Some of Hussein’s Arab Foes Admire His Fight

Saddam Hussein is not well liked in the Arab world. But the US-led war on Iraq is leading to more anti-American sentiment across the Middle East and galvanizing support for Iraqi resistance to US forces. Even the Arab intelligentsia, which has long hoped for the spread of democratic institutions in Middle Eastern countries, is applauding Saddam’s will to fight. "If Saddam's regime is going to fall, it's better for our future, for our self-confidence and for our image that it falls fighting," said Sadik Jalal al-Azam, a Syrian author and academic. At the root of this sentiment seems to be a perceived double standard in American foreign policy in the Middle East. Many Arabs wonder why the US is singling out Iraq when the region has so many repressive governments and when Israel has also flouted UN resolutions by refusing to withdraw from occupied Palestinian lands. – YaleGlobal