Arab rulers fear change, but they fear the American barbers who shaved Saddam Hussein more.
Kuwait's A-Siyassah newspaper editorial (January 14) said that the haircut given to deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "is an example to other Arab leaders, cautioning them that they were no longer free to do and say what they liked.... In the past, people feared floods. But nowadays, there is a greater danger. It is the White House’s pair of scissors, which is threatening many Arab beards with extinction."
One day earlier, Jordan's Al-Arab Al-Yawm carried a column that likened the American plans for the Middle East to those of international Islamists. Both the US Administration and Al-Qaeda, the columnist explained, seek to remove existing Arab regimes and reform the region. To forestall both the US and Osama Bin-Laden, the writer warned, it was time for Arab leaders to end their "slumber in their luxurious palaces."
As an article in London's Arabic-language, Saudi-backed Al-Hayat newspaper (January 9) confirmed, "The main flaw in the Arab regimes' initiatives of rehabilitation and transparency, in all of their models, is that its main motive is the regimes' preservation of power. Most of them lose interest in the internal and regional policies and obsess over remaining in power." The American role in the sudden flurry of such initiatives, the article explained, is that of "instigator and scarecrow to the Arab regimes." Arab leaders, the writer claims, "so eagerly seek the American administration's consent in order to avoid a fate like that of Saddam Hussein."
On the other hand, the article continues, "If policies of reform and modernism get implemented as a result of American pressures, so be it, but the problem is that the Arab leaders' only motive for change is to stay in power." As examples of this phenomenon, the Al-Hayat columnist refers to recent reform and openness initiatives in Sudan and Libya. In the latter case, the article claims, "Seif Al-Islam Kaddafi, Moammar Kaddafi's eldest son, admitted that his father sought American guarantees that there will be no secret agenda to change the his regime." Furthermore, "The same logic applies to most Arab countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian Authority," the Al-Hayat article concludes.
On the other hand, the columnist notes, "Saddam Hussein had mortgaged Iraq for the sake of his regime and considered his power a matter of national interest. Saddam Hussein was also once the United States' main partner during the war with Iran. Many lessons, of different models, can be learnt from this experience."
Kuwait's A-Siyassah newspaper editorial (January 14) said that the haircut given to deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein "is an example to other Arab leaders, cautioning them that they were no longer free to do and say what they liked.... In the past, people feared floods. But nowadays, there is a greater danger. It is the White House’s pair of scissors, which is threatening many Arab beards with extinction."
One day earlier, Jordan's Al-Arab Al-Yawm carried a column that likened the American plans for the Middle East to those of international Islamists. Both the US Administration and Al-Qaeda, the columnist explained, seek to remove existing Arab regimes and reform the region. To forestall both the US and Osama Bin-Laden, the writer warned, it was time for Arab leaders to end their "slumber in their luxurious palaces."
As an article in London's Arabic-language, Saudi-backed Al-Hayat newspaper (January 9) confirmed, "The main flaw in the Arab regimes' initiatives of rehabilitation and transparency, in all of their models, is that its main motive is the regimes' preservation of power. Most of them lose interest in the internal and regional policies and obsess over remaining in power." The American role in the sudden flurry of such initiatives, the article explained, is that of "instigator and scarecrow to the Arab regimes." Arab leaders, the writer claims, "so eagerly seek the American administration's consent in order to avoid a fate like that of Saddam Hussein."
On the other hand, the article continues, "If policies of reform and modernism get implemented as a result of American pressures, so be it, but the problem is that the Arab leaders' only motive for change is to stay in power." As examples of this phenomenon, the Al-Hayat columnist refers to recent reform and openness initiatives in Sudan and Libya. In the latter case, the article claims, "Seif Al-Islam Kaddafi, Moammar Kaddafi's eldest son, admitted that his father sought American guarantees that there will be no secret agenda to change the his regime." Furthermore, "The same logic applies to most Arab countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, as well as the Palestinian Authority," the Al-Hayat article concludes.
On the other hand, the columnist notes, "Saddam Hussein had mortgaged Iraq for the sake of his regime and considered his power a matter of national interest. Saddam Hussein was also once the United States' main partner during the war with Iran. Many lessons, of different models, can be learnt from this experience."