Libya, Lebanon, and the Caucasian strains conjured up the images of the commentators There has been snide press coverage about the Libyan- Italian summit in the Cyrenaican Mediterranean port city of Benghazi, Libya's second largest city. As always, the flamboyant Libyan leader and the suave Italian premier caught the attention of Arab commentators. The two men were determined to make, or rather re- make, history. Nasty jibes about the mental capacity of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are nothing new. The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, too, is derided as a Machiavellian albeit often reckless billionaire who bribes and buys friends in a most unscrupulous fashion. Berlusconi apologised profusely to his Libyan hosts for the Italian colonial legacy in Libya and pledged $5 billion in compensation to the Libyans. It is as yet unclear if Italian largesse would be adopted by other former European colonial powers. Other countries that suffered colonialism at the hands of European powers would demand compensation. Italy is in generous mood but other European powers might be reluctant to follow suit. Italy pledged to return archaeological treasures looted during the colonial era, and has embarked on massive investment projects in Libya. Italy, Libya's most important trading partner, is utterly dependant on Libyan oil and gas and is keen to supply the lucrative Libyan market with luxury Italian goods. According to the London-based independent political daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the summit cemented ties between the two neighbouring countries. "The crime of colonialism must not tarnish the potential of good neighbourliness," Berlusconi was quoted as saying in the pan-Arab daily. Other summits, too, attracted the attention of the Arab press. The Saudi-Qatari summit in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah was the focus of pan-Arab papers including Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat. On an entirely different note, the question of fratricidal rivalry among Palestinians preoccupied commentators. The political and ideological chasm between the Palestinians' two most influential and largest political groupings -- secularist Fatah and militant Islamist Hamas -- was the subject of intensive debate. In an extensive full-page interview, in a five-part series with Al-Hayat, Mohamed Dahlan, former Palestinian security chief and member of the Fatah faction, opened a Pandora's box. "Only one Palestinian knew the real face of Hamas more than I -- Yasser Arafat," Dahlan claimed. There is no love lost between Dahlan and the militant Islamist activists of Palestine. His vision of a liberated Palestine is a secular one free of religious bigotry and fanaticism. "There is no difference between Hamas and Al-Qaeda, and what is needed now is to save it from its sin and save the Palestinian people from its [Islamic] caliphate," Dahlan unequivocally stated. "Hamas scheduled its suicide operations to foil the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat's [peaceful efforts.]" Dahlan said, "militarising the Intifada was a collective mistake that we all committed... Arafat had good relations with Rabin, a cold one with Ehud Barak, and Ariel Sharon personalised the conflict with Arafat and deep inside he loathed him." Dahlan revealed that his wife was veiled and was a keen Hamas supporter until she discovered the bitter truth about the movement. Al-Hayat also published a controversial front-page lead story on Geish Al-Umma (The Army of the Umma), the militant Islamist group in Gaza, that is ideologically linked with Al-Qaeda and Fateh Al-Islam. The paper revealed that these organisations set up mutual training camps and recruited young activists to carry out terrorist acts. The Caucasian tensions interested Arab commentators. The fate of Georgia, however, was not the major Arab concern. Rather, pundits were preoccupied with the current tussle between the West and Russia. There is a consensus among Arab commentators that the West would like to contain the emerging power of Russia. Russia, according to writers, has legitimate aspirations and the West is bent on thwarting them. Most commentators applauded the growing economic and military power of Russia. However, they do not necessarily condone a return to the Cold War. "The world has become weary of the current state of affairs, and the alternative is a return to the Cold War," wrote Salek Al-Qallab in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. "Putin's Russia got rid of Yeltsin's ill period, and the Americans are to blame for bringing the state of affairs to the current point." Russia feels encircled by hostile nations that believe the US is their champion. It is against this backdrop that Al-Qallab stresses that even if the smaller eastern European nations had in the past suffered at the hands of the Soviets, the majority of the developing countries of the South actually side with Russia. He added, "the majority of countries became bored of US hegemony after the collapse of the Soviet Union. And this, in fact, prompts many [a country] which seeks to end this [hegemonic] situation to welcome any change in the current formula, even if this leads to the reawakening of the hated Cold War." In much the same vein, parallels were drawn between Western hostility to Russia and the lack of sympathy to the Arab cause by Western governments. Herein lies the natural sympathy between Arabs and Russia. Writing in the London-based Al-Hayat, Aref Nizameddin tried to paint a picture of the Arab world in light of the "new world chaos" and the current conflicts between the West and Russia on one hand, and between Iran and the West on the other. "Certainly, the Arabs will pay the price of what is happening in the global arena. The Arab region will witness changes in positions, maps and state of affairs. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Arab world is unaware of the dangers looming over it and not ready to deal with them, given the chronic disagreements [between its leaders] and the fragmentation that accumulated over the past decades, in addition to the prevailing atmosphere of indifference. Meanwhile, the major powers are competing to gain influence in new regions," Nizameddin extrapolated. His outlook was grim, ascribing Arab weakness in the international arena to dictatorship and the lack of democratisation. He derided Arab leadership and compared it unfavourably to the Russian leadership that has stood up gallantly to Washington. The appointment of General Jean Kahwaji as Lebanese army chief attracted the attention of several Arab commentators, both in the Lebanese press and in the pan-Arab print media. "The most professional soldier in Lebanon is rarely rewarded with the top military position in the country, but General Kahwaji is an exception. What he lacks in military professionalism, he more than makes up for in political acumen. And, that is precisely why he was chosen to head the Lebanese armed forces," wrote Thaer Abbas in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The writer noted that Kahwaji was "calm and collected" -- two characteristics that are of vital importance in the volatile political climate of Lebanon.
