Where are the Arabs in all this? [Archives:2003/685/Opinion]

It is easy for most of the Arabs leaders to say, well we have done our best in bringing all the calamity that the Arab Nation faces to a halt, or to at least slow them down. After all they have condemned this attack or that invasion: the classic getaway from any blame or accusation that indeed the Arab leaders are very much a part of this whole sad ordeal that the Arab nation faces. But when talking to the people in the street, or taking a random poll of public opinion in the Arab World, one is not surprised to hear most Arabs putting most of the blame for all our tragic state of being on the Arab leaders themselves. For one thing they have been overtly careless about respecting the views of their constituents in almost all matters of statecraft and government. In fact they often go against the views of their constituencies in most of the handling of affairs in their own domains and in their relations with other states. This is the essential reason for much of their poor performance in the management of affairs of state at home and abroad. On the other hand, they insist on continuing to have their subjects (all of them in fact rule like kings, even in the most pronounced republican regimes) believe that it is only they who can tell what is in the best interest of their respective subjects and whatever solutions they come up with to any problems at hand are Divine ordinances that must be adhered to to the letter, or else… This is classic despotism in all its manifestations and we are really getting tired of it.
On the other hand, this kind of despotic rule is beginning to shape up into an excuse for other powers to interfere in our internal affairs, as is the case in Iraq and we are at a loss when we realize that our rulers have not caught up on this phenomenon. Even after George W. Bush declared that it was bad policy to continue to bolster bad Arab leaders, the Arab leaders continue to believe that they will hang on to their thrones as long as they continue to placate the White House and the State Department and make sure that American and Western Embassies are well guarded by our elite military and security forces. Mr. Bush has now told them that this will not be enough anymore. Yet the overall situation in most Arab states remains the same, with the people of the Arab World still left in the background when all important government decisions are made. In fact, business is as usual in most of the Arab states with the tiny cliques that control all the resources of the different Arab states still sponging off all they can out of these resources to fulfill their own selfish drives and running the show in the same manner void of all transparency or accountability. We are still however comforted by the idea that God Al-Mighty will still hold these narrow minded cliques accountable for every Riyal they have illegitimately funneled off and for every improper decision they have taken, let alone their horrendously poor performance in all fields of governance and public affairs. However, this does not mean that we should not remind these impotent leaders that it is really time to wake up or ship out, for their own benefit and for the good of the nation as a whole. We really are not keen on having American troops barge into our homes in the wee hours of the night “looking for suspects” or terrorists or whatever excuse they may have for disturbing our privacy and right to live free from fear and illegitimate break-in.
Yes, Iraq has also taught most of the Arab population that bad leadership is an invitation for others to come in and conduct our state of affairs, in a worse manner than even our leaders have shown, but nevertheless without them.
The Arab leaders have fooled us too long for us to digest most of the political propaganda they continuously bombard us with, not to mention the exaggerated ego efforts that the state media has been used to project at the people’s expense. If they must be autocratic, they should at least show some national loyalty and taste and they should deliver some good to their people, but to be autocratic and still produce zilch for their subjects make these leaders simply deplorable.
The Arab nation is undergoing very strong challenges and it is time that our leaders share their people’s feelings, if they are ever to find ways to meet these challenges. The latest elections in Mauritania underscore the fact that Arab leaders tend to be slow in learning from events that are unfolding before their very eyes and it seems that our leaders insist that it is either us or hell. For God’s sake, one wonders if the latter may not be relief from all the depression and frustration that can be seen as one walks the streets from Sana’a to Nouakchott.
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