Egypt will host the upcoming Arab League summit (this year’s theme: “Hate: It’s Where We Want to Be!”), after Tunisia abruptly cancelled. The first paragraph of the following excerpt speaks volumes about the Arab world: Cairo steps in to host Arab summit.

The Tunisian government news agency said Tunisia had insisted that the summit explicitly endorse democracy and reject what it called “extremism, fanaticism, violence and terrorism” — and that other countries had balked at this.

But a Gulf delegate linked the Tunisian decision to Ben Ali’s stormy visit to Washington in February when U.S. President George W. Bush told him he wanted to see a free press and an “open political process” in Tunisia.

Many of the delegates who were in Tunis with foreign ministers to prepare the summit insisted there had been little or no arguing, and that talks on a communique had gone well.

“It’s all about the Tunisian approach to the United States, the Tunisian attempt to win U.S. favour,” said an Arab diplomat who attended the last two days of preparatory meetings.