THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume V, Issue # 54, March 14, 2003
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
WHY EVEN ARABS DON'T LIKE ARABS: THE STARK ECONOMIC FACTS BEHIND
THE WRANGLING AT THE "ARAB SUMMIT"
IN SHARM EL-SHEIKH
By Alan Caruba
The shouting match that broke out at the March 1, 2003, "Arab Summit" in Sharm El- Sheikh, an Egyptian Red Sea resort, was instructive on a number of levels. What it mostly confirmed was that even Arabs don't like (or trust) Arabs.
Behind all the wrangling are some stark economic facts about the Middle East that go largely unreported. First of all, Arab economies are performing very poorly, due to the structural weaknesses of inadequate growth, high unemployment, and governments that don't manage their finances well. The second part of the equation is the way Arab states spend lavishly for defense and security while doing little, comparatively, for domestic economic needs.
As the Arabic News.Com reported, "The Arab states in 2000 spent 27.4 percent of their total spending on defense and security, while only 9.1 percent was allocated for economic affairs." A report by Gulf News noted that $197.7 billion was spent in 2000 on military costs, while only $53 billion was spent on economic activities. That added up to 35 per- cent of their total expenditures.
Why do they spend so much? Well, if you had a neighbor like Iraq, you would spend a lot too. And if you feared that your own population might rise up against you, a strong mili- tary to enforce your control would be a good idea as well. And, if you really didn't care about the prosperity of the general population of your nation, it really wouldn't matter that you ignored economic growth. Finally, if your economy was based on oil, you might be tempted to ignore any and all other forms of economic growth.
Depending on the sale of rugs, camels, and goats is not exactly a formula for economic success. Most of these nations need to build an economic infrastructure independent of oil revenues. Run by dictators who suck billions out of the economy for their personal use, the Middle East, like Africa, remains an economic basket case.
In a recent article posted on Middle East Times.Com took notice of a report by Brad Bourland, the chief economist for Saudi American Bank who warned, "current strong conditions are masking chronic and apparent weaknesses in the economies of Arab countries. The combined gross domestic product of Arab countries stood at $540 billion; smaller than that of Mexico and one-twentieth of that of the U.S.A.."
As the Arab League leaders gathered in Egypt, ostensibly to find an answer to the di- lemma of Iraq, the answer they really need to find was how to deal with economies grow- ing more slowly than their populations. Levels of unemployment in Arab nations are astronomical compared to other regions of the world. In Algeria, it is 26.4 percent; Oman's is 17.2 percent; Tunisia's is 15.6; Jordan's is 13 percent; and Saudi Arabia's is 13 percent.
This represents a lot of young men who have nothing better to do than join terrorist organizations promising to overthrow their own governments and impose Islamic rule as the answer to their problems. However, as we have seen in Iran, a whole generation of young, often unemployed, young Muslims have identified the source of the problem. It is their own Islamic government, run autocratically by their ayatollahs.
So, when the unelected leaders gathered in Egypt at their Arab League summit meeting, their vain hope of avoiding a U.S.-led war in the region fell apart very swiftly. As the Libyan dictator, Moammar Gaddafi, and his Saudi counterpart, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, hurled insults at one another, television coverage suddenly disappeared off the screens throughout the Middle East. That's a standard mode of censorship throughout the region.
The summit ended with a declaration calling for a "complete rejection of any aggression on Iraq." Yeah, sure. Meanwhile, most of the nations in that region are cooperating with the United States of America to insure an invasion takes place. Their own national secu- rity depends on it. Only Egypt and Saudi Arabia are insisting that war can be avoided if Iraq cooperates with the United Nations inspectors. Since that hasn't occurred after twelve years of UN resolutions, it is not the most realistic position to take.
About the only thing Arab states have in common is their reliance on the United States to save them from an Iraq seeking to arm itself to the teeth with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The Arab League is a joke. The United Nations is a joke. It's time for the only serious nation, the United States, to get on with the job of eliminating Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party of Iraq. After that, the U.S.A. will turn its attention to Syria and other Arab nations in need of regime change.
It's time to drag the Middle East into the twenty-first century to avoid more attacks on the U.S.A. and more threats to the stability of the Middle Eastern region. The appeasers will never achieve this. Only force of arms will impose change.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
The Middle East & the Problem of Iraq
Page Two
Page One
The Problem of Rogue States:
Iraq as a Case History
The Middle East & the Arabs
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, Communications Director of the American Policy Center, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly column, "Warning Signs," posted on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center (www.anxietycenter.com). He is the author of A POCKET GUIDE TO MILITANT ISLAM and THE UNITED NATIONS VS. THE UNITED STATES, both available from the National Anxiety Center, 9 Brookside Road, Maple- wood, New Jersey, 07040.
Copyright 2003 Alan Caruba
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity