Middle East Today

Egyptian Reaction to Foreign Interferences

2012-01-31T14:10:00.000-05:00

Since the end of western colonialism (after the W.W.II) the Arab world faced political, economic and military interference. Such interference continues until present time. What has changed is the political strategy followed by the US government. It has assumed the major foreign role in the Middle East region. President I. Eisenhower stated, during the early 1950’s, the end of British and French colonialism in the Middle East created a vacuum that the US needs to fill.

The Arab Spring Revolution, especially the Egyptian one, surprised the world, especially western societies.

The removal of the corrupt Mubarak, who was a puppet for the US and Israel, was a difficult political change to accept.

Since the beginning of the 2011 Revolution US government officials have been interfering in an overt and covert manner to influence the political direction of the Egyptian transitional government.

Aside of the US, several other foreign governments have also been involved in attempts to influence the political election in Egypt. The Egyptian press has reported that the Arab Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the Emirates have send millions of dollars to various Islamic political groups who end winning the majority of parliament seats in the recent election. Furthermore, the Egyptian press stated that Germany and the US were also involved in transferring money to various Egyptian organized groups.

Such interferences are in violation of Egyptian law. The Egyptian government specifically raided the offices of the American political organizations such as the International Republican Institute for Democracy and the National Democratic institute who were operating illegally in Egypt. Their records were confiscated and the offices were closed. The press reported that 40 foreign people are under investigation and are prevented from leaving Egypt. Also 25 Egyptians are under investigation by the Egyptian Court. The American groups maintained that they were promoting democracy in Egypt and were supporting financially civil Egyptian organization. It was revealed that the above-mentioned American organizations contributed around $ 165 million to various Egyptian civil organizations. The Egyptian government wants to know who are the recipients of such aids.

The prevailing assumption in Egypt is that the American organizations are affiliated with the CIA. This information did not come as a surprise.

Some members of these American organizations were not permitted to leave Egypt until the investigation of their record is completed.

The US government reacted strongly. It threatened to stop US foreign aids to Egypt, which is of the amount of $ 1.55 billion, mostly military aid, unless American citizens are permitted to leave Egypt. Sam LaHood, the son of the American secretary of transportation, R. Lahood is one of those who are retained. The Egyptian public views towards American foreign aids to Egypt are negative. The majority wants it stopped, so that their country will not continue to be under the US influence as has been the case during the previous four decades.

Egypt is the second largest foreign aids recipient from the US after Israel. Members of the American congress who have been issuing threats to cut the foreign aids to Egypt are under the influence of “ AIPAC” and the other American organizations that are supporters of Israel.

The political decision which the Egyptian government took, by preventing around 13 Americans from leaving Egypt until the investigation is completed is understandable since they were operating illegally.

The question that I would like to address to American public officials is this:

Would they permit foreign political groups to interfere in the American federal elections under the banner to promote Democracy?

Joy, Tears, Unfulfilled Objectives

2012-01-26T14:13:00.000-05:00

Millions of Egyptians have gathered all over Egypt to celebrate the first anniversary of their revolution. The celebration revived the spirit of January 25th and served as a reminder that the objectives of the protestors have not been completed yet.

The whole world has recognized that the younger Egyptian generation peaceful revolution has led to the removal of the authoritarian and corrupt regime of H. Mubarak. However, the political institutions created by the demoted regime are still operating, and it will take longer time to rebuild and end corruption.

The second major achievement of the revolution so far has been the free democratic election of the new members of parliament. Unfortunately, the elections’ results did not fairly represent all segments of Egyptian society.

Moreover many of the protestors’ demands have not yet been achieved. Such as the followings:

1- Requesting the Egyptian military council to surrender their authority to a civilian one and to end the arrest of civilian protesters, the elimination of military courts, and the release of all political prisoners.

2- Arresting and prosecuting those responsible for the killing of protestors since the beginning of the Revolution.

3- Expediting the trial of Mubarak and other accused officials.

4- Returning the stolen Egyptian money held in foreign financial institutions, and the prosecution of those who were involved in the nation’s wealth theft.

5- Demanding the implementation of social justice such as minimum wage standard, control of the continuously increasing food prices, better health care and solving the problem of unemployment.

6- Appointing experts to create a guide lines for the drafting of the new constitution that will protect the rights of all segments of the Egyptian society.

7- Rapid election of a new president

8- Cleansing of the judicial system

9- Cleansing of the government communication and information system

10- Stopping the sales of gas to Israel.

11- Developing a new financial system to replace the “Special Financial Fund chest”, containing more than a trillion Egyptian pounds. The previous government high officials have misused the fund. The fund should be used in a proper, and controlled manner by the government, in order to ease foreign government pressure.

Change is a slow process, but ultimately the revolution objectives will be achieved.

The Ongoing Egyptian Revolution

2012-01-23T12:13:00.002-05:00

The Egyptian Revolution of Jan.25th , 2011, which has led to the removal of its most corrupt authoritarian regime through peaceful uprising has been recognized worldwide as an ideal model that ought to be recorded in history books.
Within few hours the Egyptian people will celebrate the first anniversary of the Revolution.
It is regrettable to say that the demands the younger generation have set as their main objectives, have not been completely fulfilled.
One should stress the fact that important changes will not be achieved over night . It requires planning, clear direction, and defined strategies
One should also recognize that the Egyptian people have experienced free and democratic elections for the first time. However, due to the absence of direction during the parliamentary elections, some groups were marginalized.
First the younger generation who took the risk to lead the uprising and were the vanguard of the revolution, have been ignored by the Egyptian higher military council, by the old political parties as well as by many of it s members who have been associated with the previous corrupt regime.
The young people did not designate political leaders to represent them , and neither had the time or financial resources to enable them to compete with the established political groups. It is also unfortunate that these political parties have intentionally marginalized the younger generation and were ready to collect the rewards of the revolution.
The second group , who also played an equal part in the revolution are Egyptian women who constitute half of the total population. They have obtained 1.8 % only of the parliament seats.
The third group who also did not get a fair share of seats in parliament are the Egyptian Copts. The Copts constitute 10% of the total population.
One of the negative behavior which was used during the campaign is the use of religious slogans which was in violation of the election rules.
While writing this post it was reported that marshal H. Tantawi has appointed 10 new members to the newly elected parliament which is presently meeting January 23rd 2012
There is no doubt that through history revolutions do not always meet the hoped objectives.
However, some of such negative incidents that took place during the past year could have been avoided .
After all we were last year eyewitnesses to the revolution
The leading Egyptian newspapers report on a broad ranges of security violations, that took place all over Egypt. These could have been stopped if the High Military Council policy has been clear and firm.
For example the interference to stop the national transportation system carrying tourists by baltageya (hoodlooms) is a national crime.
Those who were involved in such acts should receive the utmost penalties. Other acts of interrupting transportation was the blocking of main roads. Those who are involved in such type of violations are trying to send message of protests to the government regarding issues that are relevant to them and needs official attentions. Further more I was sadly disappointed to read that the designated Egyptian nuclear site “Al Daba” has been vandalized by some of the natives who claim that more than 30 years ago the government confiscated their property with minimal compensation. Those who attacked the site have destroyed all of the facilities which have been built by the government at a cost of more than 1 billion Egyptian pounds. They have been threatening to destroy the site during the past few months but the government has ignored their warning.
Such an unfortunate events could have been prevented. If those in charge of the Egyptian national defense had strengthened the security in light of the threats made by the people in that area.
Rumors were spread that foreign agents are behind the destructions by the small group. There is some truth behind it.
Many people who have been suppressed and were ignored by previous regimes for more than 4 decades, suddenly began to breath freely and expect changes overnight. This is not going to happen that fast. There are some people who are against the new changes which took place since Feb.11th, 2011, and attempt in many ways to sabotage the revolution for the benefit of those who have lost their privileges.
There are groups who have no loyalty to their own country and are willing to cooperate with foreign agents as long as they get paid for their activities. For example, the destruction of the “Al-Daba” nuclear site, which is an important part of Egypt's future national security must have been part of a foreign sabotage act. Despite the fact that those who did the destruction were compensated for the property. Their claim is false, because the site is a public property and not a private one.
Many of these people are simple and illiterate and are easily manipulated by foreign agents, specially if they get paid to do certain tasks.
The Israeli strategy regarding the field of nuclear technology is well known. During the past 5 decades the Israeli government conducted a series of international violation. Such as killing Arab nuclear scientists, bombing the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1987, as well as the suspected Syrian nuclear site in 2007. Further more it recently objected the proposed Jordanian nuclear reactor project to be used to generate power to desalinate sea water in order to meet the severe fresh water shortages in the country.
Israel is the only nuclear power in the middle east region. According to a CIA report, Israel possess between 200-300 nuclear bombs. For that and other reasons Israel has been conducting an international campaign to prevent any country in the middle east from acquiring advanced nuclear technology.
As a matter of fact, CNN has recently reported (1.22.2012) that the Atlanta Jewish Times advocated the killing of the US president Barack Obama for not being supportive of bombing Iran nuclear reactors.
Let me conclude by stating that those who expect immediate solutions for their problems in Egypt, they will be disappointed. Changes are not going to happen overnight. Furthermore, there are many people who have legitimate complaints and have the right to express their views, but should not act in violation of Egyptian laws.
The Egyptian revolution which took place a year ago will lead into a bright future for Egypt. Changes that require the reconstruction of political, economic, and social institutions needs planning, effective strategy, commitment and above all, time.
Last year my wife and I witnessed the revolution. We made it point to be in Egypt for this year anniversary of this unique event.

