Skip to main content

Memoirs of Arab Diplomacy Offer Context for Present Conflicts

The Arab Spring might seem disappointing at the moment, but we should not let ourselves be disillusioned, writes Clovis Maksoud.
Clovis Maksoud, director of American Univerity's Center of Global South, which specializes in Middle Eastern studies, talks to reporters outside the offices of the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat January 3, following the discovery of four letter bombs at the newspaper offices on Thursday. The FBI has discovered at least seven letter bombs mailed from Egypt to the U.S., with an eighth suspicious letter being found in Kansas.

CRIME BOMBS - RTR10QG

While I am involved in writing my memoirs which go back more than 60 years, what is simultaneously being unraveled in the Arab Nation is a sorrowful fragmentation in which non-Arab countries and superpowers compete and confront each other. At this moment this can especially be seen in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen and Somalia.

It is a sad sight. In my memoirs I have recorded some of the criticisms I have had of some regimes at different times, my dealing with issues in the United Nations, and other memories. The conflicts back then, even though they hurt, are nothing compared with the tragic events that are taking place at this moment in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, the break of South Sudan from Sudan and the ongoing tragedy of the Somali people. 

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.