Word: arabic
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Israel has complications in defining its national identity. But to characterize Israel as a theocracy represents a simplification of the myriad elements of identity at play: Jewish religious identity, Jewish ethnic identity and Israeli Statist identity. The fact that academia, the press, the public and the parliament (where both Arab and Jew are represented) can debate issues like the Law of Return reveals that Israel is a democracy in which supreme power is held by the people. To lump Israel with its neighboring anti-democratic governments is to ignore the fundamentally democratic foundations of Israel and Israeli society...
Opposition by Russia, France, China and most of the Arab world to any military strike against Iraq may persuade President Clinton to agree to a proposed visit to Baghdad Wednesday by Secretary General Kofi Annan for a last-ditch peace bid. U.N. Security Council members meet today in search of ways to avoid a military strike. Baghdad's welcoming, yesterday, of a U.N. technical team sent to survey Iraq's eight disputed "presidential" sites may signal that Saddam Hussein is looking for a way to back down. Of course, it may be a lot easier for Saddam...
...make a taunting speech, declare victory over the American aggressor and cut off all disarmament cooperation with the U.N. Would Clinton then be willing to go to war with Saddam and fight to the end? Could he win a battle of wills with Saddam, face down a furious Arab world and overcome the quiet disapproval of most of the NATO allies...
...there is the chronic pain of the Middle East peace process. Arab leaders have no love for Saddam but they oppose dropping more bombs on Iraq because from their perspective, Clinton has a double standard. He relentlessly pursues Saddam's weapons of mass destruction while saying nothing about the atom bombs everyone assumes Israel has stashed in its basement. The Arabs believe Clinton is less likely now than ever to buck Congress and his own party by browbeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a deal...
That seems less than likely now. Saddam hasn't budged: U.N. inspectors are still barred from inspecting presidential sites despite a flurry of diplomatic activity with Russian envoys and erroneous reports that a deal had been reached. But with his Arab neighbors still wary of American intervention, and facing the prospect of a less-than-punishing attack, why should he budge...