion in anyone's lifeómuch less death. Religion is never the reason, only the rationale.
On a happier note, Kuwait reverses itself rapidly on the question of letting women vote. Just a couple of weeks ago, I blog the parliament's apparent decision to put off the question of women's suffrage.
Oh me of little faith!
I should have stuck to my usual optimism.
Incentivize the good, penalize the bad. The Bush administration is wonderfully utilitarian in its approach on foreign aid, and nowhere should this new rule set be applied more ruthlessly than in the Big Banged Middle East. Give me your poor and hungry? Don't bother. Give me your new and improved rule sets and I'll show you the money.
Can we go too fast in the Middle East? Ask yourself, can we go too slow there if it delays our attention to Central Asia?
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