Zeitgeist and Groveling on the Gulf, Saudis Help With Iraq's Debt

Groveling Media Comments:
The following a summary of a front page editorial yesterday by the owner and chief editor of alseyassah , an extreme right-wing Kuwaiti daily.

(Warning to the unwary reader: get a sick (barf) bag, or a large bucket before reading)

“It is worthy to stop and think in view of the speech by the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines King Abdullah last Saturday. The political and moral implications of the speech evolved about the clear values of ruling and the task of the ruler. He addressed Saudi citizens at first and admitted that they have a right that he strike with justice, on their behalf, at injustice, and stressed the importance of fighting terrorism in all its forms, and of destroying all destructive and deviate ideas….
“The Arab World is facing a serious Saudi Marja’iyya (i.e higher religious authority, a la the ayatollahs) that is capable of resolving all unfinished bilateral or regional issues. The Arab World now has a leadership with this level of responsibility, full of the values of rule, and connected to the history of the prominent men of this nation and their deeds.....
“All eyes have been raised to the Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines, ever since he was the number two man in the Kingdom, and his ideas were made clear, and they are now the policy being applied.
“Now we have started to see, in this leadership, how its Arabic and Islamic Marja’iyya is being activated in pushing forward solutions for unsolved issues (solved issues do not need solutions).
“Now all can see the value of the recent moves of the Saudi Kingdom in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Iraq, and in Darfur…etc. Nobody and nothing could achieve such progress but the anchor, the rule of King Abdullah, whose delicate fingers move only toward playing the symphony of peace.
“We in the Gulf shall see and hear a different tune now that the man has taken upon himself to do what he does superbly. He is seeking to create a Saudi society that fears neither the bright lights of the age (zeitgeist?) nor democracies (not even in Iraq or at home?)….etc, etc, etc ad nauseatingum........”

Another columnist, Ahmad Al-Rube’i, wrote in the Saudi daily asharqalawsat :
“The Crisis of Credibility:
“One of the attributes of King Abdullah, one that distinguishes him from many other leaders, is that he says with his tongue what he believes in his heart. Many observers were surprised that his speech on Saturday was frank and clear, and called things as they are, when he talked of sectarian (Sunni vs. Shi’a) tensions. He said clearly that fanning the flames of sectarianism among Sunnis and Shi’as in the Saudi Kingdom is against the teachings of Islam. (This is news: there is no open sectarian conflict in Saudi Arabia, mainly because any open political dissent will be crushed ruthlessly, like in most Middle Eastern countries)….Our main problem is that ‘some’ of our leaders say something the do not mean, while doing the opposite…...
“What deserves our attention in King Abdullah’e comments is the ceredibility. All leaders who have dealt with him know that what he says with his tongue (no less) is what he believes in his heart. Oh, if only such behavior was the rule and schizophrenia the exception….if that were so, we would not be where we tragically are. (Schizophrenia is the favorite term used nowadays by Saudi press to refer to Libya’s admittedly odd dictator Colonel Qadddafi. True, I wouldn’t share a room with him at college, but what Arab leader is not schizophrenic).

There have been many other examples of such drivel in the Gulf and Saudi media lately. I doubt that wise old King Abdullah himself is behind them- yet, I can almost see a set of strings being pulled by someone.

On the other hand there is some good news, also created by Saudi Arabia. In a positive move that could set a precedent among Iraq’s rich Arab neighbors, Saudi Arabia has agreed to forgive 80% of Iraq’s debt to its government. Total foreign debt and reparations owed by Iraq from the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War and the Iran-Iraq War(1980-1988) could amount to nearly $400 billion, an amount Iraq could never completely pay- nobody has found a way to squeeze blood out of dry rock yet. At the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, Iraq owed foreigners nearly $100 billion. If the report is true, it will be one small step in putting the Iraqi ‘state’, such as it is, on the road to long term economic survival.
Cheers
Mohammed