Looks like the propaganda on the other side is working.
Glorious Fight
Some Arabs Feel Pride Over Saddam’s Successes Against United States
A M M A N, Jordan, March 25 — While news of American captures and casualties may have been discouraging for people in the United States, for many areas they have been a source of hope. Samih Toukan, CEO of maktoob.com, the Arab world’s largest online community, pointed to a computer screen, noting a message on his site said, “This one says, ‘Saddam is the pride of the Arab world.’”
Toukan said many people in the Arab world are starting to believe that the Iraqis, against all odds, are holding their own.
“Whenever the Iraqis resist or inflict casualties, or Saddam comes out, they feel that their dignity is alive,” he said. “Some people think that if this war could go on for long, [with a] lot of American casualties, [and a] lot of international pressure, that Saddam Hussein could survive.” It’s an impression fueled by the Arab media, which have portrayed the Iraqis as having shocked Washington and the world with their gallant resistance.
On the Internet, and on the so-called Arab street, there are people who argue that Iraq may be able to drag the United States into a bloody war of attrition that ultimately saps the American will to fight.
The longer the war rages on, said a man in Amman, Jordan, the better it is for the Iraqis. In the end, he said, Iraq will have its victory.
The past few days have also helped improve Saddam Hussein’s reputation in the Arab world. After the Gulf War, Saddam was viewed as defeated and discredited.
Now, some are starting to see him as a hero, with Arabs in the street chanting his name.
“Saddam Hussein is now, we can say, a big man for the Arabic people,” a man in Amman said. “Because he’s fighting, fighting, you know.”
“They are happy,” Toukan said, “because they feel somebody is standing [against] the U.S. and telling the U.S., ‘You are wrong. You have treated us unfairly in the past.’”
Bush as Villain
There are many Arabs who see Saddam as a tyrant, and feel he’s the last person who should be held up as the leader of the Arab world.
But the refurbishing of his reputation illustrates the huge gap between how the war is viewed in America and how it is viewed in the Mideast region.
“Most people in the Arab world now view Bush in the way that you view Saddam Hussein,” Toukan said. They see Bush as “somebody who is coming out. He wants to control the oil. He wants to control the Arab people. He wants to expand Israel. He wants to support Israel.”
There is a profound sense of defeat and discouragement in the Arab world. The fact that some here think Saddam Hussein may be winning illustrates the deep need for some sort of victory.
As a recent posting on maktoob.com put it, “The heroic actions of the Iraqis have raised the dignity of the Arab world.”