A wag we know recently observed that if only Israel could resolve its differences with the Palestinians, the solution to global warming would be found. He meant it as a joke, though at least one prominent Arab leader doesn't get it.

In a speech Wednesday to a joint session of Congress, Jordan's King Abdullah made the remarkable claim that "the wellspring of regional division, the source of resentment and frustration far beyond, is the denial of justice and peace in Palestine." Solve that, he said, and "hope to our region's people" could be restored.

This is not the first time such sentiments have been expressed, nor is King Abdullah the only one who believes them. For decades, conventional wisdom held that the conflict between Arabs and Israelis lay at the heart of most of the Middle East's troubles. Does anyone seriously believe that anymore?

On Monday, 38 Iraqis were killed and 100 injured by a car bomb in downtown Baghdad. Apparently, King Abdullah would have us believe that the Sunni terrorists behind that massacre of their fellow Arabs were registering a protest against Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Perhaps he also thinks that the murder in 2005 of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri was a function of Israeli policies, and not of Syria's desire to dominate its neighbor. Ditto for the internecine fighting among Palestinians, repression in Egypt and al Qaeda's efforts to unseat the House of Saud.

Jordan is a friend of America; it played a significant role in killing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last year. Too bad its king can't match the hard-headedness he's shown in private with some candid public speaking about the real source of the Arab world's woes.

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