The mote in Bush's eye
AT THE END of what may be his farewell sojourn in the Middle East, President Bush delivered an obtuse speech to the World Economic Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt. Bush seemed oblivious to the loss of respect for the United States that his Mideast misadventures have caused in the region.
Much of what Bush had to say about the political, economic, and social policies holding back progress in the Arab world is valid. "America is deeply concerned about the plight of political prisoners in this region, as well as democratic activists who are intimidated or repressed, newspapers and civil society organizations that are shut down and dissidents whose voices are stifled," he said. "I call on all nations in this region to release their prisoners of conscience, open up their political debate and trust their people to chart their future."
But coming from him, these comments could hardly be taken at face value. His audience was all too aware of the contradiction between the president's words and his actions in the region.
That audience perceives hypocrisy in the Bush administration's unbalanced treatment of Israelis and Palestinians, its erratic efforts to channel the many-sided internecine conflicts in Iraq, and its mishandling of the recent political upheaval in Pakistan.
In each case, Bush praised the therapeutic value of elections but tried to annul or undercut electoral results that created complications for his policies. This happened after the electoral victory of Hamas in January 2006; when American policy makers encouraged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq to replace his original coalition partners, the faction of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, with the more friendly (but more pro-Iranian) Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council; and recently in Pakistan, where Washington is maneuvering to preserve the power of President Pervez Musharraf despite the humiliating defeat his party suffered in February's parliamentary elections.
Yet despite these displays of blatant disregard for democratic legitimacy, Bush took it upon himself in Sharm El-Sheik to preach the necessity of democratic reform.
Americans need to be as cognizant of Bush's hypocrisy as the political and business leaders who greeted his rhetorical paean to democracy with tellingly tepid applause. Those elites may recognize the need of their societies for reform, but they also have learned that America - at least under Bush - does not trust Palestinian, Iraqi, or Pakistani voters to chart their countries' future if those voters elect the wrong leaders. Bush is not the first president to subordinate democracy to interests of state. 