Sad news coming out of the Middle East. With the world focused on its ills like never before and many wanting to believe these dictatorial countries might actually start to respect the rights of their peoples, Arab leaders had a summit meeting and proved yet again that they're not ready for prime time.
"With major Arab leaders either skipping the meeting or snubbing the League altogether, the conference became a forum for personal squabbles. Apparently in a gesture of disdain, Colonel Qaddafi lit up a cigarette as the session began. The leaders competed to keep each other late in efforts at one-upmanship. Some refused to be photographed together," reports the New York Times.
"That dismayed many Arab news organizations. Coverage of the meeting was well below that of previous years, editors said Wednesday. The satellite television channel Al Jazeera dismissed the meeting as "yet another summit" in promotions for its coverage, which was generally critical and unsympathetic."
Mind you, we're still "pressuring" Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and our new buddies Libya to -- you know -- ease up on selling nuclear material and know-how to every rogue nation and supporting terrorists. The winds of change are blowing!