Before leaving the US to travel back to Egypt to attend the celebration, some of our friends raised the common question. Is it safe to go back now? Yes it is.

2012-01-16T08:05:00.000-05:00

The recent Egyptian national election for parliament revealed a disgraceful result in terms of the election of women. It was revealed that no more than eight women were elected, which means only one and a half percent of the total number of the new Egyptian parliament is represented by women. As a result, speculation began to circulate that the Egyptian Higher Military Council might appoint ten women to the new parliament. Even if this will be accomplished, their percentage will be no more than two percent. The rules set prior to the election stated that half the members of the future parliament should consist of workers and farmers. Even such specification is not accurate, because most of those who were elected are neither workers nor farmers.

Furthermore, the rules of the election should have been more specific in regard to other segments of the Egyptian population, such as women, who constitute more than 50% of the total population of Egypt. Also, more than 30% of Egyptian women are the main economic supporters of their households.

Throughout history, Egyptian women in general have played a very important role in Egypt’s economic, political and social developments. The Egyptian revolution of January 25, 2011 reflects the role of Egyptian women who stood side by side with men in support of the uprising. In many situations, as an eyewitness of that revolution, I saw women carrying their babies while protesting. I have seen women helping to clean the debris from the ground of Tahrir Square. I saw female doctors and nurses treating wounded men who were shot and/or brutalized by the Egyptian security forces. I saw young ladies being beaten by Egyptian security forces. According to international human rights organizations, more than one hundred women who were arrested during the protests were sexually assaulted by soldiers and security agents. (NYT, 1/10/2012).

The Egyptian Higher Military Council and the political leadership of parties who ran for election failed miserably to emphasize women’s rights during the election. It seems to be that all of these parties are not that different from the Muslim Salafis in terms of their views about the role of Egyptian women in society.

Furthermore, the Egyptian Copts, who constitute more than 11% of the total population, did not get enough members in parliament to be consistent with their numbers. Also, the young Egyptians who started the uprising and were the vanguards of the Egyptian revolution were marginalized by the military and the various political parties, especially the Muslim Brotherhood group. May God have mercy on Egyptian society.

Egyptian Street Children

2012-01-10T10:55:00.001-05:00

Recently, the Egyptian press began to publicize the negative role of the street boys in the protest movements as agents of destruction, according to the latest investigations that took place near Tahrir Square. Some of the street boys were arrested and investigated. Some of the information, which was made public, revealed that they have been recruited by people and were paid to do specific acts of destruction to property by setting specific buildings on fire.

The issue of the street boys should not be dismissed so lightly, because the average Egyptian has gotten used to see boys in the streets, begging or trying to clean the windshields of cars when they are stopped at red traffic lights in the hopes of getting a few piasters (Egyptian currency) for their efforts. Some of these boys are also supervised by adult women who provide shelters for them at night and during the day they assign them certain streets on which to beg. At the end of the day, their professional adopted mother collects the money they have obtained from begging.

The issue of boys in the street is not a rare or hidden one. It has been part of the daily scene in Egyptian cities. It is not unusual that some of these kids get involved in criminal activities such as theft, killing or drug crimes. The street boys dilemma is a critical national problem that should be dealt with in a very serious way. Their number has been estimated to be around one million and they pose a very critical and dangerous problem for Egyptian society at large. I classify them as walking ticking bombs that will potentially explode and should be disarmed as soon as possible.

Some of the factors that contribute to this social and criminal dilemma are attributed to some of the following factors:

1) Poverty and unemployment, because nearly 45% of the Egyptian population is living below the poverty index level, which makes it very difficult for families to take care of their members, especially if the head of the household is unemployed.

2) Broken families, as the result of divorce or when the head of the social unit has abandoned his children due to desperation.

3) The high illiteracy rate among parents, which makes some of them unable to raise their children, especially during the critical formative years (the first 6-7 years of their lives).

4) The recruitment of some of these kids by adult criminals to be used for unlawful activities for financial gains. School dropouts are especially susceptible to these adult criminals.

There are other factors that contribute to this national Egyptian problem, which needs imminent attention to bring an end to this dilemma in the long run. The majority of Egyptians are devout religious citizens who also believe in justice and fairness to all. According to a recent census report, there are more than 80 million Egyptians using cellular phones. I am of the opinion that users of these phones will not object to pay an extra one Egyptian pound per phone to be collected per month to be used for a project designed to help street boys.

The proposed suggestion, if implemented, will net at least one billion Egyptian pounds per year. This will be a very large amount of money that will initiate very comprehensive and different reforms and educational programs to educate and teach skills to those who do not want to pursue further education. They should be housed under professional supervision. Also, as an incentive, they should be helped financially during the learning process “Earn while you learn.” After they complete their educational and training period, they should be guaranteed a job. Furthermore, some of these unfortunate children should be treated for psychological problems if necessary.

The nearly one million youngsters could become a forceful, positive segment of Egyptian society instead of remaining a destructive one. The Egyptian government should learn from the negative experience of the street boys in Brazil, who were a destructive force for that society for a long period of time. Like Brazilian citizens, as well as other foreign citizens, Egypt depends a great deal on tourism and there is a possibility that some of these young street boys will become a threat to tourists. This problem should be dealt with in a very serious manner. The proposed one Egyptian pound contribution will pose no economic problem and will help the Egyptian government, who is facing a difficult economic problem during the transitional period at the present.

The Protestors – Personality of the Year

2011-12-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

Time Magazine has selected the protestors for its cover page as the personality of the year. This selection signifies the protestors’ courage and sacrifice through their message against the corrupt, authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. Such an action was driven by courage, because they sent their message at the right time in protest of the unjust system that has been producing suffering and agony for the majority of the people.

The protestors shared a social identity and acted collectively to achieve their goal. They were driven by a common identity and purpose. The person who sparked the Arab spring revolution was Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire. It was not about the Tunisian police confiscating his fruit cart but when he went to the responsible officials, his complaint was ignored. He then set himself on fire. It was an act of self dignity.

His self sacrifice sparked the fire that led to the Tunisian revolution a year ago, which led to the collapse of the previous regime and ushered the country into a new stage that led to the first free democratic election in Tunisia. The political impact of the Tunisian revolution expedited the upheaval in the rest of the Arab world.

As a matter of fact, the political volcano was approaching explosion a few months before the Tunisian eruption in July 2010, as a result of the arrest and killing of Internet activist Khalid Saed. Khalid Saed was a courageous young man who exposed the filth of Egypt security personnel by putting pictures on the Internet involving drug trade. The Internet activist was the target of the Egyptian security forces in Alexandria. He was tortured to death. The Khalid Saed page on the Internet was the first step that mobilized tens of thousands of young people during the summer of 2010, who were connected through Facebook and other technological means of communication. Members of the Spider Network were the ones who called for the mass protest on January 25^th, 2011, that led to the collapse of the Mubarak regime on February 11, 2011.

The political flames that sparked the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions also led to the removal of the Libyan regime and to ongoing civil wars in both Yemen and Syria, which ultimately will remove the corrupt regimes in both states.

Not too many experts or political analysts could have predicated the Arab Spring revolution, nor could they have predicted such a rapid and major impact, not only in the Arab world, but also on the entire world.

The lesson that has begun to develop in many countries is that when people, especially the younger generation, are dissatisfied with their political and economic conditions, they rebel even in democratic societies such as the U.S., Russia and other western states demanding reforms.

The Arab spring revolution removed the blanket of fear, especially in the Arab world, where the corrupt leaders have taken their people for granted and believed they could do whatever pleases them. This will no longer happen. For those who have been elected in Tunisia and Egypt, regardless of the color of their political ideology, they have to work hard and implement programs that will meet the needs of those who started the revolutions. After all, the unemployment factor and increasing poverty, among other important reasons, have ignited the spark that led to the use of public protests.

There are more than 25 million people who are unemployed, especially the young and college graduates, in the Arab world. In any society, when the young get their education and are not able to find jobs, they are walking ticking bombs. A report issued by the World Bank stated that the Arab states need to create at least 100 million jobs during the next twenty years to met the rising needs for employment. Arab oil producing states in general should invest part of their money surplus in the Arab world, instead of investing it in the west.

The Revoking of Citizenship in the UAE

2011-12-27T12:13:00.000-05:00

Members of the Arab Gulf states met (12/20/2011) in Saudi Arabia to discuss their agenda. King Abdullah addressed the members and urged them to move from the cooperation stage into an actual political unity. He stressed the impact of the political upheaval taking place in the region and the threat it might cause to the Arab states in the Gulf region. Furthermore, he stressed the fact that unity among the member states will strengthen them to face the threat from outside of the region. The leadership of the Arab Gulf states, in particular their neighbor Iran, is the source of their internal conflict, especially between the Sunnis and the Shiaas. Such sectarian conflicts have been part of the region for more than a thousand years.

