Lebanese Nostradamus:
Al-Manar, the Hizbullah television network and web site, has an interesting, and of course self-serving, take on the series of events in Lebanon these past two years- especially the political assassinations. The al-Manar speculations revolve around Sameer G'ag'a (J'aj'a), warlord of the Lebanese Forces militias and an ally of the March 14 pro-cabinet forces. The web site notes that Mr. G'ag'a seems to have supernatural powers for predicting events:
It notes that he predicted early in 2006 that about 15,000 foreign forces will enter Lebanon. And boom, within months Israel invaded and fifteen thousand international forces were stationed in Lebanon. (I have not verified this one yet)
It notes that G'ag'a predicted, after the Shi'a ministers and their allies withdrew from the cabinet, that ministers will be assassinated (he actually did say that, I mentioned it here). Sure enough, soon young Pierre Gemayel was assassinated. Al-Manar notes that a Maronite Christian legislator, S. Farangieh, has revealed that Tony 'Obied, a leader in the Lebanese Forces of G'ag'a was behind the killing.
It notes that he predicted to a French magazine attacks on UNIFIL forces in Lebanon. And sure enough, soon they came under attack.
It notes that he predicted in 2007 that members of parliament from a certain Maronite district will become targets. Sure enough, a member was killed within a short time after that.
Al-Manar notes that the same Mr Sameer G'ag'a is now predicting an assassination attempt against Mr. Fouad Saniora, prime minister of the rump cabinet. Ohoh....
So, do you really think there is something to this Hizbullah insinuation/accusation? I am not sure, I find Lebanon confusing and complex even as I find the Lebanese simple and predictable.
The Lebanese Forces of Mr. G'ag'a, modeled after the pre-war European Fascist militias, was implicated in the Sabra and Shatila massacres of perhaps over 1,000 Palestinians in the refugee camps in 1982.
Mr. G'ag'a is scheduled to visit Washington, DC, soon for discussions. He follows in the footsteps of other warlords who have already made the pilgrimage.
So, does this mean that if you are a Lebanese you have to choose between a side dominated by Shi'a fundamentalists allied with Iran and a side dominated by quasi-Fascists suspected of mass genocide allied with Saudi Arabia?
Hearts and Minds:
Rivalry for hearts and minds of Americans has been going on for some time between Arabs and Israelis. Mostly it has been a no contest situation. American perceptions of the Judio-Christian heritage is one main factor. Another, perhaps as important a factor, is the repulsive nature of many Arab governments: either tribal absolute monarchies or one-party military police states- all kleptocracies to some degree. That is not to say that Israeli politicians are clean: they have gone a long way down in the Holy Land since the days of their founders- greed is now entrenched on both sides of the divide, especially since the Likud and its heirs became dominant.
Still, there is an interesting debate going on in some American and Arab media about the roles of Israel and Saudi Arabia (the money-bags and new center of power of the Arab world), or is it Jews and Wahhabis as some in US media call them, in U. S. Academia:
A Frong Page article extensively covers the fact that Prince al-Waleed Bin Tala has donated $ 20 million to Gerorgetown University in 2005, in exchange for naming a center after him: the Prince al-Waleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding- I know, it is a mouthful. The Front Page report lists claims of ties between the Center's director and what it hints are apologists and friends of Islamic extremism.
I find the name of the "Center" interesting. How can there be any Muslim-Christian understanding without bringing in the Jews? They are the elephant, nay the gorilla if you will, in the room- can't be ignored. How can one discuss Christian or Muslim (Moslem) doctrine without referring to 'the source'? Maybe they wanted to keep the name short.
Besides, Georgetown is largely secular now, no? By restricting the Center to Muslim-Christian relations, it denies the secular and multi-faith nature of American society- at least as it is potentially possible to be.
Perhaps the center should be renamed The Prince al-Waleed Bin Talal Center for Understanding Islam- well, a tribal absolute monarchy version of Islam.
On the other hand, the Saudi-owned daily al-hayat has published (Feb. 20) a column titled "American Schools and Universities or Israeli Kubutzim?" The author starts by distinguishing between Jews and Zionists- then asserts that it is natural for Jews who are spread within sensitive and influential sectors across the world to form a normal medium for the spread of Zionism and the support of that movement and Israel. He does note that other, non-Jewish, groups are sometimes more pro-Israeli than some Jewish groups. Those include Marxists and left-wingers (this is debatable, at least), extreme right wingers (mostly true), as well as fundamentalists (non-Islamic variety, of course).
The author notes that the Zionist Lobby has been worried lately, and has redoubled its efforts to keep and spread its influence in American institutions, especially universities and colleges. Now the efforts have spread to high schools where students are picked for special courses and "fact-finding" visits to Israel. The author quotes "The Washington Report" as a source.
