The Mistaken Arab Experience

[Cassandra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/opinion/05YOUN.html

" The Palestinian problem has also allowed countless Arab regimes, particularly those in states near Israel, to validate despotism in their overmilitarized societies. Some might argue this was and is needed to face down real or potential Israeli threats, but the explanation is unsatisfactory. For one thing, open societies usually equal or surpass dictatorships in defending themselves. For another, Arab societies have accepted autocratic regimes not because of imminent danger from Israel, but because the Palestinian problem remains unresolved.

In other words, the open wound of the Palestinian tragedy has allowed Arab regimes to transform outrage on the part of their people into tolerance for authoritarian, security-obsessed societies that are perceived as necessary to fight (even if they never do fight) a militarily superior Israel.

At the same time, a majority of Arab states has refused to normalize relations with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved. While Arab public opinion would accept nothing less, on ethical grounds, this means the Palestinian issue and public support for it have stifled contravening policies that states might otherwise contemplate pursuing in their national interest. In effect, Palestine, far more than raison d'état, has come to define how Arab states approach Israel. "

It is unfortunate that Bush has inserted himself into the discussion as the invader of Iraq (as well as being the special friend of the Saudis). It makes Arab opinion of him more complicated than it would be otherwise.