https://capitolhillblue.com/cont/node/8580#comment-35347
Unfortunately the USA (i.e.
Submitted by shade on June 15, 2008 – 1:22am.
Unfortunately the USA (i.e. Condo Rice, et al) has never even begun to try and understand the Arab mentality and the way to engage in successful, or diplomatic relations with them. Bakshish is a big part of Arab culture. So is endless talk about things other than the main point, and drinking tea, and participating in other “ceremonies”.
To assume that a person like Al-Maliki is “our guy” and will do as we tell him, is naive. Al-Maliki feels a much greater kinship with other Arab countries such as Iran, than with the USA. Meanwhile, as long as we are there, and try to keep the tenuous “peace”, at great loss of lives, they will take our support and money, and will do very little to build up their own police or army (which we so stupidly sent home right after the illegal invasion). Of course they would prefer that we barbarians go home, and leave them to their laws and tribal ways of life. But as long as there is something to be had, things will not change. They will continue taking the bakshish, as long as it is available, and laugh behind our backs.
We should have “baskshished” them into keeping their own army and police in place, but like Bremer and the boors we are, we never even considered that possibility as we pulled on our cowboy boots and trampled in.
And a final point: we are not safer, because of this extremely expensive exercise, to the contrary, and neither is Israel.
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