The Caliph of Egypt:
Speaking o faith and all that, interesting news from Egypt. A leading Salafi shaikh there has issued a fatwa that it is OK for president Mubarak to pass on power to his son Gamal. He notes that Mu'awiyya, the first Umayyad monarch (he called himself Khalifa) appointed his son as heir and nobody objected. Of course nobody objected: nobody wanted their heads chopped off. Besides, this is not exactly true, al-Hassan, son of Ali, objected because Mu'awiyya had promised not to make it a hereditary rule. But al-Hassan was poisoned- guess by whom. His brother al-Hussein and others rebelled and they were massacred at Karbalaa in today's Iraq. Abdullah ibn al-Zubeir rebelled at Mecca and he was beseiged and killed along with many others...
In any case, at some point this man even compares the president of Egypt to the early four Caliphs, as most of you heathen kaffirs call them, the Rightly Guided Four Khalifas: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali.
The shaikh refers to what he and other salafis call 'Islamic Shari'a rules' that call for blind obedience to the ruler, no matter how he came to power, no matter how opperssive he is, provided he continues building houses of worship.Perhaps the Salafis of Egypt see an opening to break the Moslem Brotherhood's monoploy of fun-dementa-list opposition.
Cheers
Mohammed
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Yoda, Yoda...can Jumblatt spare a dime?
Aafaq and Al-jazeera quote the chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that soon "Israel will be destroyed at the hands of Hizbullah". This was in the context of a letter of condolences sent by General Ja'afari to Hassan Nassrallah after the death of Imad Mughniya. The report did not mention what Mr. Ja'afari was smoking or snorting when he wrote the letter.
In Saudi Arabia, Shi’a Isma’ilia residents of a southern province (Najran) are protesting what they regard as a deliberate government policy to settle Sunni tribesmen in their region and dilute their majority. They have sent a letter of protest to the prince/potentate who governs the province objecting to plans to settle a Sunni tribe from Yemen. Apparently there had been previous clashes between the Shi’a residents and the police in 2000 about the issue of repopulation. The native residents claim that the newcomers get land and services they never got from the Saudi government. Perhaps they don't realize they are considered heretics?
Playing around with demographics for political ends is a common prctice in some Arab countries. It was done on a large scale in Ba'athist Iraq in the Kurdish regions of the north and the Shi'a regions of the south. It was also done in some Gulf states where the rulers imported what they considered 'pliable' tribes and naturalized them in order to offset city folks who are not so deferential to potentates. Recently the ruling elites of Bahrain have been accused by opposition groups of naturalizing non-resident tribal men as well as Sunnis from Jordan and Iraq in order to dilute the huge Shi'a majority.
It turns out that the path to a long-term US-Iraqi security arrangement may not be as smooth as originally thought by some. Elaph reports (Feb. 15), quoting an aide to Marji'iyya, that Ayatollah Ali Sistani has warned against rushing into signing a long-term strategic pact with the United States. He has called for further studies by Iraqi experts to make certain there are no loopholes in the proposed treaty. Meetings to negotiate the treaty between Iraqi and American officials are scheduled to start on February 27.
The Arab Parliament again- sans Strasbourg:
A meeting in Libya is expected to put the final touches on a the constitution for an "Arab Parliament". That is nice, since some Arab states have no constitutions, and most of those that have them might as well use them as the infidel kaffirs use other kinds of thin paper. Whatever is concluded in Libya will be discussed by a meeting of the Provisional Arab Parliament next month, then it will be put to the Arab Summit in Damascus this Spring. The upcoming Summit is widely expected to be boycotted by at least one King Abdullah, one President Mubarak, as well as one Hassan Nassrallah. Perhaps they will boycott the meeting because it will not be held at Strasbourg. The new 'parliament', whenever it materializes, will be headquartered in Damsacus- not exactly Strasbourg, but it could have been worse, at least it is not in San'a or Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the president of the said Provisional Arab Parliament met in Tunis with Tunisian officials and discussed the best ways to improve Arab parliamentary work, seriously. Well, perhaps it is a good start to have parliaments in some of these countries. Then a next step will involve having elections- a good second step. The next step would be elections that are clean and free- preferably with Jimmy Carter around to verify. Then....perhaps some teeth?
A 95 year old Moroccan man on a wheel chair was sentenced three months ago to three years in prison- for insulting the king. I still am not sure that one can actually honestly insult an Arab leader, and how. But anyway, the old man died yesterday, still aged 95, cheating His Majesty out of 33 months of his sentence.
I was initially surprised to see the warm and sometimes excited welcome Mr. Bush got in Africa. But then, again, the man did substantially increase Aids funds, something that the continent needed badly. Mr. Bush has done good by Africa, more than for other regions, like the Middle East or South America. I recall that Bill Clinton took his farewell tour mainly in Asia. That was a wise decision, since he turned a blind eye to the massacre of up to one million people in Rwanda- that was under his watch. Of course Mr, Bush hasn't exactly stopped the genocide in Darfur.
Cheers
Mohammed
Friday, February 15, 2008
"When someone kills ya, you know that they've committed genocide against ya"
George W. Bush: Jan. 2008
A Game of Chickens and Lebanese Cantons:
Two parallel events were held in Beirut today.
One was a political rally for the heirs of the late Rafiq Hariri, and it was a political statement by the pro-rump-cabinet, since the man has been dead for three years. After all, Mr. Hariri was close to the Saudi royals, and the Wahhabis do not cotton up to commemorating the dead- in fact they frown on it. Come to think of it, they frown on many things most of the time.
