Word: arabism
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...tunnel which borders the foundations of Al-Haram Al-Sharif--the third holiest site to Muslims around the world. The proximity of the tunnel to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, coupled with previous attempts at undermining the Islamic character of the shrine has caused angry responses all around the Arab and Islamic worlds. The opening of the tunnel came unilaterally without prior consultation with the Palestinian Authority; the right-wing mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert proudly declared that "the time has come to show that such a decision would be made without seeking Palestinian permission...
Nearly everyone is worried that a prime victim of the crisis is the Western-Arab coalition mustered in 1991 to combat Saddam. Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Qaysi chortled to TIME, "Where is it now? I don't see any coalition." In Washington last week, CIA Director John Deutch told Congress he believed Iraq's political position in the region had improved. He also found it "a little bit shocking" that for the first time there was initially "no support for U.S. air strikes." Yet after a whirlwind trip around the alliance, Secretary of Defense William Perry declared...
...bigger debate was whether what Saddam had done warranted Washington's response. "A Western whack on an Arab state, however unsavory, causes twitchiness," says an official in Kuwait, "and if the reason is not immediately apparent, the twitchiness increases." To calm the twitch, Perry spent three days in five Arab and Middle Eastern capitals. Perry's argument, according to a Western official in Kuwait: "Saddam showed his capacity to do reasonably complicated military operations effectively in a short time, and if he got away with such actions in the north, he would be emboldened to try the same where...
...interests and demands. Turkey's Islamist government is keen to revive relations with its old trading partner. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are mindful of growing fundamentalist and dissident oppositions that demand Muslim solidarity above all. Frustration over the lack of peace progress colors the reaction elsewhere in the Arab world. Fearing the impact of a real rift, Kuwaiti officials fanned out to make sure the rest of the gulf understood their support for U.S. military moves. "Their message," says a Western official, "was to get attention off the U.S. missile strikes and on Saddam's threat...
...time when international opinion leans against the Israelis. Mubarak believes Arafat shouldn't lower the temperature without getting something in return." Mubarak's refusal to take part in talks marks a major disappointment for the U.S., since it leave out a country that has been the main Arab partner of the U.S. in the turbulent Middle East. "This is a powerful snub that betrays a lack of confidence and trust in Clinton's plans," says MacLeod. "In the long term, perceived U.S. bias toward Israel further undermines the internal position of pro-American Arab regimes under threat from Islamic militants...