Continuing relations with Mid-East is healthy, needed

Finally, an inspiration from something other than the New York Times. I haven't heard much about Pakistan since their election craziness, but it was nice to read this article on Newsweek by Fareed Zakaria. Apparently, the Obama administration is doing some good work in the country, which is a great achievement for international relations in any Middle-Eastern country.


It's tough for America to be popular in the Middle East. We are almost single-handedly running a war in two countries. We continue sending soldiers to their countries to fight people who are more like them than like us. Our presence alone increases the number of civilian deaths, so I think it is reasonable for Middle- Easterners to feel some degree of contempt. It has to be tough to be overrun by a foreign country that believes its values are better than yours. In the U.S., we don't have to worry about fighting in our lands, but they do.

We also pump billions of dollars into the oil rich countries. While this may seem like a nice perk of American greediness, much of the money stays in the hands of a few incredibly wealthy individuals. The rest of the people don't benefit much from the profits. If I were one of the disadvantaged, I would hate American greediness as well.

Even though most of the people in the Middle East don't hate the United States, it's still a good thing when we create healthy relations with foreign countries. We are always so involved in their affairs, that it may seem to everyone that we try to control everyone else. It's especially important to create strong ties with growing nations such as India, that already outnumber the United States' population, and will soon have power to match.

I commend the Obama administration, and the Bush administration that started this work, on their work in Pakistan and Israel. Peace with any nation is wonderful, but it's tougher to obtain in some.