It is incumbent upon us to nurture this seedling, and ensure that it grows to maturity. Now is not the time to pull back. We have, in the words of JFK, "thrown our hat over the fence", and are not committed to the task at hand. Let us fervently hope and pray that we have the determination and courage to finish it.

“Let us fervently hope and pray that we have the determination and courage to finish it.”

We better “have the determination and courage to finish it.” I’ve always emphasized the fact that we are not primarily acting altruistically in the Middle East. This area of the world must opt for the 21st Century---or our very lives will continue to be in jeopardy. Isolationism is pure madness. Our world is too small to afford that luxury.

I always find it laughable when pro-war men think that their actions are responsible for things brewing long before their wars. Although I'm not a great fan of his geeky Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, have more to do with democracy in the 3rd World than Bush and Co.
That said, I recall Harvey Keitel's great line in I believe Pulp Fiction: (to paraphrase) "Let's not go sucking each other's dicks just yet!"
Let's see if these movements hold up for 5 or 10 years, then we'll see a new paradigm. Chances are, having been down these roads before it won't last 5 or 10 months.

This essay is a great find. Democracy and federalism are the real expression of multiculturalism - a real contrast to the phony multiculturalism that’s willing to tolerate intolerance, or even fascism, in an effort to be “non-judgemental”.

White Arabism sounds like an idea that should be embraced by Jews, Kurds and anti-totalitarian Muslims and Arabs – hopefully a majority of the Middle East population.

I kind of wish he wasn’t using White vs. Black, though. I don’t know about the Middle East, but those words are so loaded in America.

It would be great to help the generation of more liberal societies, especially in the Arab Middle East.

Too bad about the white/ black racist implications in the label; democratic/ dictator is too many syllables. Why not copy Sharansky?
Free/ Fear Arabism?

In any case, the key is a free press, able to criticize the leaders.
(Mary, you're so right. What do you think of Free / Fear Arabism, instead?)

So it's good Arabism because it's "white", and it's bad Arabism if it's "black."

Nice.

Tom - Free / Fear Arabism sounds better.

We have a free press here, and sometimes it doesn’t seem to be enough. They need a free press + blogs :-)

I also hate the name. The "white" part, yes, for all the reasons perviously stated, but also the "Arab" part. A political movement that seeks to embrace and empower minorities ought not to be named after the ethnicity of the majority. Practically every utterance of it will need an asterisk and disclaimer (or two)**.

There is also a whiff of "seperate but equal" to such assertions as: "Only federalism can allow forms of Arab identity to be preserved while Kurds are treated as equal both on the individual level and as a collective community." If I were Kurdish or Jewish, I think I'd be suspicious.

*White does not refer to pigmentation.
*Non-Arabs also welcome.

White does not refer to pigmentation.

Browning,

I know. I could care less. It's just fun to play an offended Liberal once in a while :-)

For Barbara Assadia: One totally coherent (and funny) post. I love that Keitel quote and it is soooo apt, esp as regards Bush & Co.

Barbara and Seymour - are you confused? At what point in this post are Bush or support for the war mentioned?

The names are very poorly chosen. There are racial components in many (esp NAfrican) Arab countries and skin tone neuroses that go with it. It's not that much different if we started talking about White Deomcracy (good!) and Black Democracy (bad!).

That said, I'm not sure what kind of cultural connotations white and black (purely as colors) have for Arabs, in more than one culture, white is a color of sterility and death (and mourning).

I like Open Arabism vs Closed Arabism. (Though Free and Fear are also okay).

I had the same thought about "white" and "black," but let's try to not drag our own cultural baggage into this. The article was written by an Arab, in an Arab newspaper, in an Arab country, about an Arab political movement to liberalize Arab culture. And it is clearly anti-racist.

Barbara and Seymour - are you confused? At what point in this post are Bush or support for the war mentioned?--Mary

And there,once again,the situation is summed up in a few well chosen words.
All reality for certain 'types'is filtered through the I Hate Bush prism,and whatever information exits the other side bears but an accidental resemblence to the original input.The situation is so bad that really,all discourse is virtually useless at this point,which is why I can't really be bothered to respond any longer unless it is a particularly egregious logical or moral flaw.
That said,I quote this little gem:
Chances are, having been down these roads before it won't last 5 or 10 months.Please correct me if I am completely off-base here,but does this statement appear to be grounded at least as much in wish-fulfillment as in hard-headed historical analysis?The reason I ask is the derisive use of the phrase'Bush & Co.',which turned up in the missives of both BA & SP.This snide little slur is indicative of the mind-set of 'certain types',and at least to me indicates that anything they might say,even if possibly accurate in itself,is always being used merely as a tool to futher some other risable agenda,and therefore is automatically suspect.
When EVERYTHING is viewed not on its own merits but on the impact it might have on the belief system of one given group of people,the whole process of intellectual debate is debased.
It's NOT about ME.I'm bigger than that.It's about how I might implode if Bush is right,and I am WRONG. Jon Stewart says it in jest.Others--- Not so much.