The other event, in Southern Beirut, was a real funeral for Imad Mughniyah, Hizbollah operative, strategist, and wanted for terrorism across Europe and North America, and a couple of other places. The funeral was held in the same area that witnessed the massive bombings and shellings during the War of 2006, the bombfest that Secretary of State Rice callously called the “birth pangs” of the “New” Middle East.
During the funral, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nassrallah promised retaliation against Israel. What surprised me was when a State Department spokesman appeared on Fox News to dismiss the threat, saying that Hizbullah will “bluster” for a while. The sad thing is: Hizbullah never just “blusters”. To bluster means to speak loudly and noisily, which Nassrallah did today, but it also implies an element of bluffing, which he does not do- in this respect he is a very un-Arab leader.
Mr. Hariri, fils, for his part, blasted Syria, which means he was not original this time either. A good question: how did they get through Syrian security? Who got paid what?
The game of chicken continues in Beirut. Normally the party with more fire in its belly wins, in this case Hizbullah- the other side blinks. But this time around there are too many things at stake for various regional and international parties. Mr. Hariri and Mr. Saniora will not blink soon, even if they want to: their foreign sponsors (USA and Saudi Arabia) have placed matchsticks to hold their eyelids wide open. Hizbullah's sponsors (mainly Iran), meanwhile, keep the supply lines open. Unless this is resolved, it looks like a cantonization of Lebanon will be in effect. They always did say that Lebanon was the Switzerland of the East- now she will have the cantons to prove it.
In Iraq, the cantankerous parliament has finally acted on several measures to bring the country closer together, at least nominally. Meanwhile, the long-delayed municipal elections have finally been scheduled for October, under UN supervision- no word yet on whether Jimmy Carter will be there.
Iran has delayed a scheduled meeting with US officials over Iraq. No reason given.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre:
In Saudi Arabia, the War on Valentine's Day has intensified. No less, and no more, a person than the head of the Society for the Spread of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (sounds like a Republican, as in GOP, campaign slogan, nicht war?) stressed that they will be vigilant and will confiscate any presents or symbols related to this “pagan festival”. Pagan indeed! Well, don’t expect any toga parties in Riyadh anytime soon….not unless you reside in one of them sumptuous palaces over there, those uniquely Arabian frat houses on the Riyadh or Jeddah Greek Row.
In relatievly liberal Kuwait, a Salafi member of the National Assembly tried to get a measure passed banning Valentine's celebrations. But, Kuwait being what it is, everybody ignored the shaggy honorable pendejo.
Bush the Censor (forget Cato):
Speaking of Saudi Arabia, President Bush yesterday gave its rulers a Valentine’s Day present that is decidedly double-edged. He put restrictions on financial and other dealings of several Syrian officials whom he said were involved in disrupting the stability of Iraq and, get this, “profiting from embezzling (or abusing) public funds” in Syria. At least this was the summary Arabic translation. About that last part, about “embezzling of abusing” public funds in Syria: is this supposed to be a warning shot for the royal Saudi allies to cease and desist from abusing public funds- just in case the had any ideas?
There is certainly abuse of public funds in Syria- there are all kinds of abuses in Syria: but how often can one overlook the pot and call the kettle “black”. And get away with it.
Cheers & Happy Valentine's...
Mohammed
George W. Bush: Jan. 2008
A Game of Chickens and Lebanese Cantons:
Two parallel events were held in Beirut today.
One was a political rally for the heirs of the late Rafiq Hariri, and it was a political statement by the pro-rump-cabinet, since the man has been dead for three years. After all, Mr. Hariri was close to the Saudi royals, and the Wahhabis do not cotton up to commemorating the dead- in fact they frown on it. Come to think of it, they frown on many things most of the time.
The other event, in Southern Beirut, was a real funeral for Imad Mughniyah, Hizbollah operative, strategist, and wanted for terrorism across Europe and North America, and a couple of other places. The funeral was held in the same area that witnessed the massive bombings and shellings during the War of 2006, the bombfest that Secretary of State Rice callously called the “birth pangs” of the “New” Middle East.
During the funral, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nassrallah promised retaliation against Israel. What surprised me was when a State Department spokesman appeared on Fox News to dismiss the threat, saying that Hizbullah will “bluster” for a while. The sad thing is: Hizbullah never just “blusters”. To bluster means to speak loudly and noisily, which Nassrallah did today, but it also implies an element of bluffing, which he does not do- in this respect he is a very un-Arab leader.
Mr. Hariri, fils, for his part, blasted Syria, which means he was not original this time either. A good question: how did they get through Syrian security? Who got paid what?
The game of chicken continues in Beirut. Normally the party with more fire in its belly wins, in this case Hizbullah- the other side blinks. But this time around there are too many things at stake for various regional and international parties. Mr. Hariri and Mr. Saniora will not blink soon, even if they want to: their foreign sponsors (USA and Saudi Arabia) have placed matchsticks to hold their eyelids wide open. Hizbullah's sponsors (mainly Iran), meanwhile, keep the supply lines open. Unless this is resolved, it looks like a cantonization of Lebanon will be in effect. They always did say that Lebanon was the Switzerland of the East- now she will have the cantons to prove it.
