Palin on the Middle East: Inexperienced, Yes. But Dumb?

OK, John McCain. You tell us that we live in "a world full of dangers," that the threats particularly emanating from the Middle East are "large and growing," then expect us to agree that a novice politician with zero foreign-policy experience is "exactly who this country needs" to be our vice president and your potential successor as commander in chief? Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's selection was indeed a "jaw-dropper," as it was put by the Juneau Empire, which aptly noted her previous history-making leap from "small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers to the governor's office."

Having assessed Joe Biden's Middle East record last week, I was looking forward to doing the same for McCain's pick of a running mate until I learned who it was. Not only does the 44-year-old former high school basketball star, beauty queen and TV sportscaster have no foreign policy views or experiences for me to write about, related to the Middle East or not, it seems she's hardly ever traveled outside the United States even as a tourist. Her deputy communications director told the New York Times that she had to get a passport a year ago before she could visit Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait.

If nothing else, George Bush's two terms showed us how complex the world has become, and how much damage can be done by a U.S. president with scant foreign policy experience. Critics of McCain's choice shouldn't blame Palin for her lack of foreign-policy savvy. But, especially with such globally challenging times, we can question McCain's judgement in putting an utter beginner in a position of being a heart beat away from the presidency. McCain's response to the snickering and raised eyebrows thus far? Palin will get on-the-job training. “She's going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years..." McCain advisor Charlie Black told the New York Times.

Palin may have no foreign policy record, but there are still a few things to say about McCain's choice in this area.

I do like the fact that she's an outsider, a political maverick, a can-do administrator and is a woman--perhaps the latter has something to do with the former. The Middle East's problems are not beyond the capacity of the the world's super power to solve. But Washington has done more harm than good because of Beltway pandering to special interests, gutless politicians unable or unwilling to challenge conventional wisdom and plain lack of diplomatic and military competence. Palin strikes me as somebody capable of thinking outside the box, standing up to special interest groups, empathizing with the ordinary suffering people and pushing no-nonsense, effective policies in the Middle East. Yes, I'd prefer a vice president who knows something about foreign policy. Yet, I've always been impressed by how ordinary Americans I know often talk more sense about the Middle East than the politicians and experts. If Palin can use her smarts and pragmatism to grasp the essential issues in the Middle East, and help formulate and articulate common sense policies that the American people will support, she could prove a better vice president than Obama's No. 2. Another optimistic way of looking at McCain's choice: in contrast with Bush's selection of the experienced, influential and ultimately disastrous Dick Cheney, McCain intends to keep his vice president out of foreign policy decision-making.

We'll hear more about Palin's foreign policy thoughts as the campaign moves forward, but there are already plenty of questions about them.

--Does Palin's reported evangelical Christianity influence her views on contemporary Middle East politcal issues? Does she believe as do many evangelicals that the world is engulfed in an epic struggle between Christianity and Islam? Does she believe that God mandates Christians to automatically support Israel against Israel's opponents and critics?

--Does Palin's patriotism veer into jingoism? For a governor, Palin has devoted a fair amount of attention to the Iraq war and especially our troops serving there. She orders the Alaska flag flown at half mast whenever an Alaskan solder is killed on active duty. Last year, she ordered flags flown at half mast on Sept. 11 in memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks. On the same day, her eldest son Track enlisted in the U.S. army. This coming Sept. 11, she gushed on Saturday, Track will deploy to Iraq with his infantry brigade. In contrast, McCain refuses to discuss his own two sons' military service.

--Does Palin believe "supporting the troops" automatically entails backing the continuation of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war? Or, to put it another way, that you're basically a traitor if you don't support the Iraq war? On Saturday, Palin praised McCain because he "refused to hedge his support for our troops in Iraq, regardless of the political costs. And you know what? As the mother of one of those troops, and as the commander of Alaska's National Guard, that's the kind of man I want as our commander in chief." In the same breath, Palin made another curious comment, suggesting that only Americans serving under weapons--as opposed, say, to Americans serving their country and its ideals in peaceful ways, like community organizing--"truly fought for America."

--Is Palin a gun-happy weekend warrior? This enthusiasm for Americans serving under arms comes from a woman who is herself a passionate hunter and lifelong member of the National Rifle Association. One of the front-page photos of Palin introducing the little-known governor to America and the world today shows her sitting on a sofa in her gubernatorial office that is draped with the pelt of a grizzly bear--with its head still attached--that had been shot by her father. Is Trig, the name of her infant son, short for "trigger"? No, apparently not. When Trig was born in April, Palin spokeswoman Sharon Leighow explained that the name was a Norse word meaning "true" and "brave victory."

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo