Word: arabism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...loose cannons in sensitive negotiations. Even Richardson has been known to commit a diplomatic faux pas. During his Baghdad meeting with Saddam to free Daliberti and Barloon, the Iraqi leader stormed out briefly when Richardson crossed his legs and showed his shoe sole--a sign of disrespect in Arab culture. "We connected because I was honest and tough,'' says Richardson. "I didn't apologize, even when I crossed my legs...
...ideas that bind them together. "One of the sustaining causes of religious disagreement has been the sense of strangeness, of pure unfamiliarity," he says. "The communications revolution will not wash out the important differences, but we will learn to grade our differences in order of importance." Rached Ghannouchi, an Arab philosopher from North Africa, argues in a Webzine called The Electronic Whip that it is imperative that the inhabitants of the small, networked village the world has become find a way to understand one another. "Otherwise," he says, rather apocalyptically, "we are all doomed to annihilation...
...than defense strategies. Most ominously, he moved his 14th division, an elite commando outfit, from Beirut, where it protects Syrian interests in Lebanon, to positions close to the frontier with Israel. Syrian officials say the recent activity is defensive and insist they have no plans to strike. Moreover, many Arab analysts accuse Israel of playing up the war talk as a means of diverting attention from the paralysis in the peace process since Netanyahu came to power. "This is a propaganda ploy," says a senior Egyptian official...
Then there is the question of who, among the Arab states bordering Israel, might come to Syria's aid. The Israelis think they can count on Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994, to stay out of the fight, despite strains in relations over Netanyahu's tough policies. But Israel's confidence in Egypt is shakier. Two weeks ago, President Hosni Mubarak said that in the event of an Israeli attack on Syria, Egypt would not "stand idly by." Given popular feeling in Egypt against the Netanyahu government, it was perhaps an inevitable, if insincere, remark. If Egypt...
...also an issue. Because of insufficient maintenance, many of the tanks, armored personnel carriers and jeeps the military keeps in storage are not combat ready. "In some places," says a high-ranking reserve officer, "it reminds me of the way things were before the 1973 war," when an Arab invasion caught Israel miserably unprepared. Now the army is ordering a sweeping inspection program. "Before these frantic checks," says a logistics officer, assessing the condition of the armored vehicles in his brigade, "70% wouldn't get to their destination. Even now, in a case...