Dueling Arab summits
The Arab public really is blessed. For instance, for weeks Arabs have been calling loudly and angrily for their governments to do something about the carnage in Gaza. Where an ordinary public might have to settle for, say, a summit meeting of their leaders to hammer out a plan for action, those lucky ducky Arabs ...
The Arab public really is blessed. For instance, for weeks Arabs have been calling loudly and angrily for their governments to do something about the carnage in Gaza. Where an ordinary public might have to settle for, say, a summit meeting of their leaders to hammer out a plan for action, those lucky ducky Arabs get two, even three dueling summit meetings. If only they could accomplish half, even a third as much as other regional groupings, no?
The Arab public really is blessed. For instance, for weeks Arabs have been calling loudly and angrily for their governments to do something about the carnage in Gaza. Where an ordinary public might have to settle for, say, a summit meeting of their leaders to hammer out a plan for action, those lucky ducky Arabs get two, even three dueling summit meetings. If only they could accomplish half, even a third as much as other regional groupings, no?
On the one side, Qatar is hosting a summit with 13 Arab states, including Syria, Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Hamas leaders, and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmedenejad (2 states short of a quorum to make it an official meeting). Egypt refused to attend, in part because — in the words of its own government — al-Jazeera had hurt its feelings. Saudi Arabia refused to attend, with pro-Saudi writers denouncing the Doha gathering as the "summit of division." Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas stayed away, while Fatah officials openly criticized the