Wednesday, June 25, 2008

1967. I have been reading An-Nahar's issues from 1967. It is so sad and frustrating. You read that King Husayn donated 12 suitcases of his "personal clothes" to the Palestinian refugees. You read that the refugees suffered from swollen feet from long walks. You read that Ghassan Tuwayni was chosen by the Lebanese government to represent Lebanon at the United Nations--why not Antoine Lahd, I wondered. You read statements by the foreign Minister of Iraq at the time: none other than Adnan Pachachi. He observed that political action without force are futile. It was the Pachachi government that orchestrated the largest arrest of Iraqi Jews (larger than the one by the Ba`th in 1968 by the way) but it was forgotten because he now serves as a puppet. You read that King Husayn said that Saudi forces were dispatched to help Arab armies but that they arrived late to the front. You read the lies of the Syrian, Egyptian, and Jordanian media (it is stunning how candid Stalin was in comparison: when he told the Soviet of people of the extent of Soviet losses in WWII). You read Ghassan Tuwayni days after the defeat writing on the front page of An-Nahar, and in the wake of the revelation of the extent of U.S. embrace of Israeli aggression, that what the Arabs need more than anything is...dialogue with the West. You read a press conference by King Husayn: he was asked why he was one Arab government that refused to sever diplomatic ties with U.S. and other Western governments that supported Israel. He answered: "I can't reveal all the facets of the issue and its developments." He also spoke about the heroism of his soldiers to save a Jordanian tank that carried his name. I would not name a tank after Husayn. Maybe I would name a....