Here it is. The Mother of All Middle East Initiatives. The device that will blow the Democrats out of the water in November 2004...it's grandiose, it's mega, it's Titanic, it's the
Greater Middle East Initiative!
Sainthood for Dubya! Accolades! Tears of Joy! Maidens will strew his path with flowers. What mercy, what goodness, all hail! We are going to build a new world!
From Le Monde:
http://tinyurl.com/39cxa
The plan is meant to dramatically restructure the politics and economies of a region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan. Several facets of the plan - democratization, economic development, security - are currently under discussion. Washington intends to put this initiative on the agenda of the upcoming annual meeting of the G-8 and the NATO summit. Meanwhile, the Europeans are attempting to forge a common position. France has aired its reservations, stating that resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian must be the first priority [duh].
CEOs, diplomats, experts in international relations all over the world have begun discussing the Greater Middle East initiative, some with concern, some dismissing the plan as the latest madcap scheme from the Bush administration [bingo!] while others with real or cautioned interest.
Bush has finally recognized that neglect, poverty, and economic backwardness must be dealt with if he hopes to eradicate terrorism and political instability. [But there is a rather large price tag: a trillion dollars.]
However, according to one European area expert, the EU is afraid that the US wants to use their resources to advance the US geopolitical vision for the Middle East, which is going to require titanic investment