Politics & Power Quote by John Abizaid

There’s a careful, almost tactical modesty in Abizaid’s phrasing: “also natural,” “that part of the world,” “what people view as,” “currently.” For a career soldier turned commander-diplomat, the sentence is doing two jobs at once. It acknowledges the political reality of anti-American sentiment without granting it full moral legitimacy, and it frames that sentiment as a predictable function of power rather than a uniquely irrational hostility.

The key move is the outsourcing of judgment. Abizaid doesn’t say the United States is the most important authority; he says people “view” it that way. That verbal distancing matters. It deflects the charge of imperial self-regard while still conceding what everyone in the room knows: American influence is structural, visible, and therefore blame-attracting. The word “authority” is similarly loaded. It’s softer than “occupier” but harder than “actor.” It smuggles in hierarchy while keeping the tone managerial.

Contextually, this is the post-9/11 Middle East, where U.S. military presence, alliances with regional regimes, and the Iraq War turned Washington into both referee and lightning rod. Abizaid’s intent is less confession than risk management: if blame is “natural,” then it’s not a policy failure so much as the cost of being the dominant node in the system. Subtext: don’t be surprised when the strongest power gets treated like the address for every grievance.

It’s a line meant for American ears as much as foreign ones, gently preparing the public for the uncomfortable arithmetic of hegemony: if you insist on being the central authority, you inherit the region’s anger along with its security contracts.