Even the British, renowned for the caliber of their imperial civil service, usually operated in stunning ignorance of the people and cultures they ruled over, certainly so in the case of the Arab world. Which is probably why they, too, were so often taken by surprise — by the Sepoy Mutiny, the Battle of Isandlwana, the Easter Rising, the Iraq revolt, Palestinian resistance to Zionism, the list goes on and on.

It just seems to be part of the imperial mentality to ignore — and be ignorant of — political and/or cultural differences among the lesser breeds. The whole point of empire is to be at the center of all things, and when you’re at the center it can take an unusually deep intellectual curiosity (or eccentric personal tastes) to sustain an interest or involvement in what’s going on out at the periphery. (It’s also easy to look outward and see nothing but a reflection of yourself or your fantasies, which I suppose is what Orientalism is all about. But that’s another subject.)

Add the fact that America hasn’t mentally outgrown its obsolete isolationist tendencies, and still finds it difficult to admit she even has an empire, and it’s not surprising that knowledge of foreign cultures is scarce in our ruling circles — not withstanding the fact that we’re a nation of immigrants. It doesn’t help that the political movement and party in power for the better part of the past thirty years has been deeply suspicious of, if not openly hostile to, such expertise, as well as to academia and the diplomatic service in general.

http://billmon.org/archives/002840.html