Al-Zarqawi Redux, Islamic Fault Lines, Ethanol and Political Methane

Alfayhaa Iraqi Satellite TV reports (Feb. 12) that a Gulf GCC-Iraqi 'Council' is being discussed, and may be established next March. The report said the goal of the council is to promote Iraqi-Gulf relations, and reduce 'outside' intervention that 'tends to destabilize the region and affect its security'. The last one is a tall order, since everybody seems to interfere in Iraqi affairs these days, whether in the form of sending arms for the militias, or sending arms, money and men for the Jihadist Salafi terrorists. Then there is the other ultimate intervention: 'demands' that the Iraq constitution be changed- these demands are mostly by Arab countries that either do not have a constitution or trample theirs if they have one.

The Jordanian Salafi terrorist Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayleh, a.k.a Abu Musa'ab Al-Zarqawi, succeeded in one of his two main goals. He wanted to establish an Islamic 'Emirate' in Iraq, and that is not likely to be realized, not without oil, although the jury is still out. His other goal was publicized in his shocking famous message , displaying a breath-taking hatred of the Shi'as (Shi'ites) in a style reminiscent of the Third Reich. The Zarqawi letter of 2005 refers to the Shi'ites as "the overwhelming obstacle, the lurking snake, the crafty and malicious scorpion, the spying enemy, and the penetrating venom." It blames Shi'ites for "patent polytheism," "worshipping at graves,", "circumambulating shrines," and "insulting the mothers of the believers and the elite of this nation (I guess these elite would be the Sunni potentates?)."
He succeeded in pushing his expressed opinion of the Shi'as (Shiites) toward acceptance by the mainstream Sunni media, mostly along the sectarian fault lines in the Persian Gulf region where anti-Shi'a feelings have always been barely below the surface. The electoral rise of the Shi'as in Iraq and the growth of the violent militias in Baghdad as a counter to the Jihadist/Ba'athist terror, have exacerbated sectarian tensions in other countries, mainly the Gulf states and Lebanon, where the Shi'as form either a substantial minority, a plurality (Lebanon), or a majority (Bahrain). Surprisingly, the bulk of the Arab intellectual elite in the Gulf, or whatever stands for an intellectual elite, have lined up along sectarian fault lines. Free, perhaps imperfect, elections in Iraq, the freest in Arab history, are dismissed with calls for more 'sharing' of power. The demands are for more sharing of power, but only in Iraq. Perhaps there can be more 'sharing' of power along the shores of the Gulf and the Red Sea as well.

Speaking of sharing, the The Society for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the powerful para-military, well sort of para-something, Islamic religious police of Saudi Arabia is cracking again on Valentine's Day. Their bearded, dour, visages can be seen in the markets, malls, restaurants, and wherever things are sold, making sure there are no pink, red, white or black hearts, no signs of celebration. Do these shaggy Mutawwa'een religious police know about Saint Valentine? That should make them redouble their efforts.
And wasn't that old King Abdullah himself in the midst of a love-fest in Mecca the other day? Weren't those pink and red roses at the kingly conference in Mecca that sealed the Palestinian accord to share the cake of power and aid money between Hamas and Fatah last week? Wasn't that Abu Mazzen kissing the "be my Valentine" Hamas leaders at the center of la vie en rose at Mecca? It looked like the Saudi royals and the Palestinian neo-potentates were celebrating Valentine's Day early, and in Mecca of all places.

Reports indicate that there is unrest in Mexico over the increased price of corn, a main staple for people in that country and in many other less developed countries. One culprit is the push for the use Ethanol as replacement for fossil fuels. Ethanol competes with the world's hungry for corn. Speaking of Ethanol, fuels, and gases: the Arab World has been blessed with abundant petroleum and natural gas, but its leaders have also been blessed with an abundance of that 'other natural gas': Methane, a.k.a CH4. The web site (ghgonline.org) claims that: "Global man-made methane emissions are estimated to total about 320 million tonnes each year". That is a lot of energy wasted in our part of the world. The U.S. EPA estimates that "Methane is emitted from a variety of both human-related (anthropogenic) and natural sources. Human-related activities include fossil fuel production, animal husbandry, enteric fermentation and manure management).......... and waste management." Interesting stuff.

Cheers
Mohammed