In Iraq, the cantankerous parliament has finally acted on several measures to bring the country closer together, at least nominally. Meanwhile, the long-delayed municipal elections have finally been scheduled for October, under UN supervision- no word yet on whether Jimmy Carter will be there.
Iran has delayed a scheduled meeting with US officials over Iraq. No reason given.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre:
In Saudi Arabia, the War on Valentine's Day has intensified. No less, and no more, a person than the head of the Society for the Spread of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (sounds like a Republican, as in GOP, campaign slogan, nicht war?) stressed that they will be vigilant and will confiscate any presents or symbols related to this “pagan festival”. Pagan indeed! Well, don’t expect any toga parties in Riyadh anytime soon….not unless you reside in one of them sumptuous palaces over there, those uniquely Arabian frat houses on the Riyadh or Jeddah Greek Row.
In relatievly liberal Kuwait, a Salafi member of the National Assembly tried to get a measure passed banning Valentine's celebrations. But, Kuwait being what it is, everybody ignored the shaggy honorable pendejo.
Bush the Censor (forget Cato):
Speaking of Saudi Arabia, President Bush yesterday gave its rulers a Valentine’s Day present that is decidedly double-edged. He put restrictions on financial and other dealings of several Syrian officials whom he said were involved in disrupting the stability of Iraq and, get this, “profiting from embezzling (or abusing) public funds” in Syria. At least this was the summary Arabic translation. About that last part, about “embezzling of abusing” public funds in Syria: is this supposed to be a warning shot for the royal Saudi allies to cease and desist from abusing public funds- just in case the had any ideas?
There is certainly abuse of public funds in Syria- there are all kinds of abuses in Syria: but how often can one overlook the pot and call the kettle “black”. And get away with it.
Cheers & Happy Valentine's...
Mohammed
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
I am the Sheik of Araby
Your love belongs to me
At night when you're asleep
Into your tent I will creep
The starrs that shine above
Will light our way to love
You rule this world with me
I am the Sheik of Araby
(Rudolph Valentino's "The Sheik")
'Imad Mughniyah was killed in Damascus, in that uniquely modern Lebanese way of settling scores- a car bomb. Except this time there were outsiders involved, and he was killed in a tightly-controlled Arab police state. Mughniyah was a Hizbollah operative and strategist, and he was all over the place during the 1980s, but he seemed to have faded from the public scene in recent years. He had been accused of involvement in various acts of sabotage and terrorism: from the bombings against US and French military bases in Beirut (1983) to the bombings of US Embassy and other installations in Kuwait City, to various hijackings. Some probably far-fetched reports have even linked him, along with al-Qaeda, to the al-Khubar bombings in Saudi Arabia during the 1990s.
In many ways, as a young man he summarized the Arab East as it was durng the 1980s: the beginnings of Shi'a stirrings in the region, especially in Lebanon where they had a plurality but were marginalized economically and politically. Politically, they were largely "owned" by a few Shi'a feudal families. The 1980s, after the ill-advised Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the ourtbreak o the Iran-Iraq War, saw the genesis of Hizbullah as we know it and the growth of the older Amal Shi'a organization. The ill-advised US military incursion in Beirut under Reagan provided a new impetus for Hizbullah recruiters and gave its planners a tempting target, which they hit.
The US mission in Beirut was in some ways a mini-Vietnam, it represented the same type of folly: placing small US military units in precarious positions in the middle of a hostile population.
The method of Mughniyah's death is not strange, not for a Lebanese fighter or even politician, but the venue is. Inter-Lebanese scores are usually settled in-country, which indicates that some foreign power(s) was behind the operation. Besides, he had been more active outside Lebanon and was wanted by several foreign countries, including being on the FBI most-wanted list. Hizbullah has already blamed the Israelis, as have other Arab sources and Iran, which means that if a foreign power was behind it, the Israellis were involved.
The most ridiculous take on him, outside Lebanon, tended to be in conservative US media. The most absurd was mentioned in Wikipedia as follows:
"Some foreign policy experts, including conservative Michael Ledeen, have claimed that Mughniyah had a strong working relationship with Al Qaeda and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi especially in recent years with the invasion of iraq."
Some clever "experts"!: given the Salafi hatred of Shi'as, a Hizbullah-alQaeda alliance would be like a Nazi-Jewish marriage, impossible for anyone with any sense to perceive...except perhaps for the "experts" mentioned above. These are the same people who tried to tie Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day in many places- ok, ok, I forgot that it is banned is Saudi Arabia. Anyway, tomorrow the Lebanese cabinet and its allies were scheduled to commemorate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. They had planned a huge demonstration in support of the cabinet. So far, most Lebanese leaders, including Mr. Saniora, have condemned the killing of Mughniyah and made the appropriate noises for such an occasion. This attitude from its Lebanese allies will not please the Bush administration: he was accuseed of involvement in killing many US citizens abroad and was wanted in the country.
