Wednesday, September 17, 2003

THE PAN-ARAB DREAM IS DEAD

At least in Iraq, says this Arab writer. And the Arabs killed it.
The political decision taken by Arab leaders to deny the US their public support for the war has so far left Iraq with no Arab help in the post-war period. In effect, the Arab world has sidelined itself with respect to playing a role in a future Iraq, which is being reshaped by the Anglo-American coalition...

On the face of it, wouldn’t it have been better from the beginning to have Arabic-speaking soldiers in Iraq, who could relate to the local culture in a way Westerners could only dream of? How much easier would it have been for the Coalition Provisional Authority to win hearts and minds if it had had more Arabs delivering its message?...

Wrong. Evidence on the ground in Iraq suggests that the population does not actually regard the absence of Arab involvement as a bad thing at all. The truth is that most Iraqis would prefer to have a US-dominated force in their country, over an Arab one...

Pan-Arab nationalists will find that their dreams have died in the dusty streets of Baghdad and in the narrow lanes of Fallujah. Iraqis just aren’t interested. They have enough problems of their own and want to get back on an even keel, to enjoy their country as they were always supposed to. In Jordan, King Abdullah champions his “Jordan First” campaign, struggling to get the message out to his people. Iraqis have learned their lessons ­ Iraq comes first; there is no second place.

Take a moment to read the whole thing.

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