August 11th, 2008 by Sarah

 Steven Barnes in the Daily Star examines Antulio Echevarria’s piece on the shift in U.S. policy goals, from “winning the hearts and minds” of Arabs and Muslims worldwide to winning “the war of ideas” against Islamic extremist groups.  Echevarria notes “it is essentially impossible to wage an economic war against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, or to pursue a military strategy of containment, without at the same time harming Muslim states and populations whom we do not want to harm.”

On a similar note, Shlomo Ben-Ami in the Daily Star argues that despite U.S. efforts otherwise, extremists have prevailed in the Middle East, and it is the moderates in the region who must adapt their policies. Ben-Ami notes, however, that “with the defeat of his ideologically inspired foreign policy, Bush has finally decided not to remain blind to the benefits of engaging Iran and perhaps to a lesser extent Syria.”  According to the author, this is strategically in America’s best interests as “the two countries hold the keys to Middle East stability.”

Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, Military, Syria, US foreign policy, al-Qaeda |