Maybe, Possibly, Things Might Just Turn Out Alright in the Middle East

An eensy-weensy bit of hope for the world's most troubled region.

We now have proof that “the Middle East really can be governed with a new, freedom-hungry generation in mind,” writes the Globe and Mail’s Irshad Manji. No, she’s not talking about Egypt, but about the Palestinian territories, where she says young people are beginning to realize freedom from their political oppressors can only come by making peace with Israel and building responsible governments. “The good news is that young Palestinians in the West Bank are now enjoying a shot at the future thanks to their prime minister [Salam Fayyad],” who has cleaned up corruption and made sure aid goes where it’s supposed to. Manji’s ability to see hope in a place where there is usually little is heartening, but recent evidence suggests Fayyad’s ability to emancipate his people is severely limited. Overshadowed by the Egypt crisis, the newly leaked “Palestine Papers” show that Fayyad’s Fatah party offered massive concessions to Israel during the peace process, but they were rejected by Tel Aviv. And there’s absolutely nothing Fatah can do about it, suggesting real change in Palestine will only come when Israel wants it to.

Sun Media’s Michael Den Tandt and Brian Lillery, as well as Irwin Cotler in The Mark, all express fear that the Muslim Brotherhood will emerge as the dominant force in post-Mubarak Egypt. This is of course a common anxiety at the moment but The Mark Newsroom can see a few reasons why the Brotherhood may not be as big a threat as anticipated. The fact that the organization engaged in terrorism in the past (they renounced violence in the 1970s) shouldn’t prohibit them from participating in government. Historically many organizations, from South Africa’s ANC to Israel’s embryonic armed forces, engaged in terrorism before going on to become legitimate entities. In fact, the likelihood of the Brotherhood resorting to violence would probably decrease if it were included, rather than excluded from the political process. And finally, the U.S. could continue to offer Egypt 1.5 billion reasons to behave itself in the post-Mubarak era, an offer anyone helming a fledgling state would find difficult to refuse.