British Prime Minister David Cameron just gave a speech in Kuwait where he proclaimed that the West has contributed to Middle Eastern instability by backing autocratic regimes. The Left has been arguing this for years. And the media has been picking up on this notion of western “guilt” as they cover the dramatic events in the region.
I understand why Cameron said what he said on a political level: he’s trying to get out in front of change that seems to be sweeping the Middle East. But the claim is absolutely ridiculous. Repression and autocracy are organic to the Middle East. Care to read a history book about what the place was like, 150 years ago, before oil was discovered? Let’s just say it was not a pretty place. A British colonial presence actually made it a far more humane place.