A Trap for Fools

In a classical American Western, the difference is as glaring as the midday sun in Colorado: there are Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones are the settlers, who are making the prairie bloom. The bad ones are the Indians, who are bloodthirsty savages. The ultimate hero is the cowboy, tough, humane, with a big revolver or two, ready to defend himself at all times.

George Bush, who grew up on this myth, sticks to it even now, when he is the leader of the world's only superpower. This week he presented the world with an up-to-date Western.

In this Western – or, rather, Middle Eastern – there are also Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones are the "moderates," who are the allies of the U.S. in the Middle East – Israel, Mahmoud Abbas, and the pro-American Arab regimes. The bad ones are Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, and al-Qaeda. More....