Now that the United States has invaded and occupied Iraq, a leading Arab/Muslim state, its relations with the Muslim world will be tested further. America is no longer seen as an external player which exercises considerable influence over Arab politics, but as a direct participant and sustainer of the existing autocratic order in the region. It is now militarily and politically entangled in the Arab heartland, shouldering heavy imperial responsibilities and facing serious societal opposition and hostility throughout Arab lands.
America’s local allies are also on the defensive, having succumbed to superpower demands to support a very unpopular war at home against a sister Arab/Muslim country. Arab leaders have forfeited their public mandate at the altar of their political-military relationship with Washington.
