"Bush Nostalgia" in the Middle East? Posted by Shadi Hamid

I have a new piece out in the Christian Science Monitor on growing "Bush nostalgia" in the Middle East. I discuss how, for all its destructive policies, the Bush administration stands alone in having challenged the fundamental - and faulty - premises of US policy in the region. What can Democrats learn from this? Well, you'll have to read on to find out. Yes, the oped title, which is a bit provocative, has already drawn some concerned remarks. A disclaimer: I didn't choose it. In any case, here's an teaser from the piece: 

While President Obama’s domestic position has been strengthened considerably by the passage of health-care reform, there is nothing – yet – to suggest global support for American foreign policy will follow suit. Outside the US, there is a sense of “Bush nostalgia,” including in a rather unlikely place – the Middle East.

This is particularly the case for Arab reformers who, while disliking the Bush administration in almost every way, were fully aware that Bush’s “freedom agenda” helped usher in a promising moment for Arab reform

(...)To be sure, the Obama administration’s Middle East policy is a welcome respite from the anger and acrimony that dominated Bush’s final years...A sensible Middle East policy, however, is different from a great one. What we need is not only better instincts and greater empathy – Obama is perhaps the first president to grasp the role of grievance in Arab life – but a coherent strategy and a bold vision. Obama needs to back creative policymaking that takes necessary risks.

Read the whole thing here.

Comments

[memory stick]

I observed that the only people with Bush nostagia like dictators and like to be told what to do, no matter how stupid it is and On the Obama administration’s relative lack of pressure, Esam al-Erian, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader, which almost wistful of political openings that came about under Bush.