BUSHIES CROW ABOUT "VICTORIES" IN THE MIDDLE EAST

James Zogby was quietly effective on Hardball tonight, articulately opposing David Ignatius' and Ken Adelman's attempts to credit Bush policies with "democracy on the march" "victories" in the Middle East. As Zogby pointed out, Lebanon is a fractured society and recent anti-Syria demonstrations were countered today with a massive Hezbollah-organized counter-demonstration. As he said, the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri was at the heart of those anti-Syria demonstrations, not the actions of Bush in Iraq. And Arafat's death, and the ascension of Mahmoud Abbas, is responsible for the recent hopeful signs among Palestinians, again not Bush's Middle East adventurism.

The crowing of Bushies about "positive signs" in the Middle East are unseemly and ridiculous in the extreme. The region has never been more unstable, global terrorism has increased since the "war on terra," and any moves towards "democracy" are just as liable to produce more Islamic extremism and anti-Americanism than the current regimes foster as they are to lead to any kind of enhanced security for Americans.