Some politicians are even calling for a joint commemoration of both Mughniyah and Hariri. Odd, but then that is Lebanon and it is Valentine's Day in many places (except Riyadh, and I am not sure about Qom).
We may see a Lebanese joint political and mourning potluck tomorrow, but it won't last.
Cheers
Mohammed
Your love belongs to me
At night when you're asleep
Into your tent I will creep
The starrs that shine above
Will light our way to love
You rule this world with me
I am the Sheik of Araby
(Rudolph Valentino's "The Sheik")
'Imad Mughniyah was killed in Damascus, in that uniquely modern Lebanese way of settling scores- a car bomb. Except this time there were outsiders involved, and he was killed in a tightly-controlled Arab police state. Mughniyah was a Hizbollah operative and strategist, and he was all over the place during the 1980s, but he seemed to have faded from the public scene in recent years. He had been accused of involvement in various acts of sabotage and terrorism: from the bombings against US and French military bases in Beirut (1983) to the bombings of US Embassy and other installations in Kuwait City, to various hijackings. Some probably far-fetched reports have even linked him, along with al-Qaeda, to the al-Khubar bombings in Saudi Arabia during the 1990s.
In many ways, as a young man he summarized the Arab East as it was durng the 1980s: the beginnings of Shi'a stirrings in the region, especially in Lebanon where they had a plurality but were marginalized economically and politically. Politically, they were largely "owned" by a few Shi'a feudal families. The 1980s, after the ill-advised Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the ourtbreak o the Iran-Iraq War, saw the genesis of Hizbullah as we know it and the growth of the older Amal Shi'a organization. The ill-advised US military incursion in Beirut under Reagan provided a new impetus for Hizbullah recruiters and gave its planners a tempting target, which they hit.
The US mission in Beirut was in some ways a mini-Vietnam, it represented the same type of folly: placing small US military units in precarious positions in the middle of a hostile population.
The method of Mughniyah's death is not strange, not for a Lebanese fighter or even politician, but the venue is. Inter-Lebanese scores are usually settled in-country, which indicates that some foreign power(s) was behind the operation. Besides, he had been more active outside Lebanon and was wanted by several foreign countries, including being on the FBI most-wanted list. Hizbullah has already blamed the Israelis, as have other Arab sources and Iran, which means that if a foreign power was behind it, the Israellis were involved.
The most ridiculous take on him, outside Lebanon, tended to be in conservative US media. The most absurd was mentioned in Wikipedia as follows:
"Some foreign policy experts, including conservative Michael Ledeen, have claimed that Mughniyah had a strong working relationship with Al Qaeda and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi especially in recent years with the invasion of iraq."
Some clever "experts"!: given the Salafi hatred of Shi'as, a Hizbullah-alQaeda alliance would be like a Nazi-Jewish marriage, impossible for anyone with any sense to perceive...except perhaps for the "experts" mentioned above. These are the same people who tried to tie Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day in many places- ok, ok, I forgot that it is banned is Saudi Arabia. Anyway, tomorrow the Lebanese cabinet and its allies were scheduled to commemorate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. They had planned a huge demonstration in support of the cabinet. So far, most Lebanese leaders, including Mr. Saniora, have condemned the killing of Mughniyah and made the appropriate noises for such an occasion. This attitude from its Lebanese allies will not please the Bush administration: he was accuseed of involvement in killing many US citizens abroad and was wanted in the country.
Some politicians are even calling for a joint commemoration of both Mughniyah and Hariri. Odd, but then that is Lebanon and it is Valentine's Day in many places (except Riyadh, and I am not sure about Qom).
We may see a Lebanese joint political and mourning potluck tomorrow, but it won't last.
Cheers
Mohammed
Thursday, February 07, 2008
McCain’s Folly:
Senator McCain has called for a long-term US presence in Iraq. This is hopefully just a political ploy as the primaries head into the conservative Western states- otherwise it is a recipe for resumed guerrilla/terrorist/insurgent wars long into the future. Surge or no surge, once it becomes clear that the US is there to stay, bombings and roadside explosives will resume in Iraq. The fact is that Iraq cannot be ruled by foreigners, be they Americans, Iranians, or Arabs. It is not like the Philippines, Germany or Japan. It is a country that has deep tribal, ethnic, and sectarian divisions and has always been deeply suspicious of foreign powers. McCain’s cavalier attitude toward a long-term occupation is foolish, for it will surely lead to a re-surgence of the insurgency/terrorism of 2004-2007. The current surge may, just may, calm things in Iraq enough help get him, or another Republican, elected president: I certainly hope the election's outcome will be different. In that case it may also cause his defeat four years later.
Alzawraa Iraqi (Sunni) web site reports that US forces distribute development funds in al-Anbar province only through the local sheikhs who are members of the Awakening Councils. The report claims that millions of dollars are distributed without going through the normal procedures and channels for such development projects.
Come to think of it, the whole being of the Awakening Councils is outside the bounds of normal Iraqi political procedures and channels- so what are a few million dollars to grease the greasy palms of some shaikhs on the payroll? Shaikh Ahmad Abu Risha, whose brother was killed last year, and probably the biggest beneficiary of such money, has denied the allegations, reminding us that there are no alligators in Iraq.
