Fifty Years of Appeasement

It was fifty years ago that the American government went down the road of appeasing our Arab and Islamic enemies. The Weekly Standard explains Eisenhower’s fatal mistake. (Hat Tip Atlas.) As I said last summer:

What grievances do Muslims have against us? We’ve backed Egypt in the Suez Crisis, helped Egypt get back the Sinai and give them $2 billion a year, liberated Kuwait from the Saddam, protected Saudi Arabia from becoming the next Kuwait, helped Afghanistan fend off the USSR, intervened on the behalf of Bosnians, prevented genocide in Kosovo, … we are constantly helping Muslims! There are no people we help more than Muslims!

I argued that it is our altruism--not any alleged harm--that is the cause of Arab and Islamic contempt. And as we continue to try to “win the hearts and minds” we wonder why it isn’t working. As I suggested in last summer’s article, one should learn about the enemy’s culture, values, and religion.

Update1: Frum on Suez: "Here's an alternative lesson to draw from Suez. What Westerners think of as goodwill, Middle Easterners often interpret as weakness. ... The U.S. misjudged Nasser in 1956. And it has repeated that same misjudgment again and again in the years since."