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August 26, 2005
Bou Aradvrak, MEPI, and Floundering
Our dear and agile Father of Ardvaarks has noted some oddness in the idea of the US Gov's spanky new (well not so new, actually a bit aged now come to think of it, as political initiatives go) Middle East Partnership Initiative being headquartered (I presume this is correct) in Tunis, Tunisia (aka Ben Ali Park).
As I noted in comments, when I first started seeing the Middle East Partnership Initiative diplos out and about, they were all about economic development and policy. In which case Tunis makes sense.
Now the US Gov seems to be obsessed (although surely this will only last for as long as Madame Cheney's attention does) with Democratisation. That does make Tunisia something of a... peculiar choice, given I understand from the diplos that Democracy and Governance are the new obsessions above all else.
Waste of money over all, the entire Democracy promotion effort in my opinion, but there it is.
So, in keeping with US Gov's general incompetence in the MENA region, it occurs to me that actually Tunis is a brilliantly symbolic choice of shambolic misconceptions, clumsy off-base symbolism and general floundering about.
Posted by The Lounsbury at August 26, 2005 10:41 AM
Filed Under:
MENA Region General
,
Politics - US FP
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Comments
that brought a bit of a smile to my face.
good ol' BA!
the visit i paid central party headquarters was quite interesting and informative. one of the few places in the country where everyone was working! and the view from the top floors... AMAZING!
Posted by: drdougfir at August 26, 2005 12:51 PM
