(Washington Post) David Ignatius - For more than 30 years, Yasser Arafat has symbolized the Age of Immobilism in Arab politics. This week's news that Arafat is seriously ill is a reminder that Arabs are entering a new era. The icebergs that have frozen Arab political life are breaking up. I first interviewed Arafat in 1981 at his headquarters in Beirut. Summarizing that interview, I wrote that Arafat had learned an unfortunate lesson: "It is much easier to stand still than to try to move forward." That could be the epitaph for a whole generation of Arab leaders. With the connivance of the U.S., and with the permanent excuse of the Arab-Israeli conflict, they clung to the status quo year after year, decade after decade.
2004-10-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive