The Sorrow and the Pity

While waiting for her plane to refuel in Ireland early this morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters that the United States was granting military aid to various nations in the Middle East in order to help them combat extremism. A contract is apparently ready for signature with Egypt (13 billion dollars over the next 10 years), and deals with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates totaling about 20 billion dollars over 10 years should not be far behind . But most new military aid will go to Israel, with a 25% rise in such aid over present levels. Rice claims that cooperation with these states in fighting extremism is nothing new and that the proposed military aid will help support moderates and contribute to countering the “negative influences of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran”. Curiously, I have not yet read a study of the roots of terrorism or religious extremism that cites a state’s lack of military might as a cause. Lack of democracy, lack of education, poverty, yes; lack of weaponry, no. And then there’s this great report by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart that explains that “It’s the Women, Stupid”. Surely the bright folks at State can find a better way to spend thirty billion dollars!