RogerA,

What strikes me is how the media (and of course the Arabists in the State Department) have no real experience with the sub-group.

We are in Reuel Marc Gerecht’s words, “flying blind in the middle east.” Our foreign policy desperately needs an infusion of realism and solid intel of the sort that only friendly realpolitikers in the region such as the Allawi govt, Israel, Turkey, Russia and India can provide.

NATO and the EU are worse than useless to us in the middle east. Let’s hope that Rummy and Bush will build upon the good foundation they created with Russia, Japan, China and India in the first term and take this Asian focus and cooperation to the next level in their second term.

The Iranian nuclear nightmare is here. Stop f***ing wasting time with the three dwarves. Get real and get focused on deepening ties with the nations that surround and that can contain Iran.