Forget Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, the most popular leader on the Arab Street is Hugo Chavez. That's according to Al Jazeera's Dima Khatib, who has penned a disturbing article on the cult of Chavez emerging in the Arab world. Khatib reports that Chavez's decision to withdraw his charge d'affairs from Tel Aviv has helped him create a following so dedicated that "many [Arabs] declare they are 'ready to die for' Chavez."

In Gaza and Ramallah ... next to Arafat's and Che Guevara's posters, a new poster of Chavez is being added.... [O]ne could even see Venezuelan flags in demonstrations in Beirut, next to Lebanese and Palestinian flags, and in many prominent newspapers across the Arab World, columnists wondered: why can't Arab leaders do what a Latin American non-Arab non-Muslim leader dared do?"

Khatib concludes:

At a time when nationalism in the Arab world is linked to Islamic movements such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both branded as terrorist movements by Washington, Chavez represents a very different trend."

Indeed. And it is a powerful reminder of just how badly America is losing the battle for hearts and minds in the Arab world.