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Aging hormones
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Why Washington's elderly elite hate Clinton
(08/25/98)
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By Gary Kamiya
The all-amateur skin flick that's revitalizing the adult-video industry
(08/25/98)
The other grand jury begins
By Murray Waas
Now it is Kenneth Starr's inquiry that is the object of a secret federal grand jury probe, as the plot continues to thicken
(08/24/98)
Salon editorial
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It's time for the American system to usher Ken Starr from the stage
(08/21/98)
False Witness, Part 5
By Michael Haddigan and Murray Waas
Why there will never be a Whitewater Report from Ken Starr
(08/21/98)
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HOW TO TURN A CRIMINAL TO A HERO | PAGE 1, 2
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Resentment toward America by Arab elites also has become personal. Outside American media circles, perhaps the biggest supporters of the "Wag the Dog" interpretation of the U.S. attack -- that Clinton struck to deflect attention from the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal -- are Arab writers, journalists and intellectuals. In the Arab world, this interpretation flows logically from an earlier conspiracy theory about the scandal, which holds that Lewinsky, who is Jewish, was part of a plot hatched by Israel and its American Jewish supporters to cripple Clinton's ability to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Telhami, who also writes a weekly commentary for the Arabic-language Radio Monte Carlo, says he spends much of his efforts trying to convince Arab intellectuals that such conspiracy theories are overheated fantasies. But from the vantage point of the Middle East, he notes, it is difficult for Arabs to view Clinton's strike against bin Laden in isolation from the other components making up America's Middle East policy.
In addition to Clinton's reluctance to confront Israel's excesses, he says, "Arabs look at the region and they see four countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan -- under severe international sanctions that are U.S.-led and unprecedented in [the] history of international relations. They see five Middle Eastern countries [same as above, plus Syria] listed as sponsors of terrorism, and they see American forces based on the territories of eight countries in the region." (Those eight are Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE and Oman.)
"So while conspiracy theories are crazy, there are still some objective reasons why people think that the U.S. is targeting them. And they make a lot of stories out of it," he says.
Another chord that bin Laden has struck among Arab elites is their nervousness about the phenomenon of globalization, which many view as a thinly veiled attempt by the U.S. to Americanize the world by expanding global markets and then filling its shelves with American products, ideas and expectations. At a recent conference on globalization in Asilah, Morocco, speaker after speaker from the Arab world portrayed globalization as a new form of American imperialism, destined to gobble up their economies and societies and incorporate them into a global landscape defined by McDonald's, the Internet and Bruce Willis movies.
"This globalization is a raging torrent that's going to wash away our borders, our cultures and our identities," warned Mamoun Fandy, an Egyptian who teaches Middle East politics at Georgetown University. It is worth noting that Fandy's concerns are not that different from the warnings against American imperialism issued by bin Laden himself.
With the Arab and Muslim worlds in an uproar over the U.S. attack, the question now is what affect this anger will have on Middle East governments and, by extension, U.S. policy in the region.
Some maintain that the outrage of the Arab elites doesn't really matter at all. These observers note that with the exception of the fall of the Iranian shah, the authoritarian governments of the Middle East have learned how to deal with popular unrest and know how to balance their need for survival against their need for the United States. Others believe that the deep resentments unleashed by the American attack eventually will destabilize the regimes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other pro-American countries.
"The truth is always in the middle," Telhami says, "and the truth is this: What's happening isn't going to immediately threaten the Saudi regime or the Egyptian regime. But it's going to limit their options. It means that when the United States faces a crisis with Iraq in the next few weeks, where the use of force will be contemplated, the chances that the U.S. will get any cooperation from Muslim and Arab countries will have diminished dramatically as a consequence of this. The same applies to any coalition coming together around the issue of terrorism."
Many analysts of the region say the only way the United States can avoid that lonely scenario is by addressing moderate Arab concerns. That means not only punishing enemies like bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, but also pushing Israel harder on the peace process and encouraging moderates in Iran. And it means demonstrating that globalization includes benefits for Arabs that go beyond Big Macs and cyberporn.
Just as the U.S. cruise missiles sent an unmistakable message to bin Laden, Arab moderates appear to be sending a message to President Clinton. That message says the moderates don't like bin Laden any more than the Americans do. But it also warns that the societies of the region are fragile and could fracture as a result of one-dimensional American policies. If that happens, they seem to be saying, President Clinton's new war against terror could become a clash of civilizations.
SALON | Aug. 26, 1998
Discuss the recent terrorist attacks against the U.S. in the International Issues area of Table Talk.

