The outlook of the Middle East is a disaster that has been complicated by this administration's ignorance of history and lack of common sense diplomacy. After nearly a century of experimenting with the lives and freedoms of the people of the Middle East, we are about to feel the backlash yet again.

Israelis are at the root of our problems with the Middle East, but it's not their fault. Remember long ago, after World War I, victors in the West carved up the territory of the defeated Ottoman Empire, the last of the powerful Muslim empires that showed signs of modernization. This colonialism in disguise combined with the establishment of Israel represents a critical milestone that would forever ruin the West's relations with Islam.

As the twentieth century progressed, we unfortunately marked ourselves in the eyes of Muslims as being treacherous, oil-addicted madmen who would at its lowest point topple other democratically elected governments in exchange for friendly authoritarian states under our influence.

Now President Bush stands face to face with history. His army is locked in Iraq with an undying insurgency, surrounded by the inevitable Muslim military alliance of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas who all long for the destruction of our regional ally, Israel, which continues to undermine President Bush's theories of democracy (I recall being lectured that democracies do not fight with other democracies). Even worse, the region is under the threat of possible nuclear hostilities between India and Pakistan.

By making the fateful decision to support Israel in its ruthless attacks on Lebanon, the U.S. may have lost the "war on terror" and the probability of victory in Iraq. By vetoing a U.N. resolution critical of Israel's actions, we've taken a side in this conflict and any chance to win over the freedom-hungry young people of the Middle East will be trumped by our "unholy" alliance with Israel. Apparently, our soldiers are not fighting for the freedoms of Americans and Iraqis. They are now standing at the brink of a regional war in which they will fight and die for the survival of Israelis and simultaneously lose significant ground in the "war on terror."

President Bush declared the escalating conflict to be "pathetic." Pathetic? What is pathetic is a president who conducts foreign policy by supplanting knowledge of history with faith and the financial outlook of his friends, "the haves and have mores."

What's worse? The President, who usually amuses us with his divine tendencies and admitted personal visions of God's will, is in a position to realize his understanding of Armageddon.

God help us all.