Barb,

Great Post!

"Although I'm not a great fan of his geeky Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, have more to do with democracy in the 3rd World than Bush and Co."

Did you mean - "Although I'm not a great fan of the geeky Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, they have more to do with democracy in the 3rd World than Bush and Co.

You hit so many point in a short space that I just had to comment.

1. Condescending sneer to 'pro-war' men.
Check
2. Sound bite world view
Check
3. Hollywood reference for authority
Check
4. Some shock value obscenity to ho0k 'em
Check
5. Defeatist sweep of the arm to dismiss what's happening.

Check.

Truly outstanding. Long may you run.

Michael - the text and the whole idea is completely anti-racist. It's just a labeling thing. The same words mean different things in different cultures.

Most sane people don't worry about things like that, but I used to work for marketing, so I do. Marketing people were worried that our software would have the Nova Problem abroad. But now it turns out that that whole story was an urban legend. They should have read Snopes.

Chances are, having been down these roads before it won't last 5 or 10 months.

This is where I went into "WTF" land. When have we seen something like what's happening in the Middle East right now? Oh, I know; the collapse of the Eastern Block.

Boy, it's a real shame that happened, isn't it?

Slightly off-topic but for anyone interested in seeing Syrians and Lebanese debate eachother re the recent protests and other topics, this is a very interesting (on the ground, as it were) blog. The comments sections of the posts are particularly interesting (Tony - at beirut2bayside makes an appearance as well):

Syria comment

Barbara it's not black and white like that. Of course you need democrats (and I think of men like Saad Eddin Ibrahim here not Steve Jobs) if the region is to have any hope. You also need real power to balance the pure brutality of the fascists and Steve Jobs doesn't cut it there.

Fascist states put all of their efforts into holding on to power and they can use their brutality, and foment ethnic hatred etc. to hang on indefinately the great detriment of the people.

I'm sure liberals all over the middle east are blessing GWB under their breath. But of course comfortable American psuedo-liberals consider those people and their needs beneith notice. If it takes violence or the threat of violence to counter violence, then the pious pretense that mere talk will save them will have to suffice.

jdwill, you captured her tone better than I did.

"2. Sound bite world view"

Exactly. It's "sound bite condescension" But don't blame her. Everybody know that Bush is an ignoramous, so you don't have to actually study the middle east to strike a condescending pose against his administration's policies. Why you can know nothing at all and still be completely assured of the superiority of your views.

I know it doesn't change much, but I'll be more comfortable when "white arabism" gets a voice in the world press. Varous cynical variations on "black arabism" get a hearing on the BBC and probably CNN. Hell, there's even Al Jazzeera, "the other [jihad] side of the story"
When do middle eastern liberals get access to the media?

This is what I call white Arabism:

Spanish Muslims issue fatwa against Osama Bin Laden

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/050310/323/fe375.html

Hmm? I'm soundbiting in a post reductively labed black and white arabism? That is funny.
As for reform movements in the Arab world- look back over the last century to find the ruins.
To jdwill- no, my grammar was correct. Your sciolism is intact.
As for the assumption of defeatism, that can only be divined by your own powers of delusion. As I said, let a few years go by before victory is declared. Ooh, dissent- call Cotton Mather.
The Gates and Jobs references were to information having a far more corrosive effect on power than mere simplistic analyses as laid out in thios article.
That said, it's obvious Keitel's warning was not heeded her, so continue at your leisure, boys. And Joshua- a better self definition you could not have done if you tried. Ta.

Babs - Ta??

Your careless-yet-recherché routine isn’t working. When you try too hard to affect a Gallic shrug it looks like a nervous tick.

As for reform movements in the Arab world- look back over the last century to find the ruins

So, the Arabs can’t handle democracy and if you give the poor welfare they’ll just spend it on crack. Yet another bleat of isolationist wisdom from the post-humanitarian left.