One of the decisions made by the leaders during the conference was the withdrawal of the Saudi government’s invitation to Jordan and Morocco (May 2011) to join the royalty club of the Persian Gulf states. At the time, they saw in it a strategic point that will strengthen the monarchies regimes in the Arab world.

At that time, Jordan, who shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, welcomed the offer, while the Moroccan government was not too receptive of the idea due to the long distance that separates the countries.

To ease the negative impact of the withdrawal of the initiation, the members of the council decided to provide an economic fund equal to $5 billion to both Jordan and Morocco. Each state would get $2.5 billion for economic development.

The press reported that two members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, objected to the Saudi proposal. It should be of interest to speculate and analyze the rationale that led both states to object to that invitation. First, since it emerged as a state during the British Mandate during the first half of the twentieth century, Oman was in almost total isolation, even from its neighbors in the Gulf. The situation continued in many ways, even after Sultan Qaboor removed his father and assumed leadership in the state. Also, the government of Oman, who rules by decrees, did not want to open its borders for many young educated people from other countries with high literacy rates, especially Jordan, to travel to Oman without restrictions because it could have created a new awareness for their counterparts in Oman. Young people, as has been reflected in the spring revolution, is a contagious social and political disease that will impact their political and social institutions.

The Emirates’ objection, in my judgment, was influenced by the recent political-religious objections to the absolute rule of the princes’ council, which is based on tribal affiliations. The Islamic Islah Muslim organization has been calling for the political election of Islamic organizations recently in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco.

The UAE government officially announced the withdrawal of citizenship from six citizens who were accused of threatening the national security of the state. The accused individuals, who are members of al-Islah Muslim group, are accused of being connected to an outside power that threatens the state.

According to the press (Al-Khuds al-Arabi and al-Wafd, 12/24/2011), Sheikh Khalifa ben Zaid al-Nahyan, the head of the state, is the one who issued the order based on Law 16 #17, 1972).

The press also reported that all of the accused are academicians employed by the state and the university. Some of them are members of prominent families and Emirates tribes. However, all of them are known as active Islamists.

Citizenship is a human rights issue and the Emirates officials, who are known as liberals by comparison to some of their neighbors, should not have abused the rights of their citizens. In any civilized democratic society, the citizens’ have the right to criticize their officials. Unfortunately, UAE is not a democratic state. The withdrawal of citizenship will lead to political and sectarian conflict.

The Emirates’ total population is estimated at 4.7 million and 75% of them are foreign workers. This might be one of the major reasons behind the Emirates rejection of the Saudi proposal for Jordan and Morocco to join the Gulf Cooperation Council. More educated young Arabs moving into the Emirates without restriction is viewed as a potential ticking bomb that will threaten the authoritarian tribal base monarchy.

The Arab Gulf States and the Spring Revolution

2011-12-27T12:04:00.000-05:00

The fever of the Arab Spring Revolution has impacted all Arab states in one form or another. The Arab Gulf states have also experienced some political unrest, especially in Bahrain, where more than 1600 have been taken as prisoners and 40 have been killed. Recently, the United Nations requested the Bahraini government release the political prisoners from jail and warned against the use of violence by authorities. Reports revealed that Bahraini security forces attacked the headquarters of the Shiaa opposition, who constitute more than two thirds of the total population. It is also unfortunate that forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are helping the regime in Bahrain to suppress the opposition.

In Saudi Arabia, a few attempts of protesting were made, but authorities stopped them before they picked up any momentum. In the eastern part of the country, where the Shiaa are concentrated, protests took place, which led to the killing, injuries and jailings of some of the protestors.

It is unfortunate that the major conflict in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is attributed to the discrimination and suppression conducted by the Sunni Muslim authority against the Shiaa Muslims. In Bahrain, more than two thirds of the population belongs to the Shiaa, who are controlled by the Sunni minority. In Saudi Arabia, the Sunni majority are in full control of the Shiaa minority.

The source of the conflict is based on sectarianism. Both countries are run by authoritarian monarchies and there is no room for democracy and/or transparency. Qatar is the third country in the Arab Gulf region that is more open and less suppressive than the others, but the public has been influenced by the fever of the Arab Spring Revolution. Qatar is among the wealthiest in the Arab world because of oil and gas and had its first election for the municipal council. The country is run by Crown Prince Hamad bin Khalifa, who announced a few months ago an election for a new parliament in 2013. One of the major factors that contributed to the state’s stability is its welfare system.

The United Arab Emirates is also among the wealthiest states because of its oil. The rulers of the UAE have been experiencing some political pressure from Islamist political groups, such as Islah, which means “reform”. The government of the UAE has recently withdrawn its citizenship from 6 religious Islamist activists who are challenging the authority of the oil rich federation.

Al-Islah is an organized political Islamist group whose number has been estimated at around 20,000 members. Their leadership has called on the UAE political leadership to reverse its decision against the six members who signed a petition calling for a democratic election of parliament with an executive.

The al-Islah group has been influenced by the political winds caused by the Arab Spring Revolution and the recent political Islamic victory, especially in Tunisia and Egypt. The political leadership of UAE began to fear the challenge of political Islam and its threats to their tribal legitimate authority.

Abu Dhabi’s vast oil resources have created a welfare state, which in many ways has prevented street riots similar to what happened in some Arab states, especially the ones in nearby Bahrain.

The Emirates are ruled by tribal crown princes with a totally population of more than 4.75 million. However, 75% of them are foreign workers. The transition into some form of democracy is coming. It is a matter of time.

The sixth state in the Gulf region is Oman, which is ruled by Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, who inherited the position from his father. The country is not as rich as others, but it relies on oil revenues and agriculture cultivations for its economy.

So far, Oman ahs been spared the turmoil and political unrest that has plagued some of its neighbors in the Gulf region.

Oman is ruled by an authoritarian monarch who rules by decree. Nevertheless, it is a matter of time before the population of Oman will start demanding freedom and a democratic institution.

Oman, which used to be living in almost total isolation even with its close neighbors, has been removing the social and political barriers as a result of the mass media, tourism, trades and the increasing numbers of educated people. The winds of political change are blowing that will ultimately bring reform.

The Iraqi Crisis

2011-12-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

After the withdrawal of the last troops from Iraq (12/22/2011), President Obama made public remarks that the departure of U.S. forces left behind “a sovereign, stable and self reliant Iraq, with a representative government elected by its people”.

It is regrettable to say that the president’s remarks were based on an illusion that after nine years of occupation, the Iraqi people have changed and are supportive of democracy.

The election that took place was based on sectarian division. For hundreds of years, Iraq experienced sectarian conflict, especially between the Shiaa majority and the Sunni minority, who were in control of the country until the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime after the American invasion in 2003.

A few days after the departure of U.S. troops, a series of explosions took place in Baghdad that led to the deaths of more than 70 people and the injuries of more than 200 others. A day prior to that, Prime Minister al-Maliki issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on terror charges. The vice president fled to Irbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan governate. He denied the charges from there and refused to go back to Baghdad. At the same time, the Iraqi prime minster requested that the Kurdish government in Irbil arrest al-Hashemi and turn him over to the Baghdad government. No action has taken place as of December 22, 2011. The prime minister also stated that nobody should interfere in the Iraqi judicial system.

Furthermore, Mr. al-Maliki issued another order to prevent the vice prime minster, Mr. Saleh al-Mutlag (who is also a Sunni) from participating in the cabinet meeting. Al-Maliki is asking parliament to remove his immunity so he can be arrested.

The two political steps that the prime minister has taken against the two top Sunni government officials reflects al-Maliki’s strategy to marginalize the Iraqi Sunnis from the political arena in Iraq.

If such steps are implemented, it is going to cause a blood bath in Iraq between the Shiaa majority and the Sunni minority.

The Iraqi sectarian political conflict is a deep-rooted religious problem that has been part of the social structure of Iraq for hundreds of years.

Prior to the American invasion of 2003, Saddam Hussein’s government was the most secular in the Middle East region. He suppressed the militant Islamic groups among the Shiaa and the Sunni groups. They were not permitted to even express their views or to admit that they existed. Even Osama bin Laden (who was a Sunni and the leader of al-Qaeda) has stated publicly before the Iraqi invasion in 2003 that “Saddam Hussein was more dangerous to their cause than the Americans”.

The previous leader of Iraq was the head of a secular government and many of the top government positions were occupied by secular Shiaa individuals. As a matter of fact, after the American invasion of Iraq, the U.S. issued an order for the arrests of the 52 highest ranking Iraqi politicians. The order was issued in a deck of cards form of 52 pictures. 37 of the pictures were Shiaa high government officials and the other 15 were Sunni. The situation at the present in Iraq reflects that Prime Minister al-Maliki is trying to marginalize the Sunnis from political power, which is going to lead to more bloodshed as well as to the destabilization of Iraqi society and will extend Iranian influence in Iraq. The U.S. invasion of the Iraq has contributed to this mess and the country is in a serious political crisis. American politicians keep committing one blunder after another and the American people will end up paying a heavy price for their ignorance. To be precise, it was a big mistake to get involved in a war in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The consequences were negative and of no benefit to the US.

