NYT, p. 1: Summit's Collapse Leaves Arab Leaders in Disarray

Summit's Collapse Leaves Arab Leaders in Disarray
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Published: March 29, 2004


TUNIS, March 28 — Arab governments were in disarray on Sunday after the Arab League summit meeting, set to grapple with vital regional issues like democratic reform, Arab-Israeli bloodshed and the American occupation of Iraq, was abruptly called off just before it was to open Monday.

The exact reason is a matter of some dispute, but all sides viewed the meeting's collapse — even as some heads of state were on their way — as an embarrassment. It was a stark public admission that the commitment to change voiced by Arab leaders risks becoming just more words.

The Arab League is infamous for its fractious gatherings, but even its most experienced bureaucrats described the cancellation as extraordinary. Some commentators thought the collapse inevitable from the start. The very idea of reform remains too divisive, and many nations' governments have yet to decide how to deal themselves with issues like elections....

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On the crucial issue of political reform, the general consensus had divided into two broad groups, participants said. One group was made up of those who wanted to resist what was seen as a fiat from the Bush administration for the Arab League to push for sweeping changes. The other group included those who said the call for change was not a Washington monopoly and that a wider demand for greater democracy had to be addressed....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/29/international/middleeast/29ARAB.html

with issues like denying kurds their right to self determination.
leading by example?

will ever get full U.S. support.