Was thinking: it is not only that the Arabs are afflicted with lousy tyrants and autocrats as leaders, but they (and their wives) are so unlikable. They are so repugnant in every way. I think that Arab leaders of the 1950s were more likable and funnier. Just think of Syria's Gen. Amin Hafidh: yes, the man was an idiot and he had a "secret plan" to liberate Palestine in 24 hours, but he was so amusing and funny. He did not even mind being nicknamed the "mule."