Gaza is lost to Hamas. In spite of the surge, Iraq is spiralling further out of control. Iran’s influence in the region is at an all time high. Pakistan’s leadership, whose days seem numbered, is hanging on by a thread. Afghanistan is in no better shape than Iraq. Do you think there are a few worried faces in Washington?
This reverse Midas touch has led Ted Carpenter of the libertarian Cato Institute to call the U.S. in the Middle East an “eagle in the china shop,” flapping around and flailing its wings in a confined space that renders it confused and panicky, overturning the furniture and breaking all the crockery, turning objects of great value into worthless rubble.
It couldn’t have been better said.