Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar carried a report today about the surprise reconcilliation that took place at the Kuwait summit yesterday. It claims that Saudi King Abdullah’s speech came out of the blue and was unexpected by Hosni Mubarak, who remained “cold” towards Bashar al-Assad, and then got on his plane and left. What’s more, the Akhbar report suggests that the mood of “openness” initiated by Abdullah did not translate into any breakthroughs during the closed-door meetings between the various envoys and ministers present. Everybody is still sticking to their guns: the Syrians want to cancel the Arab Peace Initiative while the Saudis are insisting that doing so leaves the Arabs with no serious alternative vis-a-vis Israel.
I wonder what Bashar and Abdullah are discussing in that photograph… “Now you see, your Highness, what I meant by “half-men” was not what you thought at all! I was making a simple observation about the differences in physical appearance between my rather lanky stature and your own well-proportioned self… and of course President Mubarak and King Abdullah II as well…”
Qifa Nabki 
You are killing me Qifa!! Joshua
Posted by Joshua Landis | January 20, 2009, 6:33 pmFunny!
If Bashar ever stepped down after a democratic elecion, do you think Hollywood would come knocking to reprise the role of Lurch from the Adams family?
Posted by Enlightened | January 20, 2009, 8:12 pmLOL
Posted by Qifa Nabki | January 21, 2009, 3:27 amHere’s a better one for you Qifa, apparently Bashar serenaded The two Kings and President Mubarak with this old song!
Can We Still Be Friends
Todd Rundgren
We can’t play this game anymore
But can we still be friends
Things just can’t go on like before
But can we still be friends
We had something to learn
Now it’s time for the wheel to turn
Grains of sand one by one
Before you know it it’s all gone
Let’s admit we made a mistake
But can we still be friends
Heartbreak’s never easy to take
But can we still be friends
It’s a strange sad affair
Sometimes seems like we just don’t care
Don’t waste time feeling hurt
We’ve been through hell together
Where do we go from here
We can’t play this game anymore
But can we still be friends
Things just can’t go on like before
But can we still be friends
We awoke from our dream
Things are not what they always seem
Memories linger on
It’s like a sweet, sad, old song
Where do we go from here
Where do we go from here
I can’t play this game anymore
Can we still be friends
Things just can’t go on like before
I just wanna be friends
I just wanna be, wanna be, wanna be
And now I just wanna be friends
We had something to learn, something to learn
Now can we still be friends
Let’s admit our mistakes
Posted by Enlightened | January 22, 2009, 8:07 pm