How do we sell the Middle East?

One of the worst things that the President did in response to 9/11 was to convince Americans that the reason we got attacked was because Al Qaeda and the like hated our freedom. Not only did it cut off any sort of soul searching necessary for America to do, but it kept the public satiated and unwilling to learn more.

I'm not trying to scapegoat America here by any means. We did not fly our own planes into our own buildings. But I think that by examining our Middle Eastern policies we may be able to learn more about how to prevent another attack in the future. I'm not saying we roll over to their every demand. But learning more about our policies not only allows us to alter any that may be out of date, but also learn to repackage and sell them better to those that fight against us.

All of this leads me to a report that came out the day before Thanksgiving, a report the White House choose to bury under turkey and holiday shopping:

Late on the Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Defense Department released a report by the Defense Science Board that is highly critical of the administration's efforts in the war on terror and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies [the report says]. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.'

There is plenty more both in the article and in the report as well. Keep in mind this a part of our own government suggesting that we examine our past and use it to determine our course for the future, something that Bush seems less and less likely to do as the war continues.

Violence begats violence, and November is right up there with the bloodiest months of the occupation. The Republican party managed to sell their message to the American people this cycle better than anyone else. Imagine if they used that message machine to change the image of America in the Middle East.

Better yet, read this from Tom Friedman:

Wars are fought for political ends. Soldiers can only do so much. And the last mile in every war is about claiming the political fruits. The bad guys in Iraq can lose every mile on every road, but if they beat America on the last mile - because they are able to intimidate better than America is able to coordinate, protect, inform, invest and motivate - they will win and America will lose.