Saudi King Finds Fault With Arab LeadershipSaudi Arabia’s King Abdullah told Arab leaders gathered here Wednesday that they were to blame for the civil strife and divisions plaguing the Arab world.
Speaking at the opening of the Arab summit, Abdullah said that Arabs were less united today than they were just over 60 years ago when the Arab League was formed, and that backwardness and disunity need not be their destiny.
Harsh words indeed.
“In wounded Palestine, the population is still suffering under occupation, deprived of its right to independence and nationhood,” he said. “And in beloved Iraq, there is bloodshed between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatening a civil war.”Abdullah’s description of the U.S. presence in Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” was a statement of fact and not a change in Saudi policy, said a source close to the government who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue. Saudi Arabia often has said that it wants a united Iraq free from foreign occupation, the source said.
The kingdom was against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq but more recently has lobbied for American forces to remain there until order has been restored.
Don’t let the Saudi description of the invasion of Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” blind you to the more important things, particularly the introspection and not pointing the finger elsewhere.
In his rare call for introspection in the Arab world, where conspiracy theories are common and many problems are blamed on Israel, Abdullah said, “The real blame falls on us, leaders of the Arab nation, for our constant disputes, and our refusal to get united. All this made the Arab nation lose confidence in our credibility and lose hope.”
And finally, speaking of Arab disunity:
Lebanon sent two delegations to the summit, one headed by Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and the other led by President Emile Lahoud, a member of the main opposition coalition that includes the Iranian-backed radical group Hezbollah.
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COMMENTS / 3 COMMENTS
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » Told you so added these pithy words on Mar 30 07 at 3:41 am[...] As warned just yesterday, the Saudi description of the invasion of Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” is not the big story here. Rather, what’s important is that this is a rare moment of Arab introspection about the problems facing the region, where the typical response is to blame Israel, America, and plenty of others in this region where conspiracy theories rule the political culture. [...]
The Marmot added these pithy words on 29 Mar 07 at 11:59 amThis would be the same King Abdullah that read Cheney the riot act when Riyadh got spooked that said illegitimate foreign occupation might come to end, is it not?
Actually, what I found a potentially more disturbing is this:
As for Lebanon, the king said that the country that used to be a role model for coexistence and prosperity has become handicapped, setting the stage for more tension and violence. He blamed “Arab leniency” for foreign interference in Sudan and spoke about the tense situation in Somalia as a result of civil wars. “All of this is happening and we are helpless to provide any support to our brethren,” he added. “What have we done all of these years to resolve these problems? I do not want to blame the Arab League, which only reflects our situation,” he said.Granted, I haven’t seen the transcript of the speech, and I guess “leniency” could mean, “We’ve been too lenient with Khartoum’s nastiness, and hence have brought outside intervention upon ourselves,” but does it not seem like good king Abdullah was going to bat for Omar al-Bashir?
subadei added these pithy words on 29 Mar 07 at 10:41 pm“The real blame falls on us, leaders of the Arab nation, for our constant disputes, and our refusal to get united. All this made the Arab nation lose confidence in our credibility and lose hope.”Â?
Refreshing. I think the whole “illegitimate occupation” diatribe was token appeasement for the Wahhabists. That last bit about blame almost sounds like accountability. Progress?
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