US hegemony over North Africa and the Middle East, the desperate attempts to cement Palestinian unity and a general state of inquietude engulf the Arab world's print media The Arab League has wobbled woefully, but presidents Bashar Al-Assad of Syria and Nicolas Sarkozy of France, together with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani are determined, it seems, to propel the pace of the Middle East peace process forward. Sarkozy went out of his way to assure other countries in the region that this was no new exclusive club and that others were most welcome to join. Indeed, he urged them to do so. There were rumours flying about that some Arab political heavyweights such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia were upset because of being excluded from the Damascus summit. Such hearsay was hotly denied by the Egyptian and Saudi authorities. According to the pan-Arab London-based daily Al-Hayat, Sarkozy hailed Al-Assad as a "wise and far- sighted leader". The political calculations behind the summit intrigued Arab pundits. "Syria respected its obligations towards Lebanon," Sarkozy was quoted as saying in Al-Hayat. What does France need in return? There was much speculation about the undercurrents of the summit itself. Why were the leaders of these very different and diverse countries meeting in Damascus? What hidden agenda do they share in the Syrian capital? According to the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Al-Assad insisted on a prominent role for the Americans in any serious attempt at Syrian-Israeli rapprochement. "A prominent United States role in the Syrian- Israeli peace process is prerequisite," Al-Assad was quoted as saying. "We have presented Turkey with six points for negotiating with Israel," Al-Assad said in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The Egyptian call to dispatch Arab forces to the Gaza Strip preoccupied pundits. Palestine remains the main symbol of pan-Arab resistance to foreign domination. Most Arab commentators feel exceptionally aggrieved because of the deadly and fratricidal rivalry between secularist Fatah and militant Islamist Hamas, believing the Palestinian cause is mortally wounded because of the internecine and factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah. Some Arab commentators have expressed grave doubts about the position of Egypt and Cairo's motives in resolving the Palestinian question. "The general feeling in Egypt is that the regime is against Hamas and allied with [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas as well as the United States and Israel. Therefore, the Egyptian call [for dispatching Arab forces to Gaza] is doubtful and in all cases will be in the interest of Israel and against Hamas," Egyptian political analyst Abdallah El-Ashaal, writing in Al-Hayat. The release of the Israeli prisoner of war held by Hamas sympathisers in Gaza, Gilad Shalit, has become a rallying point. "The release of Shalit was part of the truce negotiations [between Egypt and Palestinian factions] in which prisoners exchange was included. The release of Shalit has emerged as an exchange for the opening of the Rafah border crossing [to Palestinians] by Egyptian authorities. By so doing, Egypt and Israel are pressuring Hamas through Egypt," El-Ashaal explained. The main accusation of certain Arab pundits is that Cairo is unfairly committed to backing Fatah. Egyptian authorities are suspecting Hamas of having close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and in other Arab countries. Indeed the daily Al-Bayan of the United Arab Emirates stressed the peripheralisation of the Egyptian role in the Middle East peace process. The paper claimed that when it comes to the release of Shalit, the Egyptians have lost all credibility. "Matters are fast slipping from their hands and certain European nations are now taking the initiative." Al-Bayan disclosed that European countries such as Switzerland and Norway were now seriously mediating between Hamas and Israel. Cairo no longer had a credible role to play. In much the same vein and in a vicious attack on Arab governments in general and their lack of interest in the plight of the Palestinians, Abdul-Bari Atouan of Al-Hayat lamented the fact that distant Iceland had given Palestinians stranded on the Syrian-Iraqi border safe passage and political asylum. In the meantime, Atouan pointed out, Arab countries refrained from rescuing the stranded Palestinians. In a poignant commentary entitled "Thank you Iceland" the writer praised the efforts of Iceland and derided Arab governments for doing absolutely nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. Another controversial point raised by some Arab pundits was the issue of nuclear power. Why, these pundits argue, do other countries have nuclear capabilities, while no Arab country dares develop its nuclear facilities? In his daily column in Al-Hayat, Gihad Al-Ghazen called upon "all Arab states, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to work on building nuclear capabilities, not just being content with talking about it. The Arabs should not remain at the mercy of Israel's nuclear arsenal and a future Iranian one." Al-Ghazen suspects Iran's motives for developing its nuclear capabilities. He added, "Iran is trying to possess a nuclear weapon, even if it denies doing so. I support its quest for this goal in light of the Arabs' lagging behind in this regard and because I'm convinced that the United States does not believe in the ideal solution in the Middle East -- freeing it from weapons of mass destruction. This American stance is because it wants Israel to remain the only nuclear state [in the region] threatening all the countries of the region." Al-Ghazen added that "the Iranian nuclear [military] programme is more like an insurance policy, and it will not use it against others. Rather, Iran will use its nuclear weapon to deter other countries from using their weapons against it." The Saudi daily Al-Watan alluded to the growing economic ties between oil-rich Libya and the US. The historic visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, stated Al-Watan, "was intended to entice Libya into joining the oil-exporting countries pitted against Iran and its controversial nuclear programme. Libya was, after all, among the first Arab countries to dismantle its programme of weapons of mass destruction," Al-Watan noted. "Libya is also viewed by Washington as a conduit into Africa south of the Sahara in general and Sudan and Chad in particular," the paper speculated. Soap opera obsessions gripped the Arab press as much as it did the Egyptian print media. Except that in this instance the soap opera was deadly real. Like the Egyptian press, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat was preoccupied with the Hisham Talaat issue. "I was in love with Suzanne Tamim and I was helping her in solving her problems," the Egyptian billionaire businessman was quoted as saying during police interrogations after Tamim was found stabbed to death in his home in Dubai in July. Last but not least, Lebanese papers were inundated with reports and commentaries on the memorandum signed on Monday between warring confessional factions to end the sectarian strife that has crippled the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. The Lebanese daily Al-Nahar quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora as saying, "Tripoli is a single city."