Barbara,

Sciolism : a superficial show of learning

Thanks for the new word.

"Although I'm not a great fan of his geeky Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs, have more to do with democracy in the 3rd World than Bush and Co."

His Geekiness? I'm just a humble IT developer, and I can't parse this sentence. Some help, please.

Also, the Cotton Mather reference is cosmic in its reach, or maybe just wierd.

That said, I agree about count-chicken-hatch, but I am more hopeful, taking a long term view. The paradox is that GWB's actions enabled something that would probably have happened anyway. Did he make history or serve it? And in either case, was he essential? Did the people who said things like Chances are, having been down these roads before it won't last 5 or 10 months. contribute anything? Will they ever?

Oy!

I just looked at Barbara's email moniker. That and using the word sciolism say more about her than she may realise.

As for reform movements in the Arab world- look back over the last century to find the ruins.

I'd like to get your thoughts on this little morsel I found at Wikipedia: Turkish War of Independence. This appears to be one chapter in Turkey's transition from sultanate to a unicameral democracy. I'd have to say it is the very least the exception to ruinous reform over the last century.

The Gates and Jobs references were to information having a far more corrosive effect on power than mere simplistic analyses as laid out in this article.

At the risk of assuming my alter-ego, Captain Obvious, information alone is not enough. You have to take that information and apply it. Plus, we could get into a whole argument on having the proper information (ie. validity, timeliness, et. al.).

Barbara used the "I know you are but what am I defense" taunt on me. And she thought we were self parodying...

Oh Jesus.

Joshua,

I think I understand where Barb picked up some of her language. I didn't really understand what she meant by 'post reductive' until I found this gem ...

"The reification of bullshit, the (pre-)reductionist elaboration of anaytical practices and the post-reductive reification of bullshit, are of significance insofar as we do have – must have – intuitions of social and historical complexity. We have to have such intuitions – or join the Workers Revolutionary Party."

Now my head hurts, and I still don't understand. I'm glad I hid out in the computer lab in college.

The reification of bullshit, the (pre-)reductionist elaboration of anaytical practices and the post-reductive reification of bullshit, are of significance insofar as we do have – must have – intuitions of social and historical complexity. We have to have such intuitions – or join the Workers Revolutionary Party.

The nice thing about computers is that you can't get away with bullshit. Either a program works or it doesn't. You can write bullshit about your program all day long and you'll still fail if it doesn't work.

But in some subjects there is no object except your popularity with a mass of self important monkeys.

Barbara knows just how to strike a pose. In fact she strikes them so hard she murders them. But I doubt she knows much else.

By the way, the first few paragraphs of that article are in mostly lucid english and accuse avant-guard arts of being con men.

I suppose there's some irony here, but frankly I'm sick to death of irony. Irony is worthless.

Ohh, the many typos in my posts. I may have to rethink my policy of never previewing my posts.

The usage of "white" and "black" does in fact have racial undertones. The shah of Iran used the term "white revolution" when he introduced reforms to modernize Iran. Racism is very real in the middle east and it’s very evident in the article.

Michael,
Its a bunch of new age word games and hooey crap..... Meanwhile, the Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank under occupation got electricity, sewer, money for Universities, exposed to a real democracy, the right of free speech more so than any other Arab country in the Middle East to a point of not inciting violence against Israel, and became the most educated and well informed group of Arabs in the Middle East.
Israel as a motivator to democratize is just a fake fig leaf. Its got NOTHING to do with the murderers in Damascus, Tripoli and elsewhere, its just the Soviet styled Orwellian monsters, not there but there, "effecting Arabs lives thousands and tens of thousands of miles away".....

The Daily Star suffers often from the same PC bullshit as the NY Times but worse...
White Arabism sounds great. But its not another meaningless phrase dressed up for the neo-liberal in people like you, to sit around coffee clutches and say, "wow isn't that a great concept"
I mean after all before we were disgusted by the new left, we were all leftists, so we still need to engage in some theoretical philosophical bullshit once in a while?

Mike

Sina, so you're saying that a man who's calling for an end to biggotry in Arab society is racist because he calls biggoted attitudes "black" and inclusive attitudes white?

I suppose you'd call the people on the other side who want to see the Jews killed or perhaps even the blacks raped and killed in the Sudan the non-racist alternative?

You're making my head hurt. You focus on the flea's flea and ignore the elephant.

Not Kamal Jumblatt please that guy is a war criminal.