Crusades and mirages

摘要

He is, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the Western world. His friends regard him as courteous and moderate. His enemies see him as 'a combination of Christian piety, xenophobia and imperialistic arrogance', in the words of one commentator. He is possessed by a passionate and single-minded determination: to end the ceaseless conflict in the Middle East once and for all. By doing so, he believes, he can not only bring peace to that region, but also extirpate the danger that Islamic fanaticism represents to innocent Westerners. To that end, he brings together an unprecedented multinational force, drawn from most of the Western nations, although not all. Some observers at least are sceptical, believing that he has ulterior motives for his campaign, or is launching it on a pretext, in order to consolidate his own authority and distract people from other conflicts nearer to home. Almost from the first, the vast military project is bedevilled by unforeseen scandals and setbacks, including appalling atrocities committed by some of the Western combatants. And although the invasion itself succeeds swiftly and conclusively, it is not long before some people are questioning the price that has been paid, as occupation of the Middle East leads to a cycle of attrition that makes the previous state of affairs seem pale by comparison.