Roger Cohen's Hypocrisy (NewsRealBlog)

My latest article in NewsRealBlog takes apart Roger Cohen's self-righteous piece in yesterday's New York Times.

See how wise Cohen is? Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas are the good, democratic choice for the Middle East! Hezbollah, which has had a crucial role in turning Lebanon from a cosmopolitan and tolerant society into an Iranian satellite state armed to the teeth against Israel, is the model for all Arab states. Islamist Hamas, which chose to shoot rockets into Israeli communities after Israel withdrew every single resident and soldier, should be propped up with Western gifts and recognition. Arabs need to learn about free and fair elections from Iran. Hateful rhetoric against Jews and Israel are mere words, but Roger Cohen enjoying coffee with Islamic fundamentalists prove they are really the good guys. As he wrote, “Perhaps I have a bias toward facts over words, but I say the reality of Iranian civility toward Jews tells us more about Iran – its sophistication and culture – than all the inflammatory rhetoric.”

Cohen’s thinking is simple: Western-backed authoritarian governments=bad.  Iranian-backed Islamist authoritarian governments=good.

Read the whole thing.