It can kill you: aafaq reports that an Iranian youth aged 22 years has been sentenced to death for drinking alcohol for times. Apparently during the fourth time the man pushed his luck and decided to carry his party outside into the streets. Imbibers are flogged and jailed, but technically a drinker can be sentenced to death if he confesses to having imbibed at least four times. Now the question is: how the hell did they get him to confess? The case is subject to appeal.
Recently tow sisters were sentenced to death in Iran after being convicted of adultery. This intrigues me: what about the men involved? Normally it takes at least two to commit adultery, except maybe in Pakistan.
The Infanticide Law West of Aramco: Speaking of executions, Aalarabiya reports that last July a Saudi teenager aged 15 years was executed by beheading, after being convicted of murdering another teen when he was at the age of 13. There is a dispute about whether international rules that prohibit execution of minors aged 13-15 years apply here. In any case, the boy’s family is suing for $ 2.7 million. Apparently Saudi law does not go by age, but by whether the accused is physically mature- wtf this means.
The family lawyer has stated that until now the boy’s body has not been returned to his family. The family were not told of the execution until they went and tried to visit him. The victim, another boy, was found murdered with signs of sexual assault. The lawyer has said that the convicted boy was beaten up until he ‘confessed’.
Sneaky Saudis, they probably executed the child so fast and so secretly to avoid having to bow to an international uproar.
Gulf Reflections:
You can take the person out of the tribe, but you can’t take the tribe out of the person: I recalled this fact during my trip back to the hometown on the Gulf last month. Societies change, but some things are difficult to shake off. Talking politics with a friend when I was back, and this being the Gulf region, the subject touched on US elections and the role of families in politics. He mentioned Ford, the former US president, and commented on how famous and rich families in the United States as well tend to amass political power. He also mentioned the Kennedys. I tried to correct him, briefly explaining that Gerald Ford was not of the FORD family, Ford as in Edsel, and that in the old days the Irish-Catholic Kennedys were not considered among the ‘in’ families in America. He seemed doubtful: how can the man be named Ford unless he belonged to the Ford family? Which of course made sense, in a Gulf Arab context. I though that it would be too much of a shock for him if I fully explained Mr. Ford’s background.
This was not the first time I had seen this, especially about Ford, because of his famous name. I have read past newspaper columns in the Gulf region mentioning the same point, how powerful business families reach power in America, and using Gerald Ford as an example.
This is a Gulfie phenomenon, where societies are small, and the powerful merchant families are a handful and they tend to jealously guard the influence and political clout their names have bestowed on them so far. While these families tend to intermarry in order to keep the wealth within the families and not dilute the political clout, the world around them is changing rapidly, and the general population, the plebeians, the plebs (I would not say the proletarii), are growing very fast, with all that entails in a shift of political power and new economic demands. This creates much insecurity among the few families that were used to having power and unlimited access to the rulers. This partly explains the clamor for changing electoral districts in order to dilute the “others’” votes, especially the Bedouin desert people who are strongly allied with Sunni Salafi fundamentalist groups. (The Shi’a vote has been taken care of: somehow they never get more than 10% of the legislative seats- it is almost like a quota, but perhaps that is so because they often tend to vote for their own fundamentalist candidates like everyone else..…perhaps).
This obsession with names gets carried to absurd limits sometimes: A few years ago a famous newspaper owner, chief editor, and businessman noted that someone carried the same family name as his but was not related to him. It was someone he apparently thought was not of the right class. So he purchased advertisements in several daily newspapers, bold half-page ads, to the effect that a Mr. So-and-So, who chanced to carry the same last name as the advertiser, was in fact not related to him or anyone of his family. People were amused about the ads, but nobody thought it too odd. Try putting this kind of an ad during Super Bowl: it will handily beat Go-Daddy and Anheuser-Busch ads. Well, maybe not Go-Daddy’s.
Cheers
Mohammed
Senator McCain has called for a long-term US presence in Iraq. This is hopefully just a political ploy as the primaries head into the conservative Western states- otherwise it is a recipe for resumed guerrilla/terrorist/insurgent wars long into the future. Surge or no surge, once it becomes clear that the US is there to stay, bombings and roadside explosives will resume in Iraq. The fact is that Iraq cannot be ruled by foreigners, be they Americans, Iranians, or Arabs. It is not like the Philippines, Germany or Japan. It is a country that has deep tribal, ethnic, and sectarian divisions and has always been deeply suspicious of foreign powers. McCain’s cavalier attitude toward a long-term occupation is foolish, for it will surely lead to a re-surgence of the insurgency/terrorism of 2004-2007. The current surge may, just may, calm things in Iraq enough help get him, or another Republican, elected president: I certainly hope the election's outcome will be different. In that case it may also cause his defeat four years later.
Alzawraa Iraqi (Sunni) web site reports that US forces distribute development funds in al-Anbar province only through the local sheikhs who are members of the Awakening Councils. The report claims that millions of dollars are distributed without going through the normal procedures and channels for such development projects.