Egyptian Women on the Protest Line

2011-12-21T22:23:00.000-05:00

The Arab Spring Revolution has so far led to the collapse of four corrupt regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Others are on the way out.

Another significant change has also been taking place quietly, which is the role of women in general in the uprising in many states in the Arab world.

The participation of women in the protest movement in Yemen led to one of the most active women, Tawakul Karmen, to be nominated and receive the Nobel Prize for her active political and social role in Yemen.

In Egypt, from the first day of the revolution, many young women marched side by side with men in support of the revolution. Their role didn’t end with the collapse of the Mubarak regime, but they continued to see that the demands that the young people have been asking for have not been totally implemented.

The recent protest that took place during the third week of December in front of the prime minster’s headquarters led to ugly consequences that no person would have anticipated.

The military police and other security agents with civilian clothing were sent to stop the peaceful protest, but it turned into ugly and shameful acts committed by the soldiers.

Many soldiers teamed up to beat the few young people who were thrown on the ground. One disgraceful scene was of a young woman stripped of her upper clothing and exposed to the public. While she was on the ground, soldiers continued to kick her with their boots.

Such behavior on the part of that soldier who tore off the girl’s clothing should not be lightly dismissed. He and other soldiers have brought disgrace to the Egyptian army, who were expected to protect the public

The Egyptian Higher Military Council went through a stage of denial that such a thing did not occur until video clips and photos started circulating on the Internet and in newspapers. Some used titles such as, “Shame on Egypt and its Military”.

The next day (12/20/11), Egyptian women protested in massive numbers in Tahrir Square and in front of the parliament, calling on military forces to surrender their power to a civilian council and to punish those who committed the shameful acts the day before.

The women were shouting, “Pull my hair, drag me to the floor and strip me, but my brother’s blood will cover me”, “Where are you, General Tantawi?” and “The Women of Egypt are Here”.

Many political and social organizations have called for a million protestors on Friday (12/23/11), which they have labeled “Radil Sharaf”, which means to regain “our honor”.

Protestors refer to the young woman who experienced such humiliating and ugly treatment by soldiers as the “woman with the blue bra”.

However, I would like to note that the woman with the blue bra has already ignited the spark for change in the role of women. The new role, as well as their political activities, puts them on the central stage of public life for the first time in their lives.

In Arab society, where males are traditionally the dominant figures not only at home, but also in public life, women standing and chanting side by side with men, reflecting the beginning of new social and cultural trends not just in Egypt, but also in some other Arab states as well.

Another strong indication of women’s new active political roles is their massive participation in the recent Egyptian elections, where they stood in long lines for hours to fulfill their political duties to their own society. For the vast majority, it was the first political participation of their lives.

The slogan “the woman with the blue bra” has ignited the flame that will further boost the roles of women in Arab society.

The Rise of Political Islam

2011-12-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

The recent parliamentary election of stage one and stage two reflects an impressive victory for Islamic political parties. Both major parties, the Freedom and Justice Party (which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood) and the Al-Nour Party (an Islamic Salafi group) have both won more than 2/3 of the future parliament seats. I have no doubt that the third and final stage of the election, which will take place in January 2012, will bring similar results to both Islamic political groups. The Freedom and Justice Party will end up as the major winner with at least 40% of the parliament seats. The Al-Nour Party will probably end up as the second winner with at least 25% of the seats.

This political trend has raised many speculations and concerns about the new rising political Islam. Any person who is familiar with the history of the Muslim Brotherhood, which go back more than 80 years, could have predicted in advance that they would be a winner. The projection made prior to the election gave the Freedom and Justice Party between 30 and 35% at most. Nevertheless, they ended up with a higher margin than what analysts expected, and this sends a wave of concern over western governments and Egyptian secular groups and political parties, who ranked as third place winners. There are a number of reasons behind the political successes of the Freedom and Justice Party. First, they are highly organized and disciplined and their members strongly believe in their cause. Second, thousands of their members and many of their leadership have been arrested during the past seven decades and have served long periods in jail. Third, the Muslim Brotherhood are well financed, which enables them to provide social, religious and economic help and services to the poverty stricken segment of the Egyptian population. Such economic and social services have been going on for many decades among grass roots, especially in poor neighborhoods. This is part of the rationale used by many Egyptian voters in support of the Freedom and Justice Party. Furthermore, poverty-stricken people in general tend to have strong religious beliefs that, psychologically speaking, tend to bring relief and hope to many of them. They view the Muslim Brotherhood as a religious political party.

All of these points played an influential role among the poor especially in support of political Islam and against the secular political parties. Most probably, many of the Egyptian voters view secular political parties as part of the previous regime. They were referred to as the opposition political group, but for many decades their role was not effective at all.

For that and other reasons, many of the voters have lost faith in many of these secular political parties. Also, many of those who supported the Freedom and Justice Party among the Middle social strata, viewed them as more liberal in terms of their interpretation of religion. They view Islam with a modern outlook that is totally the opposite of the Al-Nour Salafist views.

Nevertheless, the success of the Al-Nour Salafi Islamic group came as a big surprise to too many people who were not well known to the public at large. Reports revealed that large financial support from the Gulf region played a role in their political support, as well reflected in the results of the election. It was also reported that money was used to buy votes, a political tactical strategy that was used by the previous regime as well as in other Arab states. The Arab Gulf government doesn’t want to see a secular government in Egypt. Whatever political model will emerge in Egypt will end up impacting all other Arab states.

Despite the fact that both political Islamic parties, the Freedom and Justice Party and the Al-Nour Party, will end up with more than 2/3 of the future parliament seats, they will not end up having a joint government. Their religious-political strategies and agendas tend to be the opposite of each other.

I predict that the Freedom and Justice Party will align itself with some of the secular political parties to form a majority government. I doubt very much that they will be concerned with the various religious issues as circulating rumors reflect. They have major economic challenges that need to be dealt with, such as unemployment, poverty, tourism, foreign investment, health and education among many other pressing issues. Also, they are aware that the public, especially those who voted for them, will be eager to see quick and positive economic changes that will benefit them. This is not an easy task for any political group in Egypt to bring rapid changes at all levels.

The Freedom and Justice Islamic political party is facing a very difficult challenge so let us give them a chance and wish them success. Furthermore, the Freedom and Justice Party has been pressing their demand that the elected parliament should assume the responsibility of appointing a commission to draft the proposed new constitution. Such a responsibility should be outside the jurisdiction of parliament. The members of the commission should be independent and its members should be nominated by all political segments of the Egyptian society, including the Egyptian Higher Military council, in order to reflect a broader range of views. This will safeguard the principles of equality and democracy for all.

I hope the January 25^th revolution, which opened the political door for political Islamic parties, will bear fruits that will benefit those who were the vanguard of that uprising.

The Tragedy of Recent Egyptian Events

2011-12-19T13:37:00.002-05:00

The collapse of the relationship between the Egyptian Higher Military Council and the Egyptian public, especially the younger generation who initiated the January 25^th revolution, began to take place after what has been happening since October 2011 the killing of young protestors. The latest number of people killed, according to the Ministry of Health, is 16. More than 815 people have been injured as a result of the shootings and beatings committed by the military police and other security agents to try to stop the continuous protests in front of the headquarters of the prime minister’s office and the parliament building.

I have seen the ruthless measures used against the young people, such as when more than five soldiers ruthlessly beat a protestor who was on the ground. I have seen the security police pulling young girls by their hair to be arrested. I have seen the Egyptian security on the roofs of government buildings in civilian clothing throwing stones at protestors below them. These men are the Egyptian securities who are equal to the Syrian shabiHa doing the ugly and dirty task for those who are sitting and watching them from behind the scenes. There is no doubt whatsoever that the top military bosses are behind it. E very time such attacks against the peaceful protestors lead to the killing of innocent people who want better days and an honest government for their society, but who instead are paying a high price. Every time such attacks occur, the Higher Military Council try to use excuses that foreign hands or members of the previous regime are causing it. They call for investigation to see who is behind the killing and each time nothing comes out of it. It is very interesting to hear that the Egyptian security forces went after al-Jazeera crews who filmed the attacks taking place against protestors and confiscated their cameras. It is an act to destroy the identity of the security members who are involved in the crimes committed.

Let me say that the Egyptian Higher Military council that was labeled as the protector of the revolution turned out to be its enemy. After all, those high-ranking generals were part of the previous corrupt regime. As a result of the December 16^th massacre, it was reported that eight members of the Magliss al-Shura, whose job was to provide advice to the military council, have resigned. Others are demanding a public apology from the military council to the families who have lost their loved ones as a result of the brutality. The military council, as well as the prime minster, have been saying all along that no force would be used against the protestors who have the right to protest. Why, then, did the military police destroy and burn the protestors’ tents, in Meddan al-Tahrir? The military council has failed to play a just role. They are committing the same brutality used by the Mubarak regime.

Since October 16, three massacres occurred against the protestors. The question that ought to be asked by the members of the Higher Military council is: why are the young people still protesting, despite the fact that free democratic elections have been taking place and will be completed in January 2012? The simple answer is the fact that the army has failed to implement the demands that were set by the protests since February 11^th, 2011. The old political parties, secular and religious ones, have stolen the revolution with the help of the military council and have marginalized those who initiated the revolution and have sacrificed more than 1,000 shaheed, which led to the removal of Mubarak’s regime.

