Today's Commentary

The Middle East

While the uprisings which have swept across the region suggest a yearning by the populace for a real voice in their governance I can't help but wonder who or what is at the root of the discontent. One of the major failings of the war in Iraq was its having created an open invitation to Islamists to spread fundamentalism from Pakistan to Iran; that by removing Hussain we remove es the most viable obstacle to the spread of fundamentalist Islam through the region That invitation continues to be accepted wear speak.

Certainly a yearning for true democracy in the affected countries can only be a good thing for the region and our national interests. If, however, the movement which has swept across the region, swept Mubarek out office and threatens Assad in Syria and Abdullah in Jordan is simply a cover for a radical Muslim agenda then we are looking at a major shift of power that threatens our interests and, of course, threatens the very existence of Israel. Indeed even those espousing democratic ideals have already expressed their intention to dismantle whatever peace has been negotiated by the current government.

Case in point is the current engagement in Lybia. While ground forces have not been committed we and the rest of NATO have committed to suppressing Gaddafi's forces for supposed humanitarian reasons and while that cause may be well-intentioned the real and most direct beneficiaries are the so-called "rebels" who have been offering organized resistance to government forces. The problem, of course, threatens is that no one seems to know precisely who the revelation are or what their ultimate intentions are. Given that the bulk of the fighting has taken place in the region which produced the largest number of foreign fighters at work in Iraq it is likely that these rebels are fervently anti-US and anti-west.

It is a delicate balance facing Obama but through supposedly good intentions we may be very well be aiding the very cause which continues to threaten our interests.

Japan

As the Japanese people continue to struggle to recover from the earthquake and its aftermath, the response of this country to the disaster cannot go without comment. No, I'm not talking about the usual out-pouring of support, the donations to the often-suspect Red Cross, the albums cut so proceeds can be donated...Rather, I'm the the fact that so many people, famous or not, have seen fit to use this evolving disaster as the butt of their jokes. Whether its the idiot valley girl from UCLA who thought this the perfect time to unload her racist anger toward the Asian population and, in particular, the Japanese population in Los Angeles to Gilbert Gottfried to other twitter celebrities who have crawled out of the wood-work, like someone named, "50 Cent" to a Haley Barbour staffer to a writer for "Family Guy". What is it about dead Japanese bodies that spurs one to comic commentary or racist rant? None of these morons was alive in 1941 and, I dare say, knows anything about the Japanese role in World War II so what is it? I don't recall jokes about the disaster in Thailand and certainly not an unkind word was said about the Haitians who suffered through a disaster which continues to consume their lives. Certainly we can do better. Certainly we can aspire to a higher standard than that espoused by bottom feeders like Rush Limbaugh who takes joy in mocking the pain of others.