"As hated leaders are replaced by even more brutally oppressive regimes, the Arab Spring has become a sick joke."
I'm not blaming this on Obama or Bush, but they both contributed to the state of things now. Protesting against and even overthrowing oppressive regimes are all generally laudable actions, but out here across the ocean I think we should pick our battles and allies very, very carefully.
From Egypt to Tunisia, Yemen to Libya, shockingly high crime rates, economies in free-fall and decimated tourism industries are the terrifying new realities Arabs must now confront.
And in each of those countries, radical Islamists have moved quickly to fill the social and political vacuum. They have used a simple strategy: relying on gaining a majority from the minority who vote, and blatantly disregarding rules that ban foreign campaign donations from neighbouring states, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, looking to extend their influence in the region.
Both these countries, although Western allies, also subscribe to Wahhabism — the strictest and most austere interpretation of Islam that even bans contact between unrelated men and women. They also consider it their God-given duty to promote this ‘pure’ version of Islam whenever the opportunity arises, thus their attempts to exploit the Middle East’s disarray.
In Morocco, Kuwait and Algeria — the only Arab countries that have held parliamentary elections during the past year — affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood have swept to power.
Instead of bowing to, fighting an air war for, or through official support offering cover for them; we should stand against the oppressors but otherwise remain neutral in precarious cases like these when the next guy could be a lot worse.
After all, our enemies might have more terrible enemies.