Come to think of it, the whole being of the Awakening Councils is outside the bounds of normal Iraqi political procedures and channels- so what are a few million dollars to grease the greasy palms of some shaikhs on the payroll? Shaikh Ahmad Abu Risha, whose brother was killed last year, and probably the biggest beneficiary of such money, has denied the allegations, reminding us that there are no alligators in Iraq.
It can kill you: aafaq reports that an Iranian youth aged 22 years has been sentenced to death for drinking alcohol for times. Apparently during the fourth time the man pushed his luck and decided to carry his party outside into the streets. Imbibers are flogged and jailed, but technically a drinker can be sentenced to death if he confesses to having imbibed at least four times. Now the question is: how the hell did they get him to confess? The case is subject to appeal.
Recently tow sisters were sentenced to death in Iran after being convicted of adultery. This intrigues me: what about the men involved? Normally it takes at least two to commit adultery, except maybe in Pakistan.
The Infanticide Law West of Aramco: Speaking of executions, Aalarabiya reports that last July a Saudi teenager aged 15 years was executed by beheading, after being convicted of murdering another teen when he was at the age of 13. There is a dispute about whether international rules that prohibit execution of minors aged 13-15 years apply here. In any case, the boy’s family is suing for $ 2.7 million. Apparently Saudi law does not go by age, but by whether the accused is physically mature- wtf this means.
The family lawyer has stated that until now the boy’s body has not been returned to his family. The family were not told of the execution until they went and tried to visit him. The victim, another boy, was found murdered with signs of sexual assault. The lawyer has said that the convicted boy was beaten up until he ‘confessed’.
Sneaky Saudis, they probably executed the child so fast and so secretly to avoid having to bow to an international uproar.
Gulf Reflections:
You can take the person out of the tribe, but you can’t take the tribe out of the person: I recalled this fact during my trip back to the hometown on the Gulf last month. Societies change, but some things are difficult to shake off. Talking politics with a friend when I was back, and this being the Gulf region, the subject touched on US elections and the role of families in politics. He mentioned Ford, the former US president, and commented on how famous and rich families in the United States as well tend to amass political power. He also mentioned the Kennedys. I tried to correct him, briefly explaining that Gerald Ford was not of the FORD family, Ford as in Edsel, and that in the old days the Irish-Catholic Kennedys were not considered among the ‘in’ families in America. He seemed doubtful: how can the man be named Ford unless he belonged to the Ford family? Which of course made sense, in a Gulf Arab context. I though that it would be too much of a shock for him if I fully explained Mr. Ford’s background.
This was not the first time I had seen this, especially about Ford, because of his famous name. I have read past newspaper columns in the Gulf region mentioning the same point, how powerful business families reach power in America, and using Gerald Ford as an example.
This is a Gulfie phenomenon, where societies are small, and the powerful merchant families are a handful and they tend to jealously guard the influence and political clout their names have bestowed on them so far. While these families tend to intermarry in order to keep the wealth within the families and not dilute the political clout, the world around them is changing rapidly, and the general population, the plebeians, the plebs (I would not say the proletarii), are growing very fast, with all that entails in a shift of political power and new economic demands. This creates much insecurity among the few families that were used to having power and unlimited access to the rulers. This partly explains the clamor for changing electoral districts in order to dilute the “others’” votes, especially the Bedouin desert people who are strongly allied with Sunni Salafi fundamentalist groups. (The Shi’a vote has been taken care of: somehow they never get more than 10% of the legislative seats- it is almost like a quota, but perhaps that is so because they often tend to vote for their own fundamentalist candidates like everyone else..…perhaps).
This obsession with names gets carried to absurd limits sometimes: A few years ago a famous newspaper owner, chief editor, and businessman noted that someone carried the same family name as his but was not related to him. It was someone he apparently thought was not of the right class. So he purchased advertisements in several daily newspapers, bold half-page ads, to the effect that a Mr. So-and-So, who chanced to carry the same last name as the advertiser, was in fact not related to him or anyone of his family. People were amused about the ads, but nobody thought it too odd. Try putting this kind of an ad during Super Bowl: it will handily beat Go-Daddy and Anheuser-Busch ads. Well, maybe not Go-Daddy’s.
Cheers
Mohammed
Friday, February 01, 2008
Some days ago, I arrived in the (Persian) Gulf on the same day that President Bush did- and in the same city. It is a measure of the low esteem of Mr. Bush that, even in the country his father liberated from Iraqi Ba'athist occupation, he is at best met with skepticism. Many people who gratefully adored his father as a liberator now despise Bush Jr.- at best they think of him as an inept president leading a disastrous administration. When people in the Gulf consider a U.S administration is inept, well, this is not only a case of the pot calling the kettle black- it is a definite trough, what is called in Mathematics a minimum, an absolute not a local minimum.
People I talked to in the Gulf region see this twilight tour of the Gulf states as partly Iran-related, partly Israel-related, and, last but not least, partly setting up the stage for lucrative future contracts for his buddies and his aides. He arrived in the emotional week before the highly emotional Shi'a (Shi'ite) holy day of 'Ashura- someone ought to have told him to put off his trip to the Gulf for a couple of weeks. Apparently nobody did, not his Middle East experts, not even his hosts. He did not do himself, or his country, any good in the Gulf, even if he did the sword dance with the royalty.