The revolution, from the protesters point of view, meant not only the removal of the president and a dozen high political officials, but rather a total change that would have impacted all governmental institutions.

New Dawn for Iraq

2011-12-19T13:27:00.000-05:00

L. Panetta, the American Secretary of Defense, traveled to Iraq to participate in the final stage of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The press reported (12/16/11) the passage of the last American military convoy into Kuwait. Only a few hundreds American soldiers are left to train the Iraqi military on the new weapons obtained form the U.S. Furthermore, it was also revealed that the U.S. State Department has signed a contract with private security companies that will bring thousands of agents to provide protection for U.S. diplomatic missions in Iraq, whose number has been estimated to be more than 16,000 individuals. It is the largest U.S. foreign diplomatic mission in the world. The state department stated that the financial cost to provide protection has been estimated at $3.8 billion per year. The size of the private security is estimated to be more than 5,500. It should be of interest to estimate that the total number of Americans who will be operating in Iraq in various capacities will be between 20,000 and 25,000 people.

For that and other reasons, questions are raised about when the U.S. government and military presence in Iraq will come to an end? The answer to such a question will become clearer during next few months. Nevertheless, the American invasion of Iraq officially came to an end after more than eight years of fighting, which is considered the longest war the U.S. was ever involved in. It was an unnecessary war by any standard, because Iraq did not pose a threat to the U.S. in any way, shape, or form. There were no accurate reports that Iraq possessed WMD.

All evidence available prior to and after the invasion revealed that it was a personal war in the mind of an irrational and unwise American president, George W. Bush. The Iraq war was an obsession in the mind of the president, because he wanted to remove Saddam Hussein since Hussein publicly threatened to kill his father. The Iraq war was a personal vendetta. In some ways, it was reflected in the public statement Bush made aboard an American Navy carrier 40 days after the Iraq invasion in 2003, when he said, “The mission is accomplished”. At that time, Hussein’s government had collapsed. This reflected the short sightedness of Bush, because at that time, the war that would last eight years had just started.

The consequences of Bush’s personal war led to many negative consequences to both the U.S. and Iraq. The most tragic part is the deaths of more than 4,500 American soldiers and more than 1.25 million Iraqi civilians.

Those who advocated and misled the American people should be tried for war crimes, starting with Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Several international organizations have been calling for the prosecution of Bush, but the members of congress have ignored such requests. It is, of course, to be noted that the majority of the members are as guilty as their president because they gave him the green light to start the war without investigating the false reports given to them by his administration. Many of these congressional members were and are under the influence of American lobbyists who viewed the war as a profitable business. This is one face among others that reflects the corruption of the American style of democracy. Finally, Bush should be prosecuted for the war crimes that he was responsible for.

Israel Nuclear Strategy

2011-12-15T09:32:00.000-05:00

During the past few decades, there have been numerous reports about Israel’s nuclear arsenal. The American CIA reported that Israel possesses between 200 and 300 nuclear heads. The history of the development of nuclear research goes back to the 1950s. the three major western powers have extended their technical help to the Israeli government directly and indirectly. France provided the nuclear reactor, Britain provided the heavy water and the processed uranium was stolen by an Israeli agent from the Pennsylvania reactor. When the investigation of the theft led to Israel, President Johnson ordered the file to be closed.

In a previous post, I provided information on Israeli nuclear strategy and the wars it conducted to bomb the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 and the suspected Syrian one in 2007. In addition to that, Israeli agents have conducted a campaign of assassination of Arabs as well as Iranian nuclear scientists.

The Israeli strategy is clearly defined: no state in the Middle East should acquire nuclear weapons, so that Israel remains the only state with WMD. Last year, when the Jordanian government announced their water purification project by using a nuclear reactor as the main source of energy, both Israel and the U.S. objected to it. The objection came as a result of Jordan contracting with French and South Korean private companies to process the raw uranium that is available in large quantities in Jordan, to be used as fuel for the proposed reactor. Both the U.S. and Israel suggested that Jordan should import the processed uranium from abroad.

It is unfortunate to say that the U.S. foreign policy regarding nuclear weapons has been one-sided, which is reflected in his campaign to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear bombs.

For the past fifteen years, Egypt has been introducing proposals at both the U.N. and the International Nuclear Agency advocating a policy to turn the Middle East into a region free of weapons of mass destruction. In one-way or another, the U.S. has always kept rejecting the proposal.

Nevertheless, during the past few weeks, the issue of the possibility of Iran possessing nuclear bombs is creating a panicky situation among the Saudi regime.

In a Arab Gulf Security Meeting, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who was also the previous Saudi Intelligence Chief, and a previous Saudi ambassador to the U.S., said that Saudi Arabia should acquire a nuclear bomb. This is necessary in light of the Israeli and Iranian potential of having WMD.

Since Israel has refused to consider the proposal of turning the Middle East region into a zone free of WMD, Iran will end up getting their bomb and then the Saudis will have no choice but to get one, too.

The prince emphasized the need to protect the Arab people in the Gulf region from the possibility of future nuclear threats. In a previous post, I suggested the creation of an Arab nuclear research institute that would provide the facilities for research and gather the nuclear scientists from the Arab world to work collectively for the benefit of the Arab world.

Egypt is the most capable of providing the majority of the talent needed and the oil producing Arab countries should provide the financial support for such badly needed technology in the Arab world.

American Foreign Policy and the Arab World

2011-12-14T11:49:00.000-05:00

During the American election for the White House and Congress, and as usual, some politicians from both sides ignored anything connected with the truth, objectivity and honesty to achieve their political objectives. One of the major political policies that has dominated the candidates stage is U.S. foreign policy towards Israel. As usual, candidates from both sides will compete with each other to see who is going to offer the Israel government the most politically, militarily and economically. No reference whatsoever is raised by the politicians in terms of such blind support and its impact on American national interest. Only a few ex-members of Congress have gathered the courage to talk about it, but only after they have announced that they will not be seeking reelection. Those did seek reelection after talking about this lost their seats.

The American political system has been infected by a political virus that has led to its corruption. As it was described by the New York Times (8/20/2011), “Our Politics Are Sick”.

A few days ago, during the debate of the Republican candidates for the presidency, Newt Gingrich made a stupid remark to appease the Israelis and their supporters in the U.S. He stated, “The Palestinians are an invented people.” He continued to say that there was no Palestine as a state and that it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, he also stated that the Palestinians are part of the Arab world.

Mr. Gingrich, who at one time was an academician before running for Congress, is aware of basic research techniques. He could have obtained enough information through the Internet on the Palestinians and the domination of the Arab world by the Ottoman Empire for 500 years. The end of World War I led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, which also led to the fragmentation of the Arab world. During Ottoman rule, the Arab world experienced many revolts and uprisings against the rulers. Among other things, historians reference the 1834 Palestinian uprising against Ottoman rule. Let me also point out, for the benefit of readers, that western powers (Britain and France) divided the Arab world into different political states in 1919 and Palestine was put under British mandate until 1948. In 1919, the Jewish population in Palestine was less than 12% of the total population.

Mr. Gingrich is not really interested in knowing the truth, because the word “truth” means nothing to Newt. He will sell his soul to the devil it will benefit him personally. Mr. Gingrich’s character is well known, especially to those who worked with him when he was the Speaker of the House. As Senator Levin, a Democrat, puts it, “Gingrich offered no solutions – just a can of gasoline and a match.”

By the way, Mr. Gingrich, the Palestinians are not “terrorists”, as you call them. They are fighting to regain what they have lost. God save the U.S. if he ends up being the Republican candidate.

Political Money and Egyptian Election

2011-12-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s regime as a result of the January 25^th Revolution, large sums of money from outside Egypt as well as from unknown sources within have been given to organizations to influence the future direction during this transitional period.

The previous prime minister, Isam Sharef, has recognized such illegal transactions and promised to investigate the matter. He turned over the recipients to the courts for prosecution for violating Egyptian law. (al wafd, 8/16/2011).

According to Mr. Sharef, there are more than 24,000 civil organizations that are licensed, in addition to another more than 5,000 organizations operating illegally. Also, there are foreign organizations operating in Egypt that might threaten the national security of Egypt.

The Ministry of Justice announced the formation of a committee to investigate and reveal the names of organizations that accept illegal money on July 27^th, 2011. These organizations are supposed to be prosecuted.

The “U.S. AID” has informed the Egyptian government that they have contributed $165 million to organizations that will work to support “democracy”. The money given helped some of the recipient organizations to become organized political parties.

Political money, especially when given by foreign governments or organizations, reflects an act of direct interference in the internal political affairs of Egypt. The U.S. government is not the only one to commit such illegal acts. Secret reports revealed that several Arab governments from the Gulf region have sent many millions of dollars to various Islamic organizations with the objective of influencing the direction of public voting during the parliamentary election.

The use of political money to buy or influence individual voting has been a common method used by the previous regime to ensure the victory of the government party (National Democratic Party). The usage of political money is a common political strategy used by authoritarian Arab regimes during the past 4 -5 decades.

