Chronic Arrogance: Editorial, Arab News

Chronic Arrogance

Editorial, Arab News, July 25, 2007

In just one irresponsible, thoughtless sentence in reply to a question on whether the US would take action against Al-Qaeda leaders who, it believes, are hiding in Pakistan, the Bush administration has managed to embarrass to the point of humiliation one of its main allies in the war on terror.

What is so depressing about the refusal by the White House homeland security adviser to rule out military action in Pakistan against Al-Qaeda is that this was not mere careless talk. It was yet one more instance of a chronic arrogance on the part of the Bush administration toward its friends and allies in the war against Al-Qaeda.

The government of President Musharraf is a vital element in that war. It has enough problems as it is, with militants trying to destabilize and topple it. Washington should be trying to bolster it — not rubbing its nose in the dirt. The message it sends to Pakistanis is that it will do whatever it wants, where it wants, when it wants; and if they do not like it, then tough. What makes the message immeasurably more insulting is that Washington would not dare threaten military action in Russia or China if it thought that there might be Al-Qaeda forces there (which, in the case of the Russian Caucasus, there almost certainly are). It would not say it to India or to Brazil, let alone any of its Western allies. It divides the world into two — those it can dictate to and those it cannot. Pakistan is clearly in the first category.

This arrogance does not help the US. It antagonizes and alienates. It is the principal reason why so many in the world have, since 9/11, come to see it as the villain not the victim.

Ironically, on the same day as this row broke out, the new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made the same error, refusing to rule out military action against Iran over its disputed nuclear plans. The big difference is that everyone knows that the UK is not going to act on its own. But we can all envisage US fighter planes striking targets in Pakistan if Bush gives the go ahead.

The Bush administration needs to show a little humility and a lot less arrogance if it is to gain the world's respect again. It also needs to train its spokesmen to engage their brains before opening their mouths. In these days, every word coming out of the White House is scrutinized the world over for hidden meaning and nuance. Tact and diplomacy, not shooting from the lip, should be the rule in future. In this particular case, it would help calm troubled waters if Bush ordered the offending official to be reassigned to other duties.

Anyone as insensitive as he has been should not be allowed near the media. Sadly, there is little chance of that. The White House, supremely confident of the moral superiority of its policies, is incapable of seeing this row as another battle lost in the struggle for hearts and minds.