The Arab League meeting in Tunis comes at a time when the Arab world faces what is arguably its greatest crisis in 30 years. The twin menace of Israeli aggression and American-led chaos in Iraq has led to deep frustration and helplessness among Arabs.
The common element is White House stubbornness. President Bush obdurately refused to listen to advice from Arab countries before he embarked on his invasion of Iraq. He was told that while the attack itself might present no problem, the real battle would come afterward. He was warned that far from striking a decisive blow against international terrorism, the invasion and the ouster of Saddam would boost the cause of the men of violence. And so it has proved. Bush was also told that unless he used Washington’s unique power and influence over the Israeli government, the impetus behind the Palestinian-Israeli peace process would be destroyed. And so it has proved. Indeed, far from defending the road map to which it had committed itself, Bush’s administration has unilaterally torn it up. In so doing it has given carte blanche to Israeli repression, of which Rafah is only the most recent instance. It has also brought humiliation and despair to those in the Arab world who looked to America for leadership and justice.
The 21 member states of the Arab League together with the Palestinians have clearly realized that more is necessary than reflecting the anger of their citizens with condemnation of President Bush’s errors of judgment. Censure alone is not going to resolve the mess. This most stubborn and shortsighted of US administrations needs help to right the wrongs it has done.
In Tunis it was recognized that by not blocking the UN resolution condemning Israel, the White House appeared to be accepting the enormity of the damage US policies have unleashed. But others suspect that the US was behaving tactically. To have blocked the resolution would have unleashed a hurricane of anger. The drip-feed of appalling revelations of US mistreatment of detainees in Iraq gives the administration little political leeway.
Yet the fact remains that the initiative is fast passing from US hands. It is like a giant that has struck mighty blows in Iraq, but whose hands are too clumsy to pick up the shattered pieces. Bush has an increasingly tough election ahead. American lives and American money are being poured into the wreckage of Iraq. Whether it is Republicans or Democrats who win in November, the new administration is going to have to listen to and work with the Arab world. There was a strong sense yesterday in Tunis that the Arab League will have an important role in this process. But for the moment there can only be deep sadness and quiet anger that this White House has plunged the Middle East into such misery.
