Limited Joy Among Arabs

The joyous celebrations of bin Laden’s assassination in the West have awakened mainly unpleasant associations in the Middle East.

Representatives of the European Union have joined in celebrating bin Laden’s death. President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy not only feel shoulder to shoulder with the United States but also with their friends in the Muslim world. The latter is probably a highly optimistic appraisal by the big shots in Brussels.

Joyful celebrations such as those in Times Square didn’t take place in any Arab nations. Television correspondents from Germany’s ARD network to CNN International all obviously tried to piggy-back on the praise (or at least the enthusiasm) that characterized American reaction to the news of bin Laden’s assassination, but as of yesterday their attempts were apparently all in vain. Instead of reacting with sheer joy, their audiences tended toward a measure of caution and reflection that was missing in many of our politicians. Even the majority of Arab nation leaders have thus far been circumspect with their comments.

Among the few who sought to make political hay from the assassination was Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He went so far as to release the contents of a letter he sent to U.S. President Barack Obama concerning the assassination. He said he welcomed the news of bin Laden’s death and that it gave him a sense of relief, not out of revenge but out of the belief that his death was justified. He added that the Iraqi people were America’s allies in the war on terror.

Aside from the fact that his statement displayed more diplomatic wisdom than those of most American politicians, every Iraqi knows that Talabani, a Kurdish tribal leader, would not even be president of Iraq were it not for backing from the United States and the support of U.S. troops in his country. He proceeds, no doubt, with the knowledge that the protective hand of the United States is the only thing that will allow him to carry out his agenda for the Kurdish north of the country to the detriment of other Iraqi regions.

Most Iraqis will recall — whether they wish to admit it or not — that during Saddam Hussein’s regime, as merciless as it may have been, there wasn’t the constant terror caused by the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida as there has been during the past eight years. And they also know that it was one of George W. Bush’s most outrageous lies — the supposed connection between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein — that was used to justify the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. If there were ever a country where Osama bin Laden’s recruitment efforts fizzled, it was Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Regardless of what the United States wants to link to bin Laden and al-Qaida in the future, they’ll have to work hard to establish credibility in Iraq.

All that is known about Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s reaction is his public statement that he was glad that bin Laden was dead. Even the despots on the Arabian Peninsula avoided overt celebration. There are numerous reasons for them to maintain their reserve, not the least of which is the fact that, in Pentagon terms, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of terror. Not only was bin Laden a Saudi, more than two-thirds of the 9/11 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia, as does most financing for terrorist operations. But perhaps it’s not just that discomfort keeping the monarchs on the Arabian Peninsula from overtly celebrating.

It’s far more likely that their excommunication by bin Laden because they were too cozy with the Americans shocked them more than they care to admit; above all because they suspect, with good reason, that the majority of their underprivileged subjects’ hatred for them isn’t that far removed from bin Laden’s.

One thing cannot be overlooked concerning Arab reaction to bin Laden’s death: Most Muslims feel neither satisfaction nor grief. Insofar as they’re not personally affected by it, the supposed ramifications of terror and counter-terror are tangential to their everyday lives. If sympathy for bin Laden was often apparent in the East it was less due to terrorist acts than it was to the fact that he successfully stood up to a global superpower.

Much of the commentary coming from Western politicians recently will serve as a recruiting tool for the terrorists. Whether from ignorance or arrogance — seemingly the language preferred by those celebrating — all that’s likely to be created is doubt as to whether those bombarding North Africa have a moral right to claim they are promoting democracy.

Is it mere thoughtlessness when President Obama says the United States kept a promise to ensure justice would be done? The world now knows “that as a nation there’s nothing we can’t do” when the United States makes a promise. The Palestinians and other Arab people will painfully recall other promises Obama made only to now leave them feeling they have been abandoned.

By these standards, the U.S. claim that burying bin Laden at sea was carried out in accordance with Islamic tradition comes off not only as incredibly blatant but also as politically insignificant.

Recent opinion polls in the Arab world show little support for Osama bin Laden. The Pew Research Center in Washington reports only 22 percent of Egyptians, 13 percent of Jordanians and 34 percent of Palestinians expressed confidence in him. Nevertheless, many Arabs view the American attack on him with mixed feelings.