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The Great Arab League Break-Up

(Jerusalem Post) - Amir Taheri The Arab predicament over the looming war in Iraq is only the last episode in a story of economic decline, political disorientation, and cultural crisis that dates back several decades. "Associating with the Arabs has brought us nothing but trouble," says Colonel Mu'ammar Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator who recently decided to boycott the Arab League and emphasize his so-called "African identity." In a recent article that triggered much debate, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary-general, called on Egypt to look south toward black Africa and north toward the Mediterranean rather than east toward the Arabs. "If someone asks what have the Arabs been doing for two decades, the answer is: They have been blackmailing one another over the issue of Palestine," says a member of Saudi Arabia's appointed "parliament."
2003-02-07 00:00:00
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