Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Rare Debate on US Policy in the Middle East
Curiously, Abukhalil lets Myers get away with implicitly stereotyping Arab governments as uniquely corrupt in contrast to the developed world when Myers speaks as if only Arabs are adversely influenced by money. Abukhalil could have also acidly inquired, and, yes, General Myers, where perchance does this money come from? Maybe, he thought it was all rather obvious to the audience, which, if I am any indication, it was. But Abukhalil scores a body blow when he accurately characterizes the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as efforts to colonize the two countries, a statement that so shocked Myers, who has been sheltered from such a blunt discourse in the US, that he could only absurdly sputter that the US actions are altruistic. Apparently, he's never heard of Paul Bremer and what Bremer unsuccessfully tried to accomplish in Iraq.
As it became more and more obviously that Abukhalil was mopping the floor with him, Myers could only fall back to that old American populist standby, anti-intellectualism, comically comparing Abukhalil to the purported academics that erroneously advised the Bush administration that Iraqis would welcome the US military presence in their country. Again, Abukhalil let this one pass, again apparently recognizing that he did not have to underscore the ridiculousnes of this comparison for the audience. If I may hazard one constructive criticism of Abukhalil, it would be that he should point his figure at the monitor less frequently as he makes his argument. Oh, did I mention that network that aired the interview? PBS? CNN? MSNBC? No, Aljazeera English.
Labels: "War on Terror", Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Mainstream Media, Neoliberalism, Occupation of Iraq
