Iraq Against Baker-Hamilton, The Sectarian Side of Saudi Education

Iraq Again, Naturally:
New York Times 12/9/06 Reports: "Iraqi officials are near agreement on a national oil law that would give the central government the power to distribute current and future oil revenues to the provinces or regions, based on their population, Iraqi and American officials say. If enacted, the measure, drafted by a committee of politicians and ministers, could help resolve a highly divisive issue that has consistently blocked efforts to reconcile the country’s feuding ethnic and sectarian factions. Sunni Arabs, who lead the insurgency, have opposed the idea of regional autonomy for fear that they would be deprived of a fair share of the country’s oil wealth, which is concentrated in the Shiite south and Kurdish north. The Iraq Study Group report stressed that an oil law guaranteeing an equitable distribution of revenues was crucial to the process of national reconciliation, and thus to ending the war."

Anyone who expects an oil agreement to end the insurgency/terror campaign against Iraqi civilians must be commpletely ignorant of the Arab World and its sectarian passions, especially in Iraq and the Persian Gulf states where most of the money to fund the terror originates. Whoever heard of a bloody, fierce and genocidal insurgency being fought for oil revenues? Or for a couple of more cabinet posts (for the Sunnis in this case)? While sharing oil revenues among regions is important for long-term Iraqi stability, it is not as important for short term security and stabilization as Westerners hope. The terror war in Iraq is not waged for oil or cabinet positions: it is a war for rolling back the results of the U.S invasion and the Iraqi elections, and re-establishing Sunni hegemony. Except now a new Salafi Islamist element is thrown in as well, which further complicates matters.

On the other hand, Masoud Barzani, Persident of the Kurdish region, has strongly rejected the Baker-Hamilton idea of revising the Iraqi constitution- presumably with a view to watering down the enshrined regional autonomy rights. This is one issue that the Kurds and most Shi'as of Iraq probably agree on. The issue of Kirkuk is another point where the Kurds disagree, strongly, with the Baker-Hamilton conclusions. The Kurds do not want a referendum on the future status of the city postponed. They want Kirkuk as part of their autonomous region. President Talibani also accused Baker-Hamilton of treating Iraq as a 'colony'.

The Riyadh summit of GCC rulers called for an end to foreign intervention in Iraq, and by doing so, they intervened in Iraq. They also called for a joint peaceful nuclear program for the member countries.

In any case, Iraq is clearly on the cusp of a new era. This is comparable to the early 1920s, when Iraq was being patched together by the British occupation. Ultimately, the British opted to hand power to the Sunni minority, who seemed at the time quite pro-British. At the same time, the Arab region was undergoing other changes: The Kingdom of Najd was ruled by Abdulaziz al-Saud, who was already eying the eastern region (al-ahsaa') as well as Hashemite-ruled Hijaz. Jordan did not exist: TransJordan was a part of larger Palestine before the British decided to reward Prince Abdullah with his own desert kingdom. It looks increasingly likely that the eventual outcome for Iraq will be a loose federalist state composed of semi-autonomous regions. The eventuality of this outcome is strengthened with each mass suicide-killing, and with each sectarian genocide in Baghdad and its environs.

Shi'as (Shiites) in Saudi Arabia:
An article on the website of the Saudi-owned Alarabiya TV, written by Salih al-Turaiki, deals with the issue of discrimination against the minority Shi'as (Shiites) in Saudi Arabia. This is the first time that I know of the mainstream Saudi media dealing with this issue, albeit it is on a TV station that operates from outside the country. Saudi Shi'as concentrate in their ancestral homeland of al-Hasa (al-Ihsaa') along the oil-rich east coast, what is officially called the Eastern Region.
To give the reader an idea about the depth and range of discrimination, I have decided to translate whole portions of the article, while trying to preserve the nuances of the expressions used in the original Arabic. It starts by questioning the criteria and standards used for admissions at Saudi Universities and Colleges. This is a somewhat unusual article, trust me on this one- the italics are my own explanation or summary of some phrases:

"A high higher education official at the Najran region (Southern Arabia) commented on the criteria used to admit people to universities. She asserted that universities prevent many from obtaining higher degrees, mainly because the candidates came from an undesirable sect or from the wrong region. These particular applicants (presumably Shia's) are interviewed by special admissions committees, and usually they are asked questions that are not faced by others, questions unrelated to academia such as about their religious sects and about their opinions of certain people and current events.
"I remember when I was a (soccer) player, often some of my Shi'a (Shiite) friends in the Eastern region thought that I could mediate for them to be admitted at universities. When I tried to help them, many others would advise me not to bother, that I shouuld not use up goodwill and lose face in an endeavor where no one would help me. Whenever I asked someone to help a Shi'a friend, I met with almost legendary stories full of rumors, a natural thing when society and all doors are closed in one's face. All my attempts to help failed, even though each one of those Shi'as had scored 85% and more in their tests, much higher than what the universities required.
"Universites should make their own decisions about admissions, and should not let these decisions in the hands of committees whose members have absolute power (to discriminate). It is unjust and harmful to society to discriminate among citizens, and these attitudes were developed by the close-minded among us who were allowed to lead our society. I also know that tribalism played a role in determining who got admitted at universities.
We all see that the Middle East region is inflammable now, and now is the time we should unite and re-organize our society. The criteia for admissions to universities and jobs should be purely based on ability and performance, and not based on the sect and the tribe.
Societies are led by educated elites, and they are usually created by universities or they also teach at these universities.It is time for our universities to assume their role and lead society, and not the opposite whereby the universities allow the prejeduces of society to lead them. Our unoversities must be open to people of all sects and races......."


Cheers
Mohammed