BLUNT TALK FROM HILLARY – AT 9:47 A.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton has returned to Washington from her magical mystery tour of the Middle East.

She blundered along the way, seeming to compare the Arizona shooter with Al Qaeda mass murderers, and stating that the Arizona guy had a political motive, something now essentially disproved.  It was not one of her greater moments.

But, later in the trip, Secretary Clinton made some blunt remarks that have sent ripples through the Arab world and prompted us to wonder whether something has changed, for the better, in the Obaman view of the universe.  From The New York Times: 

DOHA, Qatar — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a scalding critique of Arab leaders here on Thursday, saying their countries risked “sinking into the sand” of unrest and extremism unless they liberalized their political systems and cleaned up their economies.

Speaking at a conference in this gleaming Persian Gulf emirate, Mrs. Clinton recited a familiar litany of ills: corruption, repression and a lack of rights for women and religious minorities. But her remarks were striking for their vehemence, and they suggested a frustration that the Obama administration’s message to the Arab world had not gotten through.

Gee, I'm shocked that the message had not gotten through.  As the old rock song says, "Wake up, little Suzie, wake up."

“In too many places, in too many ways, the region’s foundations are sinking into the sand,” she said to a stone-faced audience of foreign ministers, businesspeople and rights groups. “The new and dynamic Middle East that I have seen needs firmer ground if it is to take root and grow everywhere.”

Remarkable.  Good for Hillary.

As if to back up the secretary's remarks, there's a new poll taken among Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, which reflects the disillusion of many with Arab society:

JERUSALEM (AP) — A poll suggests that a plurality of Jerusalem Palestinians would rather remain in Israel even after a peace deal and the creation of a Palestinian state.

A poll this week shows that 35 percent of Jerusalem's Palestinian residents would choose Israeli citizenship over Palestinian citizenship.

Thirty percent said they preferred Palestinian citizenship. Another 35 percent said they did not know.

Respondents who chose Israeli citizenship cited freedom of movement, higher income and Israeli health insurance as the reasons behind their choice.

Pollsters from Pechter Middle East Polls and the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank, interviewed 1,039 people. The margin of error was 3 percentage points. The poll was released Wednesday.

COMMENT:  I don't know how Christiane Amanpour will spin this, but she'd better figure out something fast. 

We've been told that if the Arab-Israeli dispute is solved, all the problems of the Middle East, and maybe the rest of the world as well, would evaporate.  What a myth.  What a propagandistic myth.

January 14, 2010