UN-diplomatic

Lakhdar Brahimi thinks Israel is "poison in the region". Why should we care? He's the UN envoy to Iraq. That's the same UN we're hoping to hand over the reigns to, more or less. The problem in the region isn't incessant oligarchs, repressions of freedom, and a wide variety of Arab dictatorships, but Israel eh? Israel has the distinction of being the only democracy in the region, so I can only imagine what Brahimi thinks of countries the US, Canada, and Mexico poisoning North America. Brahimi's bit that Israel is the cause of problems in Iraq makes as much sense as the old WKRP bit about a certain dictator promising free elections as soon as everyone in the nation learns a musical instrument. As far as I'm concerned, Israel has another thing going for it - relatively speaking - it's the only place in the region I'd want to visit.