9:09AM
Time's Battleland: Arab Spring with same impact as "big bang strategy": Islam at war with self - not West
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 9:09AM
Nice piece in the NYT at the end of September pointing out that the primary impact of the Arab Spring is that, in giving people chances to rule themselves and not be subject to dictators, Islamic activists find themselves splintering from within . . .
Read the entire post at Time's Battleland.
Reader Comments (1)
A few (maybe unrelated points), because the US is still important in all of this.
1. With the rhetoric coming from America (especially from the Republican debates), I think the US seriously lacks the talent (at the highest levels) to manage this extremely complex transition. The Arab public may not hate America but America needs to better manage the Israeli / Palestinian crisis.
2. America needs to (a) formulate a strategic narrative and (b) tell that story in a language the Arab Street can understand. You need to explain to them why you are in four Muslim countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen), what mistakes you made, how you intend to make progress and what the mutually beneficial end state should be.
3. In an age of the Internet and Al Jazeera, it is not simply enough to depend on a poorly funded VOA, CNN, Facebook or (worst of all) Hollywood to tell your story. I find it inconceivable that a nation as smart as the United States does not see the importance of strategic communication. Take a leaf from the BBC & Al Jazeera and their approach to hard news - (you are more likely to hear the views of "The Other" there. On the other hand, American media (especially Fox News) tends to be a rather long celebration of all things American, and little else.
4. The US really needs to do something about the looming leadership vacuum. Take a principled stand on the Palestinian issue. Show that you have an independent foreign policy from Israel. American leadership is not a divine right, and if you cannot exercise leadership, it will be taken from you.