Unfortunately, there were already official complaints of the usage of political money by several Islamic organizations that have influenced the voting results during the first stage of election that took place in early November 2011.

Different political tactics have been used in violation of the law, such as paying cash money in advance to people for their vote, or gifts in the form of food that were given to people in poor neighborhoods. Also, religious slogans were used to tell the public that those who cast their votes to secular political parties are committing religious violations.

The result of the first stage of voting led to an impressive political victory to Muslim political parties, especially the Freedom and Justice party, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. The second winner, which took the public by surprise, is the Noor Party, a very conservative Salafi Islamic group.

There is no doubt in my mind that Saudi political money played an influential role in their election. In addition, other gulf states’ contributions also have the objective of electing conservative Islamic religious parties, which will not have a negative impact on the future of their regimes. From their point of view, secular government in Egypt will lead to the development of democratic institutions and will have an impact on their regimes. Egypt is the heart of the Arab world and the most influential state. The political model that will emerge after the election will have an impact on the rest of the Arab states. The judicial higher committee in charge of the election stated that some of the violations that took place during the first stage of the election will be prevented during the second and third stages, which will take place in December 2011 and January 2012.

Let us hope that political policies that contribute to a democratic transition will be implemented.

Modest Suggestion for Education Development in Egypt

2011-12-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago (10/23/2011), almasry-alyoum newspaper published an article about the poor physical conditions of some schools in Egypt. One picture showed 2,000 students sitting on (Hasira) straw mats that were wet from sewer water. In another picture, the roof of a school was removed. In Maadi, there are two schools on both sides of Street 4, which I used to pass by. I counted the broken windows and calculated that they comprised 25% of all the schools’ windows. Some windows were even covered with cardboard. Such schools are located in middle and upper middle class neighborhoods. It seems to me that teachers and in particular principals of these schools have lost their innovative abilities to be more creative in taking the initiative to fix such minor things as broken windows. It is understandable that during the past 40 years or so, the government has ignored its responsibilities in many areas.

Education in general is the most vital area for the progress of Egyptian society. Even the physical structure of a school tends to have an impact on a student’s ability to learn. For example, schools that are not heated and during winter, a broken window or a school without a proper roof will impact students’ ability to learn, due to the low temperature.

I am sure if the principals of these schools, especially in Maadi, asked the parents to contribute only one Egyptian pound to fix the windows, that there would be enough response to overcome such minor problems.

Nearly 50% of Egyptians are living near or below the poverty line. However, I am astonished to read in al-shoruq news (9/27/2011) that there are 76.43 million cellular phones in use in Egypt. In 2010, the number of people who paid their regular fees was 58.972 million people. Keep in mind that the total population of Egypt at that time was around 83 million.

The point I would like to bring to the attention of some responsible is the fact that leveling a minimal tax fee of one pound per cellular phone each month will not create too much of a financial strain on users. The suggested of one Egyptian pound should also be matched by the three cellular phone companies (Itisalaat Masr, Mobinile, and Vodaphone of Egypt). If such proposal is implemented, it will generate more than one hundred million Egyptian pounds per month, and over 1.5 billion pounds a year. The money should be allocated not only to fixing the physical deterioration of schools, but also to build hundreds of new schools per year and equip these schools with modern technology. The Egyptians, throughout and even prior to recorded history, have created an advanced and civilized society when European ancestors were still living in caves.

The Egyptian public should respond to their society’s needs and stop relying on their government. The younger Egyptian generation, who were the vanguard of the January 25^th revolution, can assume such a task and the public will be supportive of their efforts.

The new Egyptian Minister of Education, Gamal al Arabi has announced his coming trip to visit different schools in Egypt. He will meet with teachers to discuss the improvement of the quality of education. Furthermore, the new minister is requesting an additional increase of 800 million Egyptian pounds for the education budget to reach 3.6 billion pounds for the academic year 2012-2013. The proposed budget is still not enough to impact the quality of education of more than 20 million students attending schools in Egypt.

The Increasing Toll of the Iraq War

2011-12-09T16:27:00.000-05:00

The Iraq War is winding down by the end of 2011. However, the human and financial cost continues to increase.

According to a recent study done by McClatchy Newspapers, analysis of the Department of Veteran Affairs data points out that “While Vietnam extracted a far higher death toll – 58,000 compared with 6,300 so far in the war on terror – the number of documented disabilities from recent veterans is approaching the size of that earlier conflict”.

He continued to say that veterans leaving the military in recent years are filing for and receiving compensation for more injuries than did their fathers and grandfathers. The McClatchy report revealed that despite the death casualties in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars was 6,300 and 46,000 have suffered injuries, but more than 600,000 have filed for VA disability benefits and more than 70,000 have been treated in the VA’s medical system. The report emphasized that the vets of both wars health problems cover a broad range of both physical and mental disabilities.

Professor Linda Bilmes of Harvard University revealed in her latest studies (2010) that the disability payments to the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans could range from $355 billion to $534 billion over the next 40 years. This is in addition to the cost of the medical system, which might be between $201 billion and $348 billion, to treat the vets of both wars. (www.mcclatchyde.com, 12/5/2011).

In a previous study about the cost of the Iraq war, which was conducted by Profession J. Stieglitz of Colombia University and Professor L. Bilmes, it was estimated that the total cost would reach between $2.5 and $3 trillion. Furthermore, Professor Stieglitz, a Nobel Prize winner and economist at Colombia University, pointed out that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the first war in U.S. history paid for entirely on credit.

The reckless and irresponsible decision of George W. Bush to go to war unnecessarily is causing a heavy burden on American society, physically, financially and socially. This is the tragedy of the Bush administration’s fabrication of false reports, which they used to mislead the American public in order to gain support for the war. The previous president should be tried for crimes committed, according to international law.

Furthermore, the American congress should also be blamed for giving George W. Bush the green light to invade Iraq. The majority of its members have failed to investigate the secret reports that the president used to justify the Iraq invasion. The president lied and misled the American people by using fabricated secret reports that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD and posed a threat to the security of the U.S., despite the fact that at the time, and according to U.N. reports, Iraq had no nuclear bombs.

It is unfortunate to say that lobbyists who represent big corporations and interest groups influence the majority of the members of congress. In this case, lobbyists representing the military industrial complex have supported the Iraq invasion. In a war situation, the military and defense contracts enhance the margin of their profit. Also, the American oil companies were eager to get into the Iraqi oil fields because Iraq’s oil reserve is the largest in the world.

Other lobbyist groups connected with the neo-cons, such as AIPAC, have played a role in supporting the invasion for the benefit of Israel.

It is unfortunate to point out that the prevailing attitude among many members of the American congress is to be reelected. The lobbyists, whose numbers were estimated to exceed 16,000, are the major contributors to their political campaigns. In this case, I would say personally that this type of money is a source of evil.

The CBS news poll (October 2011) stated that 77% of the respondents favored the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. They also stressed the fact that the war was not worth the loss of young Americans and its enormous cost.

It is also unfortunate to point out that the majority of the reports on the Iraq invasion did not analyze the impact of that war on Iraqi society. In previous posts, information was written regarding this case.

First Anniversary of the Arab Spring Revolution

2011-12-05T09:42:00.000-05:00

One year has passed since the Arab Spring Revolution was ignited in Tunisia in December 2010, and from there it spread, impacting in one way or another the rest of the Arab world.

Several corrupt regimes have been removed from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. However, the public protests are still going on in Syria, but ultimately the ruling regime will be removed. It is only a matter of time.

In Yemen, despite Ali Saleh’s resignation a week ago based on the Arab Gulf document, protestors are demanding that he be tried for crimes committed and corruption. This is despite the fact that the agreement he signed granted him immunity. His supporters, especially in the army, are still fighting his opponents in Taiz and other parts of Yemen. In Arab states that are under an absolute monarchy, such as Morocco, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, reforms have been minimal despite the impact of the Arab Spring Revolution.

In Jordan and Morocco, where the protestors are still calling for a constitutional monarchy. In Morocco, minimal reforms have been accomplished in the new constitution, which has led to the recent election (Nov. 2011). The Islamic Party (PJD) won 107 seats out of 395. It was also reported that less than 50% of the eligible voters (13 million) casted their votes (45%). Many political parties refused to participate in the election because their political demands were not met.

However, the new Moroccan constitution provided the prime minister more power to form his government, but the king still possesses a wide authority. The political reforms have been minimal and in reality they are a cosmetic type of reform, instead of being fundamental ones.

The political situation in Jordan is still as it was, despite the protestors uprising, which has not produced any significant changes, except for the resignation of Prime Minister M. al-Bakhit.

King Abdullah II asked A. Al-Khasawneh to form a new government in October. King Abdullah was unhappy about the slow political reforms.

The new government, under Prime Minister Al-Khasawneh, is still working with an established commission to add new reforms to the constitution, especially in connection to the election of parliament members. On Friday December 2^nd, 2011, the protestors in Amman and other Jordanian cities were calling for government reforms and an end to corruption. How fast the new government will respond to the public’s demand is not clear. Nevertheless, the proposed constitutional reforms, if they take place, will be cosmetic ones and the king’s authority will continue as is. The monarch has asked for the resignation of the cabinet, to be replaced by a new one. This is a move to pacify the public.

Such political tactics have worked in the past. However, the public protestors, which have been going on, on and off, during the past eight months, will not lead to genuine political reform. The Jordanian population is divided in general. One segment consists of Jordanians of Palestinian origin, who constitute a majority, and the second segment constitutes the original Jordanian population. The majority of the Jordanian segment are the major supporters of the king and they also possess more influence in the government and the military.

Nevertheless, the majority of the young protestors tend to come from both groups. How far their protest will go in influencing real political reforms is to be seen.

Saudi Arabia represents the third monarchy that is the most authoritarian and conservative regime in the Arab world. The Saudi royal family controls nearly all branches of the government and is strongly supported by the Wahabi Islamic religious group. This religious group is among the most conservative in the Islamic world.

However, to a certain extent, the Arab Spring Revolution began to influence the younger Saudi generation, who has been calling for more political freedom. The response from the Saudi authority has been harsh and ruthless, especially for the few who have tried to meet and protest.

Nevertheless, King Abdullah’s answer to the younger generation was financial handouts in various forms, especially to the unemployed and the poor. More than $130 billion has been allocated to the creation of new jobs, housing construction and salary increases for government employees.

Regardless of the government financial support, young Saudis are like other young Arabs who want freedom and political reform. A few demonstrations began in defiance of the government ban on protests, and many were arrested and put in jail.

Amnesty International has issued a report (Nov. 30, 2011) accusing the Saudi government of repression against the Arab Spring protestors because thousands of Saudis have been arrested.

Most of the protests took place in the Eastern part of the country, where the majority of the Shiaa minority is located. Saudi law bans national protests and those who have ignored the rules have been sent to jail to serve from five to thirty years. Insulting the integrity of the king carries a prison sentence of 10 years. Amnesty International claims “thousands of people are detained on terrorism related grounds.” (www.bbc.co, 12/1/2011).

The Shiaa minority, which constitutes 10% of the 19 million Saudi Arabian population, has always been a target of discrimination that dates back more than ten centuries. For that reason and others, they have been a target of detention by the government. Any demands for fairness and equality by members of the Shiaa group are viewed as an act of terror.

Amnesty International’s report stated that: The Saudi government has drafted an anti-terror law that would effectively criminalize dissent as a “terrorist crime” and allow extended detention without charge or trial.

Regardless of the ruthlessness of the Saudi regime and their suppression of the public at large in atmosphere absent of democracy, they will eventually face a public uprising. It is only a matter of time before such an uprising takes place. Living a politically closed society is no longer acceptable worldwide.

The Egyptian Revolution and Inception of Democracy

2011-11-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

During the past two days (Nov. 28 – 29), the Egyptian population experienced their first free democratic rights, which they have been deprived of for the last 6 or 7 decades.

It was an interesting experience to observe a huge number of people standing in line, which in many areas stretched for at least one to two km. People waited in an orderly way to get into the designated area to cast their votes.

It was also of interest to notice how calm the people were, even when they had to wait in many places for two to three hours to exercise their democratic rights. In some areas it was even raining.

I saw large numbers of women and men of different ages standing in two different lines with smiles and eager expressions on their faces, ready to fulfill their obligations and to satisfy their political desire for the first time in their lives. The cooperation of the public was amazing to observe. Help was given to the handicapped and to many of those who were too old to get to the voting booths.

I saw large numbers of women carrying their babies, waiting in line to fulfill their obligation. It was reported that at least 70% of the eligible voters (whose numbers may exceed 15 million) have participated in the first stage of the election.

It should be recognized that during the two days of voting, no significant problems were reported to discourage people from voting.

The last two days, Egyptians in general have shown their genuine national character, which the whole world has observed. The international press in general has given excellent reports reflecting on the smooth transitional stage of democracy. The voting proceeded into a smooth and peaceful manner. This reflects a complete and drastic change from previous forged parliamentary elections during previous decades when less than 20% of the public was involved. Such changes, politically and socially, are the result of the sacrifices of the younger Egyptian generation. They should not be forgotten. They have started a new trend in Egypt, where the blanket of fear of the ruling officials no longer is tolerated.

The first stage of voting has also set a pattern for the rest of Egyptians who will also exercise their voting rights during the second and third stages in December and January. Egypt is on its way to create a democratic institution and setting new trends for the rest of the Arab world to follow.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush

2011-11-29T22:24:00.000-05:00

Many speculations were made about the possibility of prosecuting George W. Bush for crimes committed during the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003.

However, nothing materialized to prosecute the previous president and some of his associates, such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld. It was reported that President Obama was warned by his Transitional Committee to look forward and not to attempt to investigate the previous president.

In a previous post that focused on this issue, President Obama was warned to not get involved in the investigation of the Iraq war because he might face a rebellion that might remove him from the White House.

Nevertheless, other international organizations have been calling for the prosecution of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld for war crimes during the Iraq War.

On September 11, 2011, Amnesty International issued an official request to the Canadian government to arrest and try George W. Bush during his visit to Canada on October 20^th, 2011.

Amnesty International provided the Canadian government with substantial evidence about crimes committed between 2002 and 2009 that were in violation of international law. These crimes were committed by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.

According to Susan Lee of Amnesty International, the Canadian government should arrest Bush according to international law, since the U.S. government has failed to assume that responsibility.

Furthermore, if the Canadian government will fail to do that, then it will also be in violation of international law, and nobody should be above the law.

The Canadian government has ignored the request.

Another mock trial was held in Kuala Lambour, Malaysia, on November 19, 2011, by a tribunal of international judicial experts who accused Bush and Tony Blair of committing crimes in Iraq in violation of international law.

Members of the tribunal deliberated over the case and after examining the evidence, they unanimously issued a guilty verdict for Bush and Blair for crimes committed in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq was unlawful according to international law.

The seven members of the international tribunal, which was chaired by former Malaysian federal court judge Abdul Hadir Sulaiman (who presided over the trial) issued this guilty verdict in absentia. They have pointed out that the evidence shows that the drums of war were being beaten before the invasion. The accused, in their own memoirs, have admitted their own intentions to invade Iraq, regardless of international law. (www.readersupportednews.org, 11/21/2011). Since the tribunal court has no power, the verdict was purely symbolic.

It was also reported that the international tribunal is expected to conduct a mock trial for crimes committed by Cheney, Rumsfeld and several other American officials who were involved in the Iraq war.

It is interesting to recognize at least in theory that in the U.S. nobody is above the law. But in reality and practice, the influence of money, which has been used by multinational corporations and their lobbyists in the nation’s capital, has turned many members of Congress to serve that segment of society over the people who elected them. It is regrettable to say that the traditional foundations of American democracy (government by the people, to the people and for the people) is part of the past. Instead, now it is government by the people to the minority and for the minority.

It is of interest to read some remarks that were made by the well-known American film producer Oliver Stone. At a film festival held in Algeria, he stated that, “Americans worship the dollar”. That statement was made in connection to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Mr. stone produced the films “Wall Street” and “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”. He produces other films, but his main point is that there is no democracy in the U.S., those who are running society and government are multi-national corporations, especially the American military industrial complex and the military establishment. At the present, Mr. Stone is working to produce a ten hour film: “The Untold Story of the U.S.”, which will be shown in May 2012. (www.aljazeera.net, 11/20/2011).

The only hope, as I see it, to save the American democracy is to send politicians to Washington D.C. for one term only. Then they will not be forced to cave under the pressure of lobbyists and their financial contribution to their elections. The problem has gotten even worse since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the ceiling on the amount of money contributed to politicians. I interpret such a decision by saying, “In the dollar we trust” instead of “In God we trust”.

The Tunisian Revolution

2011-11-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

On October 23, 2011, the Tunisian people exercised their democratic rights and elected their first congress after three decades of authoritarian rule. Nearly 90% of the population voted in the election.

The Islamic Nada political party won 89 seats, which was followed by the Dastour political party with 29 seats and the Takatul Democratic political party with 20 seats. The three major political winners have pulled 147 seats out of the 217 total seats and have agreed to share power and form a collision government.

The Islamic Nahda was given the prime minister position. The Dastour party was given the position of president of Tunisia. The Takatul Democratic party was given the position of the president of congress. The next major step for the newly formed Tunisian government is to arrange for the drafting of a new constitution that will be the second one since Tunisia’s independence in 1956.

The Tunisian revolution experienced some political problems during February 2011, when some of the followers of the previous regime tried to redirect the objective of the revolution but failed to influence its direction. The protestors were aware of the plots that were influenced by followers of the previous regime, but continued their uprising until they eliminated the influence of those who were trying to redirect the goal of the revolution. This ensured their success.

Unfortunately, similar things have been going on in Egypt, which is contributing to a split in that society. The major factor behind the feeling of letdown among the majority of the population is attributed to the negative role that the Egyptian Higher Military Council has been playing. They want to maintain their power despite their denial of that. After all, they are part of the previous regime.

It should be of interest to compare the role that the Tunisian military has played during the revolution and the period that followed until the election took place vis-à-vis the Egyptian military role.

