April 4th, 2008
Several Arab leaders are very angry with a particular world leader. Who you ask? U.S. President Bush? Another Western leader? Those would be obvious logical guesses given the anti-American and anti-Western sentiments prevalent throughout the Mid-East. But the world leader they’re angry at turns out to be none other than Syria’s favorite dictator, Bashir Assad. While Assad’s charisma has managed to woo French and German leaders, Arab leaders are apparently not so naïve.
This anger is showing as the annual Arab Summit kicks for the first time ever in Damascus, Syria. What was supposed to be Assad’s chance to shine is turning out to be what the Jerusalem Post his calling a “slap in the face” of Assad. Several Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan are only sending low-level officials to the summit. Earlier in the month they threatened to boycott the Arab summit meeting altogether.
Part of the Arab nations’ anger at Assad has been evident in their recent chastising of Syria for prolonging instability in Lebanon. However the frustration runs deeper than Lebanon, and in some cases such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it personal. Saudi King Abduallah is actually reported to hate Assad for several personal insults. Turns out Assad’s brilliant idea to repeatedly chastise other Arab leaders as “half men” may not have been as the best way to win him friends…
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