As the US-led war on Iraq continues, every Arab government is on the sidelines, wondering about its own future. Not since the period between World War I and World War II has Arab powerlessness been more evident. Of course, there are a number of insignificant, small Gulf emirates supporting the United States. However, they have no say on the pace or the scope of the military operations.
Even during the days before the war, Arab powerlessness was glaringly obvious. The March 2 Arab summit at Sharm el-Sheik will go down in regional history as one of the lowest points of Arab insignificance.
The Bush administration has already proclaimed that the UN is irrelevant, and that only America will determine the balance of power in the Middle East, and, possibly, in East Asia in the coming years. But as one of the Arab states - Iraq - is involved in a war with the US, one would think that the voices and opinions of Arab governments should be of some import for America. Not this time, for two reasons.
First, America has not finished flexing its muscle. If the US war on Iraq goes according to the script prepared by the Pentagon, it will not be long before North Korea and Iran have to brace for similar action.
Second, no major Arab state is openly siding with the US, except Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Even they are keeping quiet about their roles. That might be one reason why the Arab voice does not really matter to the Bush administration. Even the role in the war for Turkey, which is not an Arab state, has been reduced to the question of how much money it should receive from the US.
In the final analysis, the world witnessed the real functioning of democracy when the Turkish parliament voted to allow the use of its air space for the US military action, but refused to sanction the stationing of American forces on its soil.
However, if America really wished to promote democracy in the Middle East, the actions of the Turkish parliament might serve as a prelude to what it will encounter in the future, when the tide of democracy sweeps the antiquated autocratic governments of the region into the dustbin of history.