The last Arab Summit at Khartoum (City at the Elephant Trunk where the two Niles meet) was downgraded again and cut short to one day (Tuesday). Leaders of the major Arab states like Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia did not attend. The summit called for maintaining the unity of Iraq and verbal solidarity with Syria. It looked truly like a summit of, to use the late Anwar Sadat's term in a similar context, dwarfs. Most attendees did not look like leaders of sovereign nations, rather they looked like messengers sent over to uneasily deliver speeches they did not quite understand. Perhaps when your central obsession is to get power and cling to it for life, rather than to build and serve your nation....perhaps it shows. Anyway, smallnes permeated the place. The late Gamal Abdel-Nasser must be termbling....wherever he is now.
The leaders may have achieved something else as well, they may have manuevered to prevent a speech by Libyan leader Colonel 'Qadhafi, and thus they may have deprived the Arab audiences, and themselves as well, of the last chance at some entertainment. And some bizarre honest talk, at least by 'Qadhafi's standards. Dommage.
In the end, Saudi Arabia, slated to host the next Summit in 2007, declined that dubious honor. Which means that the poor Egyptians will have to put up with it again- no escape for Mubarak next time, eh?
Cheers
Mohammed
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