There is ignorance and there is ignorance:
More troubling questions. Will Islamic fundamentalists, well organized almost everywhere, fill the power vacuum, and is that good or bad?
That’s NBC’s Martin Fletcher. Lisa Graas has this to say:
We can only speculate about what “reasoning “Fletcher might use to defend such a preposterous claim that it is somehow an open question whether or not Islamic fundamentalism may be an acceptable form of government. I do not want to think he is intentionally shoring up the notion in people that Islamist regimes can be good. Rather, in giving him the benefit of the doubt, I should think this is a claim based in cowardice such as we find time and time again in history. As evil advances in the world, cowards slide further and further down the slippery slope of denial
It’s like looking at this film.
and concluding that we aren’t quite sure if getting a wrench in the head will hurt you.
Update: Richard Cohen actually sees what is in front of him:
Egypt’s problems are immense. It has a population it cannot support, a standard of living that is stagnant and a self-image as leader of the (Sunni) Arab world that does not, really, correspond to reality. It also lacks the civic and political institutions that are necessary for democracy. The next Egyptian government – or the one after – might well be composed of Islamists. In that case, the peace with Israel will be abrogated and the mob currently in the streets will roar its approval.
His analysis is a sobering dose of reality.
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