Ever since the mid 1990's I have had a fascination with foreign affairs, and particularly the countries of the Middle East. I have cheered when something good happened and worried when things went badly. It is as if I have a vested interest there. What could it be?
There were such high hopes for Israel and Palestine during the Clinton administration. President Clinton, Madeleine Albright, and envoy Dennis Ross all worked hard to make it happen. But Yasser Arafat was unable to transform himself enough to allow the process to result in peace. I began to "know" the players and wish them well.
When Iraq was invaded as second time, I felt it was a huge mistake. But, somehow, I began to cheer for the Iraqi people to make a go of it. This began by my reading the wonderful blog of
Baghdad Burning.
When one gets to "know" some of the people, it is easy to want things to go well for them, despite my upset with my own government. I will be rooting for the millions of brave good folks over there, come December 15.