I wonder if he made the rounds of some Shi'a Husseiniyyas, religious houses, while in the Gulf region during this particular period- that would have opened his eyes...maybe...maybe.
In the Gulf, on the same evening of my arrival, I watched Bush cheerfully hobnob with the incense-soaked potentates with dye-blackened facial hair, while I sat with my older brother who is being destroyed by advancing Parkinson's. That is the same disease that Mr. Bush would rather not help eradicate if the research used is unacceptable to Christian Jihadists back in the United States.
Now we know that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is actually naked. The man who pooh poohed the financial crisis and the potential for a recession has been forced to eat crow, having been caught far behind the curve trying to catch up.
Cheers
Mohammed
People I talked to in the Gulf region see this twilight tour of the Gulf states as partly Iran-related, partly Israel-related, and, last but not least, partly setting up the stage for lucrative future contracts for his buddies and his aides. He arrived in the emotional week before the highly emotional Shi'a (Shi'ite) holy day of 'Ashura- someone ought to have told him to put off his trip to the Gulf for a couple of weeks. Apparently nobody did, not his Middle East experts, not even his hosts. He did not do himself, or his country, any good in the Gulf, even if he did the sword dance with the royalty.
I wonder if he made the rounds of some Shi'a Husseiniyyas, religious houses, while in the Gulf region during this particular period- that would have opened his eyes...maybe...maybe.
In the Gulf, on the same evening of my arrival, I watched Bush cheerfully hobnob with the incense-soaked potentates with dye-blackened facial hair, while I sat with my older brother who is being destroyed by advancing Parkinson's. That is the same disease that Mr. Bush would rather not help eradicate if the research used is unacceptable to Christian Jihadists back in the United States.
Now we know that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is actually naked. The man who pooh poohed the financial crisis and the potential for a recession has been forced to eat crow, having been caught far behind the curve trying to catch up.
Cheers
Mohammed
Some days ago, I arrived in the (Persian) Gulf on the same day that President Bush did- and in the same city. It is a measure of the low esteem of Mr. Bush that, even in the country his father liberated from Iraqi Ba'athist occupation, he is at best met with skepticism. Many people who gratefully adored his father as a liberator now despise Bush Jr.- at best they think of him as an inept president leading a disastrous administration. When people in the Gulf consider a U.S administration is inept, well, this is not only a case of the pot calling the kettle black- it is a definite trough, what is called in Mathematics a minimum, an absolute not a local minimum.
People I talked to in the Gulf region see this twilight tour of the Gulf states as partly Iran-related, partly Israel-related, and, last but not least, partly setting up the stage for lucrative future contracts for his buddies and his aides. He arrived in the emotional week before the highly emotional Shi'a (Shi'ite) holy day of 'Ashura- someone ought to have told him to put off his trip to the Gulf for a couple of weeks. Apparently nobody did, not his Middle East experts, not even his hosts. He did not do himself, or his country, any good in the Gulf, even if he did the sword dance with the royalty.
I wonder if he made the rounds of some Shi'a Husseiniyyas, religious houses, while in the Gulf region during this particular period- that would have opened his eyes...maybe...maybe.
In the Gulf, on the same evening of my arrival, I watched Bush cheerfully hobnob with the incense-soaked potentates with dye-blackened facial hair, while I sat with my older brother who is being destroyed by advancing Parkinson's. That is the same disease that Mr. Bush would rather not help eradicate if the research used is unacceptable to Christian Jihadists back in the United States.
Now we know that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is actually naked. The man who pooh poohed the financial crisis and the potential for a recession has been forced to eat crow, having been caught far behind the curve trying to catch up.
Cheers
Mohammed
People I talked to in the Gulf region see this twilight tour of the Gulf states as partly Iran-related, partly Israel-related, and, last but not least, partly setting up the stage for lucrative future contracts for his buddies and his aides. He arrived in the emotional week before the highly emotional Shi'a (Shi'ite) holy day of 'Ashura- someone ought to have told him to put off his trip to the Gulf for a couple of weeks. Apparently nobody did, not his Middle East experts, not even his hosts. He did not do himself, or his country, any good in the Gulf, even if he did the sword dance with the royalty.
I wonder if he made the rounds of some Shi'a Husseiniyyas, religious houses, while in the Gulf region during this particular period- that would have opened his eyes...maybe...maybe.
In the Gulf, on the same evening of my arrival, I watched Bush cheerfully hobnob with the incense-soaked potentates with dye-blackened facial hair, while I sat with my older brother who is being destroyed by advancing Parkinson's. That is the same disease that Mr. Bush would rather not help eradicate if the research used is unacceptable to Christian Jihadists back in the United States.
Now we know that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is actually naked. The man who pooh poohed the financial crisis and the potential for a recession has been forced to eat crow, having been caught far behind the curve trying to catch up.
Cheers
Mohammed
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