Arab Street "ready to die for" Hugo Chavez

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.