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The Arab World, Sick Man of the Globe

(Daily Star - Lebanon) Rami G. Khouri - Looking around the Arab world this week, it is hard to know what are the region's real priority challenges, because multiple issues stand out as problems, vulnerabilities, weaknesses or threats. Most of the problems in our region can be traced to local incompetence, or, in the worst cases, criminality and irresponsibility in the seats of power - though everywhere there is also an element of foreign involvement or manipulation that should not be ignored. The Arab world is defined by top-heavy states where small groups of men surrounded by many soldiers make decisions without seriously consulting their fellow citizens. This legacy is firmly supported by major foreign powers who see "security and stability" as critical priorities in this region, by which they mean that Israel should remain dominant, Arab nationalists and Islamists should be fought and diminished, and security-minded Arab governing elites should rule forever.
2010-08-30 08:02:02
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