The Arab world is fast sliding into a contemptible state of neocolonialism, contend the commentators The security agreement governing the US troop presence in Iraq was the subject of much heated debate in the pan-Arab press. The vast majority of commentators were vehemently opposed to the pact. They deplored the fact that the Iraqi cabinet approved the security pact and promptly dispatched their approval to the Iraqi parliament for ratification. "The American-Iraqi security pact is part and parcel of an ominous and comprehensive strategic plot", read the headline of the pan-Arab daily London-based Al-Hayat. Commentators were livid about the stationing of Iraqi troops in Iraq and denounced Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki as a sellout. They also lamented the failure of the popular militant anti-American religious-cum-political leader Muqtada Al-Sadr to torpedo the Iraqi-American security pact. Other pan-Arab dailies were no less biting in their criticism of the security pact. Writing in the daily London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, Turki Al-Hamad argued that "international analysts provide analyses of the American policies by judging the policies of its institutions. But Arab analysts try to search for the hands of the Jews in every American policy, attempting to prove to what extent American intellects are influenced by Zionism." Another cause for the destabilisation of the Arab world, the pundits contended, was their adamant refusal to accept political reform. Commentators almost unanimously condemned the Arab leaders' unwillingness to give up power and to hang on to office indefinitely. Writing in Al-Hayat, Mahmoud Al-Mubarak harshly criticised the amendment introduced in the Algerian constitution allowing the president to be elected for a third term in office. "The recent amendment of the Algerian constitution allowing the president a third term has come to crown an Arab history replete with similar constitutional amendments that were introduced by the top of the authority and not by the public base. This further emphasises the depth of the misconception of constitution in the Arab world." The writer concluded "the Arab leaders who toy with the constitutions of their countries are not fooling their peoples. Rather, they are fooling themselves, for people -- who have limited ability to protest against this -- are no longer unaware of what's going on around them." Religious concerns and interfaith relations similarly preoccupied Arab pundits. The Saudi- sponsored summit held at the United Nations, focussing on the dialogue between the world's different faiths, received much attention in the pan-Arab press. The main concern of Arab commentators was that the forum was in danger of being hijacked by the Israelis and of turning into a meeting where the notion of normalising relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries would be facilitated. Many writers noted that Israel, and especially Israeli President Shimon Peres, made the most of the occasion and tried desperately to curry favour with the Saudis, openly praising Saudi King Abdullah as an exemplary Arab leader and a moderate whose views are to be emulated by fellow Arabs. Arab commentators contended that such Israeli antics amounted to gross interference in Arab affairs. Writing in Asharq Al-Awsat, Bilal Al-Hassan argued that the recent inter-faith dialogue held at UN headquarters in New York last week was "a means to pave the way for the normalisation of relations with Israel. However, this preparation for normalisation of ties should be preceded with an Israeli acceptance of the Arab peace initiative. This is an official Arab requirement." The deplorable state of affairs in Arab countries also came under intense scrutiny from the pundits. Writing in Al-Hayat, Ghassan Cherbel lamented the deteriorating intellectual conditions in the Arab world. Social and economic conditions in Arab countries have become untenable, the commentators concurred. The leadership in the Arab world should try harder to uplift the Arab masses. "The Arab League's secretary-general enlightened our day when he announced that the number of illiterate people in the Arab world hit an awful 100 million. The number of illiterates in the Arab world comfortably exceeds the population of Germany," Cherbel noted. "Reading is not among the favourite pastimes of the Arab populace," Cherbel lamented. "Scientific books constitute only 15 per cent of the total of books published in the Arab world," he noted, adding that "the number of readers of books in the Arab world constitutes a meagre four per cent of those in Britain." These embarrassing figures led the distinguished Lebanese writer to conclude that "the biggest party in the Arab world is that of the ignorant people. And the loudest voices come out from half- educated people. It's awful: all we do in our lives in the Arab world is enjoy relaxing in front of our television sets watching soap operas on satellite channels." A sorry state of affairs indeed. This was the subject of a fine piece by Mustafa El-Feki in Al-Hayat. The head of the Egyptian parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee expressed sorrow over the political intrigue that surrounds Arab political establishments. "I cannot imagine that there is a nation whose political future is shrouded in mystery such as our Arab nation. There are numerous undecided issues and others are hazy and undefined. We do not have concrete policies for the future. Our thinking is not oriented towards tomorrow, but is confined to today. This is a dangerously myopic perspective." He concluded that we need to think ahead for the sake of the upcoming generation of Arab children.