T A B L E+T A L K Should we just say yes to hemp? Discuss the plant's bad reputation and multiple uses in the Science and Health area of Table Talk D A I L Y+Q U O T E Diana's legacy in the press R E C E N T L Y Aging hormones By Mollie Dickenson Why Washington's elderly elite hate Clinton (08/25/98) Kenneth Starr, porn legend! By Gary Kamiya The all-amateur skin flick that's revitalizing the adult-video industry (08/25/98) The other grand jury begins By Murray Waas Now it is Kenneth Starr's inquiry that is the object of a secret federal grand jury probe, as the plot continues to thicken (08/24/98) Salon editorial By David Talbot It's time for the American system to usher Ken Starr from the stage (08/21/98) False Witness, Part 5 By Michael Haddigan and Murray Waas Why there will never be a Whitewater Report from Ken Starr (08/21/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		HOW TO TURN A CRIMINAL TO A HERO \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - Resentment toward America by Arab elites also has become personal. Outside American media circles, perhaps the biggest supporters of the "Wag the Dog" interpretation of the U.S. attack -- that Clinton struck to deflect attention from the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal -- are Arab writers, journalists and intellectuals. In the Arab world, this interpretation flows logically from an earlier conspiracy theory about the scandal, which holds that Lewinsky, who is Jewish, was part of a plot hatched by Israel and its American Jewish supporters to cripple Clinton's ability to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Telhami, who also writes a weekly commentary for the Arabic-language Radio Monte Carlo, says he spends much of his efforts trying to convince Arab intellectuals that such conspiracy theories are overheated fantasies. But from the vantage point of the Middle East, he notes, it is difficult for Arabs to view Clinton's strike against bin Laden in isolation from the other components making up America's Middle East policy. In addition to Clinton's reluctance to confront Israel's excesses, he says, "Arabs look at the region and they see four countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan -- under severe international sanctions that are U.S.-led and unprecedented in [the] history of international relations. They see five Middle Eastern countries [same as above, plus Syria] listed as sponsors of terrorism, and they see American forces based on the territories of eight countries in the region." (Those eight are Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE and Oman.) "So while conspiracy theories are crazy, there are still some objective reasons why people think that the U.S. is targeting them. And they make a lot of stories out of it," he says. Another chord that bin Laden has struck among Arab elites is their nervousness about the phenomenon of globalization, which many view as a thinly veiled attempt by the U.S. to Americanize the world by expanding global markets and then filling its shelves with American products, ideas and expectations. At a recent conference on globalization in Asilah, Morocco, speaker after speaker from the Arab world portrayed globalization as a new form of American imperialism, destined to gobble up their economies and societies and incorporate them into a global landscape defined by McDonald's, the Internet and Bruce Willis movies. "This globalization is a raging torrent that's going to wash away our borders, our cultures and our identities," warned Mamoun Fandy, an Egyptian who teaches Middle East politics at Georgetown University. It is worth noting that Fandy's concerns are not that different from the warnings against American imperialism issued by bin Laden himself. With the Arab and Muslim worlds in an uproar over the U.S. attack, the question now is what affect this anger will have on Middle East governments and, by extension, U.S. policy in the region. Some maintain that the outrage of the Arab elites doesn't really matter at all. These observers note that with the exception of the fall of the Iranian shah, the authoritarian governments of the Middle East have learned how to deal with popular unrest and know how to balance their need for survival against their need for the United States. Others believe that the deep resentments unleashed by the American attack eventually will destabilize the regimes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other pro-American countries. "The truth is always in the middle," Telhami says, "and the truth is this: What's happening isn't going to immediately threaten the Saudi regime or the Egyptian regime. But it's going to limit their options. It means that when the United States faces a crisis with Iraq in the next few weeks, where the use of force will be contemplated, the chances that the U.S. will get any cooperation from Muslim and Arab countries will have diminished dramatically as a consequence of this. The same applies to any coalition coming together around the issue of terrorism." Many analysts of the region say the only way the United States can avoid that lonely scenario is by addressing moderate Arab concerns. That means not only punishing enemies like bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, but also pushing Israel harder on the peace process and encouraging moderates in Iran. And it means demonstrating that globalization includes benefits for Arabs that go beyond Big Macs and cyberporn. Just as the U.S. cruise missiles sent an unmistakable message to bin Laden, Arab moderates appear to be sending a message to President Clinton. That message says the moderates don't like bin Laden any more than the Americans do. But it also warns that the societies of the region are fragile and could fracture as a result of one-dimensional American policies. If that happens, they seem to be saying, President Clinton's new war against terror could become a clash of civilizations. SALON \| Aug. 26, 1998 Discuss the recent terrorist attacks against the U.S. in the International Issues area of Table Talk.