Critics of the war with Iraq fail to understand the far—reaching effects of a demonstration of American resolve to reform the Arab world. Now that the despotic rulers of the region are on notice that those who harbor terrorists, procure WMDs, or sponsor the spread of hateful and intolerant versions of Islam will not be allowed to pursue their evil designs, an atmosphere of change is flourishing.

Two examples of the benign direction of this change are on view today in the press. Reuters carries the fascinating news that official Saudi television is carrying prime time confessions by captured militants, repenting their deception,

...lured by promises of paradise, lectured on the Muslim duty of jihad, and played tapes from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to persuade them to take up arms.... "We say thank God we were caught before we carried out any crime and harmed Muslims," one of the men said. Others told how they were won over to the goal of a purist Islamic state and fulfilling religious demands to rid Arabia of non—Muslims, even declaring other Muslims who did not share their belief to be infidels.

Needless to say, Saudi authorities are reacting to the onset of terror bombing on their own territory. Also, the 'militants' (as Reuters likes to refer to Islamic terrorists) regretted only the killing of fellow Muslims, not Jews, Christians, or other infidels.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post's David Ignatius features a column on the United Arab Emirates, the collection of small oil sheikdoms on the eastern edge of Saudi Arabia, occupying part of the Persian Gulf shoreline. The U.A.E. principalities have long been more open and enlightened about freedom of speech, the rights of women, and even a degree of popular representation. Ignatius's account details the rise of internet education, in an atmosphere of free speech and female rights.

Significantly, Ignatius attributes some of the enlightened atmosphere of the Emirates to their longstanding ties to, and influence from India. As readers of The American Thinker are aware, India is increasingly playing a key role in reshaping the geopolitical realities of the world, by its strongly emerging ties to the United States and Israel, accompanying its surge in economic growth and technological sophistication.

What Ignatius is far too discreet to mention is that the Gulf Emirates themselves offer an implicit challenge to the rulers of Saudi Arabia themselves. By demonstrating that freedom is compatible with a healthy, prosperous, and happy Islamic society on the Arabian peninsula, these micro states present an alternative to autocratic Wahhabi rule in Saudi Arabia itself.

The royal family of Saudi Arabia rules uneasily. Its roots of support are not deep, with most adherents driven purely by self interest, and dissatisfied with the visible waste and corruption of the royals. Only by buying off the Wahhabi clergy have they avoided a religiously—driven revolution. Only by buying the support of military and commercial elites have they avoided modernist unrest. Now, the money is running short. There is no inevitability to continued rule by the descendents of the medieval warriors who captured the throne. Thus, the progress of reform in the neighboring oil principalities is enormously significant.

Posted by Thomas 01 13 04