I said:

The criticism of other nations in the region is substantially absent because nothing better is [emphasis mine] expected of them.

You replied:

Is the reason Arab leaders and people avoid criticising Arab dictatorships because they really think that nothing better can be [emphasis mine] expected of Arab nations?

There is a world of difference between the indicative -- my statement -- and the conditional -- yours.

Israel claims to be a society in the Western liberal democratic tradition. Arab nations claim to be conservative absolute monarchies, military juntas, and dictatorships with no particular interest in free speech, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable seach and seizure, etc.

Whether the world has a right to expect ("can expect") more of Arab states is beside the point. The point is, they are living up (or down) to who they say they are. The Israelis, on the other hand, are having problems with their chosen path right now because of the tensions that have always existed between freedom and security. They themselves are arguing about it.

This gives opponents of Israel, and of liberal democracy in general, a potent weapon to use in the war of ideas. Oh look! Israel says it's one thing and sometimes does something inconsistent with its claimed identity.

(This method of attack is the very same tactic that President Bush's advisors have suggested he use in the UN to persuade the delegates that Saddam Hussein is worth attacking: that he said one thing and did another.)

Arab states don't have this problem. They say they'll stone an adulteress to death, and they do. It's not admirable, but it's not a surprise, either. So they can't be condemned for inconsistency or for claiming to be better than they act.

*****
Before going off on the Left about ignoring Arab atrocities, let's remember who has been good buddies with the Saudis all these years (hint: not liberal), and who were the first to protest Taliban behavior towards women (hint: not conservative). Now, suddenly, these good anti-Communists are seen as a threat. When the Left expressed ire at the human rights behavior of allied dictatorial regimes, they were told these were internal affairs of sovereign nations, and none of our business as long as Communists weren't behind them.

Well, guess what? It turns out it was our business after all. How funny that, after years of turning away, the Right has found its tongue at last and now understands that oppression comes in other colors besides Red. Having supported regimes that brutalized their own people, we have the nerve to be surprised that the brutalized are, well, brutal themselves.

No wonder the anti-Arab voices on the Right are so loud. They are making up for all those years of silence.

Regards--
Mary Anne