Taking a Measure on Middle East

Fire of Liberty

Michael Barone notes in his most recent column that the Middle East is experiencing a sea change in their attitudes towards the US's efforts in the region not to mention that the democracy bug seems to be spreading. As Barone points out, these nations as well as the US are seeing this sea change via a set of metrics such as improving Iraq's infrastructure by a certain time, numbers of days it takes to draft a constitution, not mention a change in the overall attitudes of people within the neighboring nations of Iraq. Just look for yourself:

Most importantly, support for terrorism in defense of Islam has "declined dramatically," in the Pew report's words, in Muslim countries, except in Jordan (which has a Palestinian majority) and Turkey, where support has remained a low 14 percent. It has fallen in Indonesia (from 27 percent to 15 percent since 2002), Pakistan (from 41 percent to 25 percent since 2004) and Morocco (from 40 percent to 13 percent since 2004), and among Muslims in Lebanon (from 73 percent to 26 percent since 2002).

Support for suicide bombings against Americans in Iraq has also declined. The percentage reporting some confidence in Osama bin Laden is now under 10 percent in Lebanon and Turkey, and has fallen sharply in Indonesia.

Similarly, when asked whether democracy was a Western way of doing things or could work well in their own country, between 77 percent and 83 percent in Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and Indonesia say it could work in their country -- in each case a significant increase from earlier surveys. In Turkey, with its sharp political divisions, and Pakistan, with its checkered history, the percentages hover around 50 percent.

I'd say that President Bush's decision to enter into Iraq and clear out one of the many fever swamps of the region has done more to change the attitudes than what any UN committee or Arab League meeting or action could have accomplished. You wont find many world leaders in this decade who are willing to take on such a challenge with all of its pitfalls like President Bush has done in Iraq. And from the looks of it, things are going good.