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Last update - 09:52 14/01/2008
The Arabs should stop whining
By Zvi Bar'el
Tags: Saudi Arabia

Today, when the plane carrying U.S. President George W. Bush departs from glittering Dubai and lands in Riyadh, the substantive part of his visit to the Middle East will commence. If there is one place where discussion will get to the point without too much vision, dreams and fanfare - it's Riyadh. If there is a capital where things that are agreed to are also carried out - it's Riyadh.

Riyadh is a familial place where the Bush family, both father and son, has personal interests, and where they speak in terms that are clear to everyone: like money, property, investments and also security. If a solution can be found to the Palestinian problem, the Iraqi conundrum, the crisis in Lebanon and the relations with Iran - it will begin and end in this place. This is the country that drew pan-Arab hegemony to it; it is the one that dictates the basic rules, the red lines and the policies of compromise of the states in the Middle East. From a country that trudged along behind the Arab consensus, which is determined for the most part in Cairo and sometimes in Damascus, Saudi Arabia has been transformed into the initiator of policy.

It is toward Saudi Arabia that the Egyptian intellectual and researcher, Mamoun Fandy, directed his incisive article: "The Cards are in the Hands of the Arabs." The article appeared in the daily Asharq Al-Awsat, which is controlled by a Saudi prince who rules a large media empire in the Middle East.
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If the ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States are so close and warm, why are the Arabs unable to take advantage of this to further their interests, Fandy asks. Why does Israel succeed in promoting its narrative, arguing that it is alone in its desire for peace, while the Arabs want war? Why is it that when Israel declares that it receives no strategic benefits from its peace with the Arabs (Egypt and Jordan), the West pays close attention to its claims? And most importantly, how can the Arabs alter this trend and steer Western public opinion in their favor?

To the question of "what if the Arab leaders whom Bush will meet decide to make quick arrangements now to invite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to meet with them" - Fandy answers: "This dramatic move could change public opinion in the West, the United States and Israel about the seriousness of the Arabs regarding peace, and could change the entire dialogue."

Fandy calls on Saudi Arabia to unify the Palestinian ranks and heal the divide between Hamas and Fatah. He is also saying that the Arab states should coordinate their positions with Riyadh in all other issues pertaining to the Middle East. This is the kind of coordination that is vital in order to deal seriously with the Israeli position.

"Perhaps the time has come for the Arabs, particularly the Palestinians, to take a serious view of Israel's strategic fears. The Israeli question about the nature of the Palestinian state is logical and legitimate. Will this state add to stability or instability in the region?" Fandy asks.

In his view, such a new Arab position is an available, winning card, and is preferable to "the old Arab way of wasting time at meetings, talking about the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and complaining about the 'double standards' [of the Americans]." Fandy concludes by stating that "the cards are in the hands of the Arabs today. Will they exploit them well?"

Of course there are many Arab circles who consider Fandy's proposals treasonous, and he knows this. There are those who have blamed him for being "too American." But when an influential Saudi newspaper, which knows the rules of what is permitted and banned from publication in the kingdom, publishes such an article on the eve of Bush's visit - it is worthwhile to take it seriously.

