14 Aug Assessing the Effects of the Israel/Hezbollah Conflict
14.08.06
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2 Comments
Shadi Hamid at Democracy Arsenal has a nuanced take on the “winners and losers” of the fighting in Lebanon and Israel. Well worth the read.
With all due respect to Shadi Hamid, I was more than a bit puzzled by all the references to ‘Arab’ this or that. I’ve never imagined the Iranians to be ‘Arabs,’ and surely they count in any tentative tally of the ‘winners and losers.’ Indeed, it’s rather surprising nothing whatsoever was said about the ramifications/implications for Islamist politics. Pan-Arab politics (Arab nationalism) is, and for some time now has been, comparatively weak and evanescent. The posters being plastered throughout the Middle East and beyond (from ‘Morocco to Indonesia’ in the words of one writer) are of Hassan Nasrallah. That is what speaks volumes, not the quaint references made by Shadi to ‘Arab opposition’ or ‘Arab solidarity,’ such as it is.
If perchance anyone is interested, Shadi responded to my comment and, in turn, I replied to his response over at Democracy Arsenal.