HOME	Where the World's Views of America Come into Focus

Mar. 27, 2005

Editorial

The Arab League met in the capital of Algeria last week for its annual summit. But the script for that event makes for sad reading, as only half of the league's nations attended. The reason: Deep-seated divisions among Arab nations that have rendered the Arab League ineffective in dealing with threats from Israel and the United States of America.

For years since its formation in 1945, relations between members of the league have been divided between pro-Western moderate monarchies and militant Islamic fundamentalists. The radical Islamic fundamentalists resent what they perceive as collaboration between the monarchs and the infidels, led by the U.S., to defile the region.

The fissures are a result of and a creation of the U.S., to ensure that the Arab world poses no threat to the flow of Middle East oil, to Israel's security, and above all, to American interests. But Arabs need to present a united strategy if they wish to resolve the conflicts in hot spots such as Iraq and Palestine.

Gatherings such as the African Union Summit, just like Arab League meetings, are important forums for third world countries to speak with one voice against injustices perpetrated by imperial powers such as the U.S.

The fact that Iraq remains under American occupation and that Israel still occupies large chunks of Arab territory, such as the Golan Heights, seized from Syria during the 1967 war, speaks volumes of the failure of Arabs to come up with a united strategy to challenge imperialism in the region.