No one knows what the message coming from Riyadh will be, if there is one at all. But at the very least, Israeli supporters of peace, those who attack the government for destroying the negotiations, who justifiably ridicule the empty words of the prime minister concerning the vision for peace, and who count the days of the government in the hope that the alternative will be more encouraging - these supporters need to rally to Fandy's call and his criticism of the Arabs. Because those favoring peace sorely need an Arab partner, a king or a president, who will make the desired dramatic move. One could ask them to consider another question in this regard: How is it that the Arab states have still not recognized the existence of Israeli supporters of peace? Where is their Arab partner?
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  1.   SOME LANDS FOR ARABS PRESERVATIONS 09:58  |  indrajaya 14/01/08
  2.   SOME LANDS FOR ARABS PRESERVATIONS 09:58  |  indrajaya 14/01/08
  3.   Once the audience knows the trick 10:14  |  Natallie Durson 14/01/08
  4.   Arabs should stop whining, pt. 1... 10:21  |  Walter 14/01/08
  5.   Arabs should stop whining, pt. 2 10:28  |  Walter 14/01/08
  6.   Zvi Bar`el is correct 10:30  |  Adrian de Klerk 14/01/08
  7.   Arabs own 22 states, fortunes in oil 11:13  |  Iz Ray Leigh 14/01/08
  8.   INDRAJAYA NOBODY told you the millions of square miles Arabs have 11:53  |  PETER SM 14/01/08
  9.   They are not recognizing Israel period 11:55  |  Efox 14/01/08
  10.   Arabs and peace 12:19  |  alan 14/01/08
  11.   The Arabs should stop whining 13:43  |  Sarah 14/01/08
  12.   #6 Adrian Why should they pay when the US pays it all? 13:45  |  Petra 14/01/08
  13.   Indraya: 13:47  |  Yaron 14/01/08
  14.   Totally right 13:49  |  A mother 14/01/08
  15.   new approach 14:01  |  Hilda 14/01/08
  16.   The wonderful SSaudi Arabians 14:02  |  Robin 14/01/08
  17.   Indy... if the truth is so hard to bear 14:15  |  Lynn 14/01/08
  18.   # 13, DANNY 14:18  |  indrajaya 14/01/08
  19.   The Arabs should have never whinned at all 14:50  |  Hastaroth 14/01/08
  20.   THE SAUDI `PEACE` PLAN SAYS IT ALL 14:56  |  Ian 14/01/08
  21.   One simple answer to all of Fandy`s questions 15:19  |  A Jew 14/01/08
  22.   IAN Quite right! 15:24  |  Petra 14/01/08
  23.   The do not want peace!!! 15:25  |  Ofer Maimon 14/01/08
  24.   # 16 Robin don`t forget Bush holding hands with the Saudi Queen 15:25  |  Petra 14/01/08
  25.   # 7 Iz Their too busy counting their oil $$$$$$$$$ 15:30  |  Petra 14/01/08
  26.   # 12 Petra...Saudis told Bush 15:49  |  Lynn 14/01/08
  27.   WHERE IS PALESTINE?...... 16:04  |  Dagma 14/01/08
  28.   How can you stop some Arabs from whining 16:11  |  Natasha 14/01/08
  29.   Very good article by Mamoun Fandy 16:23  |  Abu Yusuf 14/01/08
  30.   Stop Whining 16:24  |  YF 14/01/08
  31.   Stop Whining 16:35  |  Abdul Aziz Higazi 14/01/08
  32.   It`s funny how people who are shocked by Holocaust deniers feel 16:37  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  33.   Lynn#26 16:44  |  Teresa-Maria (Tess) 14/01/08
  34.   Walter and Iz Ray Leigh: Great sophistry. The same arguement 16:48  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  35.   Through the Pals the Arabs aim to destroy Israel 16:50  |  AliciaYasmeen 14/01/08
  36.   Peres,Olmert,Livni,Ramon,Barak all want to sell the country but 16:59  |  Joseph E . 14/01/08
  37.   the term, "Palestine." 17:06  |  Rudy 14/01/08
  38.   # 3 Natalie Dim Bulb 17:11  |  Marc 14/01/08
  39.   Marc, People generally demand the return of stolen goods. 17:31  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  40.   #34 Apartheid: the Moslems colonialized Israel 1394 years ago 17:31  |  AliciaYasmeen 14/01/08
  41.   Natasha, you are right, donors are stupid. American taxpayers 17:37  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  42.   Stolen Goods 17:52  |  Marc 14/01/08
  43.   Arabs, stop whining; Israel, stop krechtzing 17:59  |  Tosefta 14/01/08
  44.   apartheid # 41 and it`s worth every damn penny 18:08  |  terrornator 14/01/08
  45.   Your kidding right ? 18:27  |  betz55 14/01/08
  46.   arab whining 18:35  |  elliot 14/01/08
  47.   Alicia, the Muslims were too few to colonize anybody. They 18:38  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  48.   Walter: Israel should not give up land, but make Pals citizens 18:45  |  Bruno 14/01/08
  49.   elliot, $100 a barrel oil makes a lot of people in Texas happy 18:47  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  50.   For Natalie Durson 18:53  |  Jacob Blues 14/01/08
  51.   SAUDI ARABIA HAS NO INFLUENCE ON ARAB POLITICS. SYRIA HAS. 18:55  |  TrippleJump 14/01/08
  52.   Israel KNOWS WELL what it must do: Evacuate ALL settlements! 18:57  |  Arabian Knight 14/01/08
  53.   Marc, What about all the land and possessions stolen from the ref 18:58  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  54.   Saudis try to use money to influence politics...but 19:04  |  Houmous with garlic 14/01/08
  55.   shut up 19:13  |  donnie 14/01/08
  56.   #47 Apartheid admits the Arabs live in denial! 19:15  |  AliciaYasmeen 14/01/08
  57.   alicia #56 19:27  |  donnie 14/01/08
  58.   donnie 19:31  |  Marc 14/01/08
  59.   # 26 I agree Saudis should shut the hell up. 19:32  |  Petra 14/01/08
  60.   Arabs cannot help whinning - it is in their nature 19:32  |  Myself 14/01/08
  61.   # 52 Arabian Knight? LOL No Israeli takes directives from the 19:35  |  Petra 14/01/08
  62.   AliciaYasmen, my history corresponds with reality, yours does not 19:36  |  Apartheid 14/01/08
  63.   #58 marc 19:44  |  donnie 14/01/08
  64.   #47 Apartheid`s fantisizing 19:48  |  Bob 14/01/08
  65.   Apartheid, here some REAL facts 19:50  |  Bob 14/01/08
  66.   # 33 Tess...another tidbit for you 19:53  |  Lynn 14/01/08
  67.   Apartheid, here`s "peaceful" conversion of Berbers 19:55  |  Bob 14/01/08
  68.   donnie 19:59  |  Marc 14/01/08
  69.   arabian night 20:01  |  Marc 14/01/08
  70.   apatheid`s hypocrisy from boston 20:10  |  utagawa 14/01/08
  71.   #57 how come there are Muslims in India? 20:11  |  Bob