The Humiliation Retaliation
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Back in November, I wrote this post about why the Middle East hates us so much - The Cost of Humiliation. The end quote was this (borrowed shamelessly from "The Princess Bride"):
Note to France, Belgium, Germany, Russia, and the Middle East:It seems that I might have been correct in that assumption. Looks like the King of Jordan is a bit upset with George Bush these days - especially, over his support of Israel.President Bush, the uncultured cowboy, also has something more to give to you.
Humiliations Galore!
Jordan's Snub to Bush Is Tip of Iceberg
By Jonathan Wright
CAIRO (Reuters) - When the king of Jordan postponed this week's meeting with President Bush, the snub revealed only a fraction of the humiliation felt by Washington's Arab friends.
Constrained by protocol and unwilling to burn bridges with the most powerful country in the world, Arab leaders like King Abdullah can only hint at the dismay they felt when Bush changed U.S. policy last week, diplomats and analysts say.
The blow was particularly hard for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who met Bush on April 12 and was still in the United States two days later when Bush gave two key and sensitive concessions to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"They are very much upset. Bush is striking at the hearts of their people and this makes King Abdullah and Mubarak really angry," said an Arab ambassador, who asked not to be identified.
"They are embarrassed and humiliated in front of their own people. Bush is playing with fire," said another Arab diplomat...
...Coupled with the U.S. occupation of Iraq, which Arabs increasingly associate with Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, the concessions were political dynamite.I believe that this is a face saving maneuver by King Abdullah who, like most Middle East monarchs, is very worried about being overthrown (or becoming a democratized monarchy) because he may seem to favor America too much."I'm sure he (Mubarak) feels wounded because it seems like a big cheat. It's a slap on the back of the neck -- the most humiliating thing in our culture," said analyst Mohamed al-Sayed Said of the al-Ahram Center in Cairo.
Mubarak told the Houston Chronicle last week he was shocked by Bush's promises to Sharon. He told the French newspaper Le Monde this week the Americans had never before been so detested in the Arab world...