Freeman made another remark that is not easily explained by context during a panel he was moderating at his Middle East Policy Council. Freeman manages in the very same breath both to insult the democratically elected president of the United States and heap praise on the Saudis, whom he credits with for inducing Bush’s call for a two state solution:
I just want to add a footnote, if I may, and that is a reminder, given what George Hashmi (sp) tells us about the Arab Peace Initiative being dead now, a reminder that our embrace, officially, of the two-state solution under George Walker Bush came after a threat from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia – then crown prince, I believe – to downgrade relations with the United States if we did not demonstrate a measure of sincerity and commitment on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. This is an illustration of the impact, more broadly, that this continued dispute has on U.S. foreign relations, and it is an illustration that, even in periods of what can only be called autism in our government – the world’s first genuinely autistic government has been right here in Washington – we are somewhat responsive to the impact of adverse developments. So it will be interesting to see what comes of evolution in the Arab position and what changes it produces here in a new administration.
Whether this is true or not I don’t know, but it’s clear that Freeman believes it’s true, and it’s clear which side Freeman is on. It’s not just that Freeman sees his own government as inept and incompetent — he isn’t alone in that view — it’s that he sees the Saudis as the great force for good in the Middle East and around the world. How many of his Freeman’s defenders share that view?
