Where's the Arab Street?

The Washington Times ^ | April 14, 2003 | Washington Times Editorial

[FairOpinion]

Former NBC correspondent Peter Arnett was sacked two weeks ago for going on Saddam's state-run television network and boasting about how the media's coverage fuels anti-war sentiment in America. Last week, CNN executive Eason Jordan revealed that his company deliberately covered up news of Iraqi brutality in order to keep its bureau in Baghdad. Just about every other news outlet relentlessly ran stories warning that the "Arab Street" would explode as a result of the U.S.-led war to liberate Iraq. As the war draws to a close, however, traffic on this street continues to flow more or less accident-free.

[FairOpinion]

A Lebanese said, "Why don't we see the Americans going to Finland? They come here because the area is filled with dictators."

Some Arabs came to the conclusion that Saddam's fall was Osama bin Laden's fault: "The stabbing of September 11 was not fatal to America, but it was fatal to Saddam Hussein."

They are starting to figure it out!

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[Ebenezer]

To answer the title's question: struggling with poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, poor healthcare, and repressive, corrupt governments. (Oh, wait! That sounds like Saddam's Iraq!)

[sheik yerbouty]

They are streetwalking.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Where's the Arab Street?

Unpaved and going nowhere.

[Grampa Dave]

Another great myth of the left wing mediot is the Arab Street.

Who gives a crap what Islamakazis whackos say or do in the streets they mill around in and foul?

Arab Street reminds me of the Arabic and Left Wing Mediots use of the word Elite when they used it with the former Iraq Republican Guards.

Those bozos were not Elite, and we have nothing to fear from the shallow end of the Arab gene pool milling around and fouling their streets.

[eddie willers]

Damn!
You pulled out the two quotes and came to the same conclusion as I.

I am not needed here....carry on. : )

[El Sordo]

They have selective memories. A year from now they'll be congratulating themselves for having liberated their Arab brothers in Iraq in the face of US opposition.

[Gefreiter]

"One nearly universal fault with the war coverage was the practice of portraying Arab opinion as monolithic"

That's just it...there is no Arab Street, just as there is no Christian Street, or European Street, or New England Street, or whatever.

Arab rulers and media, however, perpetuate this myth to great effect.

[Colofornian]

Arab Street

Oh, yes, please, do tell. May I have the address of Arab Street?

And, you tell me, they ALL live on that block with peaceful block parties every night?

[Phsstpok]

A Lebanese said, "Why don't we see the Americans going to Finland? They come here because the area is filled with dictators."

Some Arabs came to the conclusion that Saddam's fall was Osama bin Laden's fault: "The stabbing of September 11 was not fatal to America, but it was fatal to Saddam Hussein."

They are starting to figure it out!

I was once walking with my parents and the rest of our family on a country road. A large dog started coming down a driveway we were passing growling and barking. I moved to put myself between my Mother and the younger family members and the dog and moved the umbrella I was carrying to the hand on the side nearest the dog.

My Mother cautioned me to "watch out, the dog might think you're going to hit him."

I replied "Smart dog." The dog went on barking, but stopped advancing.

I think the reply to most of the "arab street" is to move our "umbrella" to the optimum position, wait for them to stop advancing mennacingly and say: "Smart Arab."

significant P.S. I am NOT calling Arabs dogs or making any other ethnic slur against Arabs or their character.

[Post Toasties]

Full credit should go to GWB and the Coalition forces for forcing a major paradigm shift in world thinking since 9/11 regarding the significance, or lack thereof, that Islamism has in future events. If Iraq can now be successfuly democratized, that will be a longer lasting achievement of similar significance wrt improving the lot of people in the Mideast and even globally.

[FairOpinion]

...there is no Arab Street...
Arab rulers and media, however, perpetuate this myth to great effect. "
----

But the myth is starting to break down. Do you remember during the war in Afghanistan, we were "warned" that the "Arab street" will riot, if we continue bombing during Ramadan, we did, but there was not a peep.

Also, I think that the Arab and liberal world media has been feeding propaganda to the Arab nations about the US, which is also starting to be disproven, by them seeing the dancing Iraqis on the street celebrating their liberation by the Americans, from a brutal dictator.

I think this is one of the best public relation things we could have done -- of course we didn't do it for that reason, but it is making them see the truth.

[tracer]

It has become frontage road for the Hershey Highway......

[FairOpinion]

Good analogy.
They respect strenght and the resolution that we are willing and are able to fight, as we demonstrated with Iraq. If we will take out Syria the next month or so, the "Arab street" will be so quiet, that we'll not hear another peep.

"Peace through Strenght" works.