Or does it explode?

George Bush's latest reason for continuing the war in Iraq? 'One thing we cannot do is give up on the ordinary moms and dads across the Middle East'. The ordinary moms and dads do seem to have given up on him, however. The standing of the US and Britain has never been lower in the region, given a further ratchet downward by Tony Blair's pre Christmas crusade there.

Blair's preaching somehow made me think of the great poem by the black American Langston Hughes, 'Dream Deferred' which goes like this

What happens to a dream deferred?/Does it dry up/Like a raisin in the sun?/Or fester like a sore-/And then run?/Does it stink like rotten meat?/Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?/Maybe it just sags/like a heavy load./Or does it explode?

The grievances of the Middle East towards the west represent such a dream deferred: the injustice to the Palestinians, the continuing crime of the Iraq war and occupation, the support for vile and dictatorial regimes such as Saudi Arabia, the many visible and invisible hurts of the old colonialism and its new counterpart.

Democracy in the region is preached but not practiced by the west, which turns a blind eye to imprisonment and torture, and only supports elections when the outcome is right. So the Hamas victory in Palestine has been undermined from day one, with the loser being promoted as the victor. The autocratic monarchs and unelected dictators are plied with arms and shielded from criminal investigation by the British prime minister.

Meanwhile Iran, which has seen in the past week real elections (where the president's supporters did badly) and real protests against the president, is back up there as part of the axis of evil.

No wonder ordinary moms and dads see this as doublespeak and hypocrisy. Silence should not be seen as acquiesence. And when there are explosions of mass protest across the region, no one should be surprised.