Peter Berg Speaks Honestly and Intelligently About the Middle East

The other day, I gave my thoughts about the movie The Kingdom. I assumed that Peter Berg was extreme left like the majority of Hollywood. While I still don't know Berg's overall political beliefs, I was very impressed with what he said when interviewed by Chris Matthews. You can read the transcript here. (Full transcript on Matthews site available Mon @ 3pm).

Berg made the following points (and I offer up my response):

1. Not all Saudis hate America.

This makes sense to me. Since Americans are the largest consumers of oil, shouldn't they love all the $$ we send their way? Still, there are Saudis who do hate us, of course. But not for the reason you might think.

2. Arabs hate us for making nice with Israel - not because of oil.

After watching the Kingdom, I was left with the impression that Berg believed that Arabs hated us over oil. But I was mistaken. In fact, I didn't pay close enough attention to the opening timeline of the movie because I assumed it was a bunch of liberal talking points that always come out of Hollywood.

But I went and re-watched the intro online. (Do yourself a favor and go see the entire movie in theaters.)

Berg established that American compounds were built in Saudi Arabia because of the Arab-American relationship formed after oil was discovered. It was a win-win for everyone. Until we formed an alliance in the 70s. Enter the oil embargo.

But the oil embargo lasted less than a year. Eventually, rogue dictators and terrorists would resort to kidnapping, an invasion of Kuwait, and terrorism. But it's because of our relationship with Israel.

3. The Arabs do not like each other.

Berg said that Saudis don't like Iraqis and neither do Kuwaitis. And the UAE, a very safe and wealthy country, doesn't like any of them. Oh - and they all hate Iran.

4. The war in Iraq has helped more than hurt our relations in the Middle East.

What???? I'm not sure Bush would even say that. But again, Berg's opinion is resounding with me. Arabs, even more than Americans, knew what Sadam Hussein was capable of. My guess is that they don't get all wrapped up in the WMD thing. Sadam was a problem and he's gone. This makes me think that if other countries would just get on board, a strong Iraq could emerge. But it's not that easy, is it? There's so much history and a strong dislike for Iraq remains.

Berg may anti-war. He may be a liberal. I don't know. But when he speaks intelligently instead of just blatant, angry accusations, he earns my respect. Suddenly, it doesn't seem necessary to label him. Instead, it seems necessary to listen to him.