Arabs keep digging
Amir Tahiri takes on Arab rejectionism.
"EVER since the latest phase of the Iraqi crisis started last autumn, most Arab countries have found themselves in a hole. What is surprising is that they continue to dig, making the hole deeper.
The Arabs' initial predicament was understandable. Until the last minute they did not believe that the United States would invade. They hoped that the whole thing would blow over. One Arab leader described the crisis as "a summer storm."
"At the end of January, Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary General, told me during a dinner in Davos, that he was 'absolutely sure' there would be no war. When asked why, he said: 'Something will come up!'
"Well, what came up was the U.S.-led invasion. The Arabs had developed no policy to prevent it or, when it happened, to influence its course.
"More than three months after the fall of the Ba'athist regime, there has been no attempt at developing a common Arab analysis of the war and its aftermath."
The Arabs who are rejecting the new reality in Iraq are giving up any opportunity to influence events in Iraq.
"...Iraq will lose little if it is suspended or excluded from the Arab League, an organization that is regarded as moribund by many of its members. In fact, over 300 Iraqi intellectuals with many different political backgrounds have just published a petition asking the Governing Council to withdraw from the Arab League."
Amir Tahiri takes on Arab rejectionism.
"EVER since the latest phase of the Iraqi crisis started last autumn, most Arab countries have found themselves in a hole. What is surprising is that they continue to dig, making the hole deeper.
The Arabs' initial predicament was understandable. Until the last minute they did not believe that the United States would invade. They hoped that the whole thing would blow over. One Arab leader described the crisis as "a summer storm."
"At the end of January, Amr Moussa, the Arab League Secretary General, told me during a dinner in Davos, that he was 'absolutely sure' there would be no war. When asked why, he said: 'Something will come up!'
"Well, what came up was the U.S.-led invasion. The Arabs had developed no policy to prevent it or, when it happened, to influence its course.
"More than three months after the fall of the Ba'athist regime, there has been no attempt at developing a common Arab analysis of the war and its aftermath."
The Arabs who are rejecting the new reality in Iraq are giving up any opportunity to influence events in Iraq.
"...Iraq will lose little if it is suspended or excluded from the Arab League, an organization that is regarded as moribund by many of its members. In fact, over 300 Iraqi intellectuals with many different political backgrounds have just published a petition asking the Governing Council to withdraw from the Arab League."
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