Najaf

This story about the fizzling of Al-Sadr's 'uprising,' reminds me of something I read in The Arab Mind. All Arabs, probably all Muslims, would agree emphatically with general statements taught by Islam, such as "There is a single Arab nation," even when they are demonstrably false. Arab unity is a myth that asserts itself in all dealing with westerners. That's why we can't seem to get a focus on what Arabs really think: they think on two levels with frequently contradict each other.

Part of the problem might be with the translation of the term 'nation' which doesn't seem to have a true correspondent in Arabic. It doesn't even mean precisely the same thing to Americans and Brits. Nevertheless, to assert the ideal of panarabism when Arabs are constantly warring with each other, takes history where everyone is in on the understanding about the applications of religious ideals and reality.

There is little point to trying to get a coherent story from anybody in the Arab countries. They will tell you what they think the situation calls for, because they are used to being the pawns in continual wars and the government is not something they identify with as westerners do. It's more like the weather; who knows what it will be tomorrow?