For many years, a single phrase has echoed by means of the Arab world within the wake of political and army missteps: “If I had recognized, I might by no means have achieved it.” Uttered with a mixture of remorse and resignation, these phrases have grow to be a chorus for misplaced alternatives, squandered lives, and shattered communities. But they provide no solace to the displaced, no consolation to the bereaved, and no blueprint for rebuilding what has been destroyed.The previous six a long time bear witness to a string of miscalculations—wars launched on a whim, confrontations pursued with out regard for actuality.The toll has been relentless: eroded territories, compromised ideas, and once-inviolable crimson strains now open to negotiation.The true tragedy lies within the human price—odd residents left to bear the brunt, whereas the architects of those failures usually stroll away unscathed, typically even lionized.The Arab world’s malaise stems not from a scarcity of politicians, however from a dearth of real management.A real chief prioritizes the welfare of their folks, balancing ambition with a clear-eyed evaluation of their nation’s capabilities, its constraints, and the worldwide panorama.They know when to behave, when to pause, and when to attend for a extra opportune second.Too usually, nonetheless, the area has been led into unwinnable battles by figures blinded by ideology—whether or not from Islamist factions or the remnants of outdated leftist actions—who fail to understand the realities of worldwide energy dynamics.In worldwide politics, the equation is stark: the weaker get together can’t dictate phrases to the stronger with out the means to again it up. Ignoring this fact invitations catastrophe. But Arab political discourse stays dominated by rhetoric over technique, symbolic gestures over substance.Whereas adversaries plot with precision and endurance, too many Arab leaders deal with geopolitics as a stage for grandstanding—leaving their folks to pay the value: countless destruction, missed alternatives, and assets diverted from advancing respectable causes by means of pragmatic means.The trail ahead will not be mysterious. Success lies not in slogans or reckless gambits, however in constructing resilience, fostering stability, and crafting methods grounded in actuality. Till the Arab world embraces this, it dangers being trapped in a cycle of remorse, eternally haunted by the identical mournful chorus: “If solely I had recognized.”— Sultan Alsaad is a Saudi author and journalist who has contributed to quite a few Arab newspapers.




