LONDON — Suppose the shoe were on the other foot. Suppose that the former United States had splintered into half a dozen fragments after the South won the Civil War 145 years ago.

Suppose all the Arabs lived in a single, powerful state, but had no oil. Suppose an Arab military force was currently bringing peace and freedom to the oil-rich, violence-torn country of Texas. What would they be reading in the Arab newspapers five years after the occupation of Texas?

They'd be learning about the minute doctrinal differences and the irreconcilable rivalries between Catholic Hispanics and Protestant Anglos, and even between Southern Methodists and Southern Baptists. They'd all know about Texas' long love affair with guns, as if that explained why Texans were killing Arab soldiers.