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The Mistaken Arab Experience

(New York Times) Michael Young - For all the justifiable grievances it has aroused, the Palestinian fight for self-determination has, in many respects, rendered the Arab world impotent. Through overriding attention to the fate of their Palestinian brethren, Arabs - whether consciously or not - have sacrificed much-needed political, social and economic advancement in other domains. Here in the region, the prevailing reaction to President Bush's recent speech on democracy was resentment. The main justification for the derision was the fate of the Palestinians. "How can President Bush be sincere on democracy," went the standard reaction, "when he allows Israel to abuse the Palestinians?" To invite the Arab world to look beyond the problem of the Palestinians is hardly incitement to abandon their cause. However, the prism of 1948 has distorted so many things in the Middle East that it is with little imagination that Arab states and societies tend to address such fundamental issues as democracy, sovereignty, the perils of overmilitarization, relations with the U.S. and, even, the optimal pursuit of national interests. In reaffirming the value of such issues and playing down the importance of the Palestinian predicament with respect to how it affects them, Arabs would not only help themselves, but also the very people whose sad destiny they cannot seem to quite shake off.
2003-12-05 00:00:00
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