ARAB REACTION: When the march to war on Iraq began in earnest early this month, the tattered and faded Iraqi flag hanging over the entrance of my hotel was replaced with a glossy new satin standard.
The owner of the hotel, a Jordanian patriot, wished to show Iraq respect.
Now that the war has begun, the Iraqi flag has become the standard of the Arab people.
In Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and the Gulf emirates there have been daily demonstrations against the war.
Press and television thunder against the war. The semi-official Syrian daily, al-Thawra, said, "Arabs are currently facing . . . a belligerent invasion campaign which is threatening their existence. They need to unite and iron out their differences."
"How can some Arabs back the enemies of their brothers, the occupation of their land and the looting of their oil resources?" al-Thawra asked.
Egypt's al-Jumhuriyah observed: "Washington's hope that its coalition forces would receive a warm welcome as a liberation force has been forfeited."
Rami Khoury, writing in the Jordan Times, said that while the US and Britain are being assisted by "a small minority of Arabs . . . most Arabs see this attack against Iraq as sinister in its intent, illegitimate, unprovoked, unnecessary, counter-productive for the US and destructive for the region."
Everywhere, opinion makers accuse the US and Britain of trying to "colonise Iraq", redraw the map of the area and impose their "control over the entire region".
The press and public are nearly as critical of Arab leaders as of the US.
According to a poll con- ducted by a Jordanian internet website, 35 per cent of respondents blamed the US for the war, 33 per cent the Arab governments, 14 per cent the Iraqi leader, 13 per cent the Arab people, 4 per cent the UN and 2 per cent the citizens of the US.
On Sunday night, Christians and Muslims flocked to a Catholic church here to pray for peace. Muslims were in the majority in the congregation.
The distinguished Lebanese historian, Dr Kamal Salibi, a Greek Orthodox Christian, told the Irish Times: "Arab Christians feel no different from Muslims. We are all together. The Christians in Lebanon always loved Iraq because it never tried to use Islam against them . . . My right -wing Christian sister rings me daily from Beirut to curse Bush and Blair."
In his view, "it is wrong for an Arab" to be against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
"It will be the biggest humiliation for the Arabs if Britain and the US get him, and the biggest delight for the Arabs if they fail . . . If they capture or kill him, he will become a symbol for the Arabs."
Mr Muhammad Atiyah, a publisher, dismissed commentators who say, "Saddam has regained popularity because of the war". Mr Atiyah said: "He has always been popular among the masses. Those people who speak against him are trying to distance themselves from the common people who see in him a symbol of defiance. Those who say he is not popular in the Arab world have a loud voice and consider themselves opinion makers but they misled everybody, including the Americans and Britons."
"Iraqis are defending their country," asserted Mr Saliba Khoury, who owns a printing business. No one says otherwise.
He predicted that yesterday's bombing of a market in Baghdad which killed 15 people could spark massive protests across the Muslim world when the faithful go to the mosques for the weekly communal prayer.
"Friday will be a decisive day," Mr Khoury stated.