It's the Double-Standards stupid!

On his latest trip to the Middle East, Sec. of Defense Gates hoped to convince Arab/Muslim leaders to support U.S. policy vis a vis Iran.

Instead, he was faced with complaints of double-standards and hypocrisy, given the U.S.'s unilateral and unambiguous support for Israel.

In an article entitled "Gulf Challenges US on Iran, Israel" by the Associated Press, several delegates to the security conference in Bahrain said the US was "hypocritical for supporting Israeli nuclear weapons and questioned Washington's refusal to meet with Iran."

Furthermore, Abdul-Rhaman al-Atillah, secretary of the six-nation cooperation council, stated that not considering Israel a threat to security in the region is considered "a biased policy based on double standards."

Needless to say, this view is shared by most nations around the globe given that it is indeed a double standard.

As a result, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism has been on the rise, particularly since Cheney-Bush decided to ignore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until just recently.

By attempting to convince Arab Sunnis that Iranian Shiites are a threat to the region, Gates hoped to garner their support for tougher sanctions on Iran. Seemingly, they did not oblige.

While there may not be much sympathy for Shiites among Sunnis in the region, they are still preferred to Israelis who, in the words of Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani:

"We can't really compare Iran with Israel. Iran is our neighbor, and we shouldn't really look at it as an enemy. I think Israel, through 50 years, has taken land, kicking out the Palestinians, and interferes under the excuse of security, blaming the other party."

In short, Sec. Gates was encouraged to speak to Iranians directly, particularly not that Arabs had traveled to the U.S. and met with Israelis at Annapolis, MD.

One can only wonder if Cheney-Bush will ever understand that when Arabs/Muslims are asked to chose between supporting policies that are in the interests of Israel and support for ANY other nation in the region, they will side with the latter.

IF and when the U.S. administration decides to pressure Israel into allowing the establishment of a viable Palestinian state with E. Jerusalem as its capital, this attitude on the part of Arab nations will change.

Until that happens, however, Arabs/Muslims will not allow the U.S. to promote further division between Sunnis and Shiites, regardless of how many differences there may be among them.

But then, if there is one thing that can be said of Cheney-Bush...it's their total inability to function effectively in a world where policies based on arrogance and "machismo" are highly counterproductive.

Mr. it's my way or the highway Bush, is simply a caricature of what a real, insightful leader is all about.

The sad part is that we will have WASTED eight years when he finally leaves office not counting the thousands of lives lost and the zillions of tax payers' dollars that could have been used for construction as opposed to....destruction....:-(