I don't know why I am at all surprised that the American Right – including the Republican Party – has decided that scapegoating Muslims is the ticket to success. After all, it's nothing new.

I have been in Lebanon for the past five weeks and not a day passes without hearing people talk about the implications of the indictment, which is scheduled for September 2010, on the basis on which the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will convene.

EAST MEREDITH, NY — During a historical visit to Jerusalem in 1979, the late President Anwar Sadat of Egypt proclaimed that the Arab-Israeli conflict is largely psychological.

There is no lack of hate speech in the media and in print to empower Islamophobia. The primary focus is often not balanced reporting, or even coverage of positive news about Muslims but on highlighting acts and statements of political and religious extremists. And hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise across the United States.

Republicans have dug a deep hole for themselves on matters related to the Middle East and Islam reflecting the extent to which the Party has become captive of the neo-conservative "clash of civilization" crowd and their partners on the evangelical Christian right. This drift becomes clear listening to statements by Republican leaders and surveying the attitudes of the party's base.

After a century in which tragedy has been heaped upon tragedy across the Middle East, it is distressing to see how many dangerous illusions still shape the behavior of so many of the region's principal players.