[Ynet News] Guy Bechor - Until the 1970s, the Arabs of the north - Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinians, and Iraq - were the leaders and commanders, while Gulf Arabs donated money. In the 1990s, a new generation of Gulf Arab leaders of the south sought to also take a leading role in the Arab world. When the price of an oil barrel reached $100, the Middle East changed as well and Saudi Arabia became the Arab world's political leader. Gulf Arabs accumulated unimagined wealth, while Arabs of the north went broke. States in the Arab north are sinking under the weight of huge birthrates, dry ideology, desperate unemployment, dysfunctional bureaucracy, and jammed capital cities that devour oil. Despair reigns as oil becomes more expensive. On the other hand, wealth and happiness are on the rise among Gulf Arabs. $100 a barrel is how Gulf states rule Arab politics, as they can reach every corner with money and aid. Gulf rulers throw a few million dollars in the direction of the Palestinians once in a while - pathetic sums of money in their view; charity. In the past they hid behind fake solidarity with their Palestinian brethren, but today they simply ignore them.
2008-01-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive