Arab States: A Quagmire of Tyranny
Soumaya Ghannoushi, The Guardian | January 31st, 2011
"Arabs are rebelling not just against decrepit autocrats but the foreign backers who kept them in power." ++ Years of rule across the Arab world by faceless autocrats and ruthless generals, supported in many cases by the West, have caused entire populations to identify little with their own States. ++ The result has been a turning inwards toward narrow sectarian identities. ++ If it were not for foreign backing of these governments during the Cold War, events in Tunisia, Egypt and – to a lesser extent – Algeria would have happened long ago.
