Washington Times runs this commentary by Claude Salhani, United Press International’s international editor. He notes that the Riyadh Summit marked a point of exceptional change in the Middle East. He notes that the Western media largely missed the importance of what went on there. He also discounts analysis that suggests that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is seeking to make himself into a modern day Nasser. Interesting reading.

Change in the Arab world
Claude Salhani

It may not be a wind of change sweeping the Arab world, but it certainly is “a breath of fresh air,” said Nabil Fahmy, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States.

Something very unusual happened in Riyadh at last month’s Arab summit when King Abdullah gathered the Middle East’s presidents, princes, kings and prime ministers to tackle many of the region’s burning issues: the war in Iraq, the situation in the Palestinian territories, the tension in Lebanon and the ethnic conflicts in Darfur and Somalia.

The uncommon occurrence was Abdullah’s harsh criticism of his fellow Arab leaders, saying the blame for much of the Middle East’s woes lies with them. Abdullah blamed Arab leaders for divisions, infighting, bloodshed and the havoc plaguing the Middle East. In the past, Arab leaders tended to place all blame for their ills on the United States and the CIA, which was believed to be infallible and responsible for everything that went wrong in the Arab world.

Addressing the delegates, Abdullah said Arab nations were “further from unity than they were at the time of the founding of the Arab League.” “The real blame should be directed at us, the leaders of the Arab nation,” said the Saudi monarch. “Our constant disagreements and rejection of unity have made the Arab nation lose confidence in our sincerity and lose hope.”

Abdullah’s criticism of Arab leaders, said Mr. Fahmy, “was taken by the Arabs as a breath of fresh air of self-criticism.” This slow-coming change is propelled mostly by two things: a young population — 56 percent are 25 or younger — and growing media openness. “Our media is more much more open than it ever was in years past,” said Mr. Fahmy. “So you can’t hide the issues. The issues are out there.

“There is change in the Arab world. Serious change,” said the diplomat from Cairo. “Is it late? Yes. Is it slow? Yes. But there is change. We need to nurture it more. We need to be wiser.” The high point of the summit was the much expected peace deal, known as the Saudi Peace Initiative, expected to offer Israel full recognition by all 22 Arab League member states. In exchange, Israel would withdraw to the June 5, 1967, frontier and recognize a Palestinian state behind secure borders….