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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Win Smith who wrote (103550)	6/30/2003 10:59:34 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The situation in the West Bank and Gaza is utterly different, since it became a mere phase in the wider Arab war against Israel, and the broader Palestinian struggle. That does not mean that the situation in Iraq is the same as that in Japan. However, the democratization of Japan was considered historically unique, and dubious until it was tried. As it happens, the Palestinians embrace Arafat, and the Japanese embraced the Emperor. At least we have the advantage of a population overwhelming against the regime that was overthrown. We would not even need to stay in long if it were not for the tension among segments of the population, mainly Shi'ite, Kurd, and Sunni, and the concern of countries harboring largely Kurdish populations. Anyway, I mainly point out the unique set of circumstances, and wait to see how things go.........

To: Win Smith who wrote (103550)	6/30/2003 12:47:01 PM
From: LLLefty	Respond to of 281500

Ah yes, the "Arab Mind" collectively wringing its hands and whimpering--by a left-leaning Washington Post staff columnist who is getting tired of the whining. Old-Thinking Arabs By David Ignatius DEAD SEA, Jordan -- Secretary of State Colin Powell was practically high-fiving his fellow global leaders at the World Economic Forum here: We liberated Iraq! We're making progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace through the road map! We did it! The sense of triumphalism was infectious. Even Amre Moussa, the head of the Arab League, who hails from the semi-authoritarian nation of Egypt, was talking about democratic change and promising to work with President Bush for a free Iraq and a Palestinian state. On the podiums here, the mood was as buoyant as the waves of the Dead Sea, which is so intensely salty it can give a swimmer the illusion that he can walk on water. This heady, public enthusiasm about the Arab future was wonderful, and hats off to the Jordanians for bravely hosting the conference. But the highfliers of the Davos crowd should realize that among ordinary Arabs, the law of gravity is still all too operative. There is a culture of negativism and despair so deep in the Arab world that many people treat life as a zero-sum game: If something is good for America, they assume it must be bad for the Arabs. A few hours after Powell spoke, I moderated a discussion among Arab intellectuals and opinion-makers. The conversation was off the record, so I can't quote people directly. But rarely have I heard such a gloomy group. One teacher said that as soon as she began talking about democracy with her Arab students, they rolled their eyes -- as if it was all just so much pro-American propaganda. Another Arab woman spoke of "ferment and frustration" among Arab intellectuals. A professor from the gulf explained: "The Arab world is in a mood that's sad, pessimistic, injured, battered -- feeling that it's going back to a colonial reality. Arab intellectuals are demoralized. They have no focus, no zeal." Part of the problem is that this generation of Arab intellectuals is like the Communists when the Berlin Wall began to crumble. They have been forced to swear allegiance for a generation to a set of ideas that is rapidly becoming outmoded. What do they do now? The price of dissent in their quasi-socialist cultures was losing jobs in government universities or at government-supported newspapers, magazines and think tanks. Sometimes the price was worse -- a bullet in the head. So a horrible conformism began to enshroud Arab political life. State-supported journalists painted a world in which their leadership was always right and Israel was always wrong. Self-criticism was seen almost as treasonous, implicitly aiding the enemy. And, let it be said, the Israelis kept the whole enterprise going by doing stupid things -- engaging in provocative attacks or foot-dragging diplomacy that reinforced Arab stereotypes. Some brave Arab journalists defied the thought-control system: I think of Ghassan Tueni at Lebanon's An Nahar; Rami Khouri, longtime editor of the Jordan Times; and my friend Jamil Mroue, publisher of Lebanon's Daily Star. But they were too few, and they couldn't break through the thick gray fog around them. No wonder the Arab intellectuals were depressed. They had no space in which to operate. "No voice louder than the sound of battle" went the Arab saying -- which translated to an insistence that every issue must be subordinated to the Palestinian issue. A perfect example of this Arab old-think appeared in the Jordan Times on Sunday, the same day Powell gave his upbeat speech about democracy and change. It was a short item, capturing the timeless, senseless structures that stifle Arab intellectual life, so I will quote most of it, starting with the headline, "Media Delegation Arrives in Cairo": "A Jordanian delegation . . . arrived in Cairo to take part in meetings Sunday and Monday, paving the way for Tuesday's ministerial conference on pan-Arab media and information services. The Palestinian determination in the face of Israeli occupation, protection of Jerusalem's Arab character are some of the items on the agenda." Say what? What's a media delegation doing attending a ministerial conference anyway? What are "pan-Arab media and information services," in a part of the world where most governments still censor their press? And why the same tired anti-Israel agenda? As someone who wants political change in the Arab world, I was enthusiastic about the mood of the Dead Sea gathering -- until I heard the Arab intellectuals and their chorus of despair. Maybe I'm just a naive American who romanticizes change. But this week I wanted to shake my Arab writer friends and say: Come on, gang. Stop whining and get moving. If you don't want America to shape your future, then take control of it yourselves.