From the Seattle Times

America will pay for Bush's arrogance with new decades of profound Arab resentment. For half a century, a generation of American leaders, including Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Cyrus Vance, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright, tried to knit together the forces of moderation and compromise, gradually shifting the parties toward talking, not killing. They found unlikely allies, like Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin and King Hussein of Jordan. The Saudis, despite their rabid Islamic fundamentalism, agreed to moderate their voice. Arab moderates wanted peace, and would work with the U.S. and Israel to achieve it. It was a bumpy road, but it saved lives and kept the oil flowing.

Bush has given the back of his hand to those statesmen, advancing a grotesque new theory of politics, a kind of military Darwinism: "Let them duke it out, and let the tough guys prevail."