Lebanon, Iraq Divide Arab Publics and Governments - But French Leaders Gain Prestige at Home

"Arab Anger at Their Governments Grows," by Nadia Abou El-Magd - AP (Cairo), 7 August 2006

CAIRO, Egypt - As their anger against Israel and America swells, protesters across the Middle East are also increasingly venting their frustration at their Arab rulers, especially in moderate countries whose governments have been reliable U.S. allies.

Nearly four weeks of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel have aggravated a summer of discontent over the bloodshed in Iraq, stalled democratic reforms and price increases. Angry at their governments, demonstrators are praising a new hero: Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.

"The whole region has been engulfed in anger since the war on Iraq more than three years ago," said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian analyst with the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "The frustration is just huge."

The rising resentment is weighing heavily on Arab leaders as their foreign ministers gather in Beirut on Monday for an emergency meeting. Moderates like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia may want a halt to the fighting, but they can't be seen as backing a U.S.-promoted cease-fire plan that Hezbollah has depicted as a surrender.

Even more worrisome for Arab leaders is the possibility violence may turn on them. On Saturday, al-Qaida announced that an Egyptian militant group had joined the terror network. While the group denied it, many fear that public anger could nonetheless boost militants around the region.

Demonstrators have denounced leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for blaming Hezbollah — sometimes implicitly, sometimes overtly — for starting the fighting by snatching two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid.

Three straight days of protests broke out last week among the normally quiet Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia, where demonstrations are rare, though protesters were cautious not to criticize the ruling family. Hundreds of Shiites waved posters of Nasrallah, chanting "Oh Nasrallah; oh beloved one; destroy, destroy Tel Aviv."

Cairo has seen nearly daily demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for what protesters see as his failure to support Hezbollah. On Sunday, demonstrators held up a poster of Mubarak with a Star of David on his forehead, labeling him "the enemy of the Egyptian people."

Last week, more than 1,000 protesters rallied in downtown Cairo, burning Israeli and American flags. "Arab majesties, excellencies and highnesses, we spit on you," one banner read.

Similar protests have erupted in Jordan and Kuwait, where anti-U.S. demonstrations are rare....

[But] some find the lionizing of the guerrillas alarming.

"Hezbollah took Lebanon hostage, and then came the tragedy we all know," wrote Lebanese columnist Dalal al-Bizri in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Sunday. "Ironically, as the number of victims increases, the party becomes more popular."

By contrast, French leaders are getting a bounce in the polls from their efforts to contain the fighting in Lebanon:

"Diplomacy in Lebanon Boosts Political Fortunes of French Leaders," by Adam Jones (in Paris) - the Financial Times (UK), 7 August 2006

Having been written off as lame ducks after a series of domestic setbacks, Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin, France's president and prime minister, are regaining popularity with voters thanks to their diplomacy in the Middle East.

Approval ratings for both men, whose political fortunes appeared until recently to be on the decline, have risen 5 percentage points in a month, according to an opinion poll published at the weekend. Analysts attributed the jump to the pivotal role France has played in international attempts to halt the violence in Lebanon.

The domestic approval greeting France's approach to the conflict is in sharp contrast to the criticism received by Prime Minister Tony Blair in the UK, particularly over his decision to side with the US in not immediately calling for a pause in the fighting....

In Saturday's poll, published in the Figaro newspaper, 21 per cent of respondents said they had complete or partial confidence in the president's ability to handle France's problems, up from 16 per cent a month previously. Mr de Villepin's rating on the same question rose from 17 per cent to 22 per cent.

The increase in trust was particularly marked among members of the public sympathetic to the far right National Front party - voters who are likely to be of pivotal importance to the outcome of next year's presidential election.

In contrast, the broader popularity rating of Nicolas Sarkozy, the interior minister who is Mr de Villepin's great rival in the ruling UMP party, fell by 5 percentage points to 45 per cent, although he remained well ahead of the prime minister.

The restoration of Mr Chirac and Mr de Villepin's battered credibility could be more advanced than the Figaro/TNS Sofres poll suggested, however.

The interviews for the survey were carried out on July 26 and 27 - before France and the US agreed ontheir draft ceasefire resolution.