So far, and by any standard, the Tunisian population has played a very constructive role that has led to the success of their revolution. In addition to that, the various organized political parties have played a very constructive role in the political arena that has added to the civility of the Tunisian democratic election process. The Tunisian political elections reflect a very positive model that other Arab states should imitate.

Manipulation of American National Interest

2011-11-26T12:03:00.000-05:00

Last October (2011), President Obama announced that all American troopers in Iraq would be brought back to the U.S. by the end of 2011. This is according to an agreement by George W. Bush before the end of his term (2008).

Prior to President Obama’s withdrawal being announced, a few high-ranking American politicians traveled to Iraq to pressure the Iraqi government to permit a few thousand American troops to remain in Iraq, but the Iraqi government rejected that request.

Nevertheless, President Obama’s decision to withdraw American troops has been criticized by several Republicans in both the Senate and the House. The rationale used is that such a policy will endanger American national interest in the region. The frequent usage by politicians of the American national interest contributed so much to the confusion of the American public. Politicians always fail to mention what they mean by “American national interest”. If they are referring to oil, then they are misleading the American people as usual. Oil is a natural resource that belongs to states that produce it. It is their main and major natural resource to sell in the world market as an economic commodity. The revenue from the sale of oil is very critical to their survival and they can’t drink it. They pay the price which Wall Street’s influence and can get as much oil as they want.

American politicians should not cave to the demands and pressure applied on them by multinational corporations through their lobbyists that do the dirty work for them. These corporations view their own interests from a narrow angle, focusing on what is in it for them and not on how it will affect American national interest.

The U.S., which keeps advocating free enterprise, should also follow the humanistic approach on a global scale and this will ensure their national interest and provide them with free access to the natural resource of many foreign countries worldwide. Therefore, the use of force is not the answer.

Therefore, using vague concepts such as the American national interest to justify military invasion or occupation is nothing but an act of colonialism. Another rationale that was used by some American politicians is that the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will open the door to the Iranian government dominating or influencing the Iraqi government’s affairs. Even if such rationale is possible, they should have thought of such a possibility before the invasion in 2003. Also, let me remind the naïve American politicians that Iraq under Saddam Hussein fought a proxy war on the behalf of the U.S. for eight years in the 1980s against Iran after they took more than 400 American hostages during the Carter administration. Furthermore, if American politicians were concerned about the dangers of Iran, then why did the American czar of Iraq, P. Brenner, dismantle the Iraqi army after the invasion in 2003?

Let me put it briefly and cleanly that American foreign policy, since the end of World War II, has been a major destabilizing factor in the Middle East in general and the Arab world in particular.

Nevertheless, Obama’s decision to withdraw all of the American troops from Iraq has been supported by the majority of the American people. According to a survey about the withdrawal of American troops that was conducted by CBS in October, three out of four people support President Obama’s decision to withdraw all troops from Iraq. Also, 77% of the respondents said that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a big mistake and was not worth the deaths of more than 4,450 American soldiers, as well as the financial cost, estimated to be around $2.5 – 3 trillion. Furthermore, 41% of the respondents said that even the removal of Saddam Hussein from power was not worth all of that sacrifice paid by the American people. American politicians in general do not have the courage to say that the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was influenced by the lobbyists and supporters of both American oil companies and Israel.

It is also of interest to read in the U.S. press that the American troops leaving Iraq will be transferred into various states in the Gulf region. Negotiations have been taking place between the U.S. and Kuwaiti government to station 4,000 American soldiers in Kuwait. If this plan is implemented, the U.S. military forces in Kuwait will reach 20,000. Remember what President Obama said: all soldiers in Iraq will be back home before the end of 2011.

Second Face of the January 25 Egyptian Revolution

2011-11-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

During the past few days (third week of November) the protestors in Tahrir Square have clashed with the Egyptian security forces, which have led to the deaths of more than 30 people and the injuries of more than 650 people. It is regrettable to say that the Egyptian Higher Military council is still using some of the security tactics that used to be followed by the previous regime.

Also, it is unfortunate to say that the Egyptian army, which has supported the 25^th of January Revolution that forced Hosni Mubarak to surrender his authority, also led to the investigation and arrest of less than a dozen people from the previous regime.

The Egyptian public began to suspect the sincerity of the Egyptian Higher Military council and their commitment to support the revolution. So far, the Military Council has failed to fulfill the demands of the protestors, which has led to the uprising.

In a previous post, I raised the following question: was the 25^th of January uprising was a revolution or did it turn out to be a military coup? In my judgment, the members of the military council were part of the previous regime. Furthermore, the military force has been the ultimate authority in Egypt since 1952 and they are not going to surrender that power to an elected civilian authority. The purpose of the protest movement, which has been taking place for the last eight months, is to send a message to the military council of demands that have not been implemented. For example, some of the demands that the protestors have made clear are: first, the trials of many of the members of the previous regime, including Mubarak, need to be expedited. Second, the judicial system needs to be cleansed of people who were appointed by the previous regime. Third, the emergency law must be removed and suspects must be tried by civilian courts instead of military ones. Fourth, a civilian cabinet must be established that will be responsible for conduction and managing the society business during the transitional period until an elected parliament is completed. Furthermore, the transitional government should be independent and not under the thumb of the military council as has been the case with the cabinet of Isam Sharaf.

The Military Higher Council’s basic responsibility is to secure the borders of Egypt and to support the security police force in maintaining security and orders for the Egyptian population. On this count, the military has failed to perform that task.

The turn of events during the past few days reflects similar scenes of what used to take place between January 25^th and Feb. 11^th, 2011. For that reason and others, the protestors have been calling on the Military Higher council to surrender their authority to a civilian one.

It is also a surprise to hear the military council issuing an official statement that was aired in the Egyptian mass media in which they have expressed their condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Also, they have asked the Higher Judicial council to form a committee to investigate what happened in Tahrir Square and those who were responsible for the deaths that took place and to be held responsible for the crimes committed.

Such an official statement by the Military Higher council is nothing but a public relations gesture. The Egyptian people have overthrown the blanket of fear that prevailed during the past six decades. The demands for freedom and a democratic government is the main goal of the protestors and the sooner the Higher Military council reckons with this fact, the better the end result will be for all.

Syria - Arab League’s Resolution

2011-11-18T12:45:00.001-05:00

The Arab Spring Revolution, which began in December 2010, has so far led to the fall of three tyrants in Tunis, Egypt and Libya. Despite the fact that people have been uprising in both Syria and Yemen for more than eight months, both regimes are still waging war on their people and innocent civilians are being killed. I predicted more than five months ago that the revolution would last a long time, but that in the end, the governments of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and A. Saleh in Yemen will collapse. One of the main reasons governments in both countries still resist the pressure from protestors is attributed to the support of the army to both regimes. In Syria, the president’s brother Mahir al-Assad, is the commander of the presidential Republican army, which is the largest and best military equipped with weapons. In addition to that, some other army battalions are commanded by high ranking officers who are members of the Alawite religious groups that Bashar al-Assad is also affiliated with. Those army officers have provided an umbrella of protection to the Syrian regime.

A similar situation exists in Yemen, where President Saleh’s son is the commander of the Republican guards’ regiment, who has been the force behind the president. Regardless of such situations, I have previously stated that it will be a matter of time and more bloodshed before both authoritarian regimes will ultimately collapse.

This trend has already started in Syria, where high-ranking officers began to rebel against their military commanders in protest of the Syrian army’s brutality against their own people. Deserting the army has been a rapidly increasing occurrence. More than a dozen high-ranking officers have deserted their army units and have established a military council to combat the regular Syrian army who has so far killed more than 4,000 protestors.

Furthermore, a few days ago, the Arab League met to discuss the bloodshed in Syria. 19 members of the 23 have voted to suspend Syria’s membership in the organization if they do not stop killing the protestors. The Arab League’s resolution gave Syria four days to stop the killing, to pull army units from public streets in Syrian cities, to release all prisoners that were arrested during the protests and to open Syria’s borders for foreign observers to enter the country as well as a group of observers from the Arab League.

The resolution also stressed the fact that the Syrian government should start negotiating with the opposition group to discuss the transitional authority into a transitional council. It is regrettable to say that the specified period of four days has passed and the Syrian government has ignored the Arab League’s resolution and increased its attack against the protestors. In the meantime, and according to the resolution, the Arab League is expected to impose a political and economic punishment on Syria and will call on all Arab ambassadors to leave Damascus and for the Syrian ambassadors in Arab countries to return back to Syria.

The Arab League Resolution is very strong and the punishment ultimately will lead to the collapse of the Syrian regime. On the other side, the Syrian regime will become more belligerent and my prediction is that ultimately there will be a broad uprising in the Syrian military forces that will bring an end to the Syrian regime.

Some Arab heads of state began calling on Bashar al-Assad to surrender his authority and to facilitate the peaceful transfer of authority to stop the bloodshed that has been taking place during the past eight months.

The Yemeni situation is also bad and the protestors continue to demand the resignation of President Ali Saleh. The irony of this leader is that he continues to say that he will resign in due time, but never keeps his word. The latest statement by President Saleh is that he will surrender his authority during the next 60-90 days, based on the Arab Gulf plan.

It is a very strange cultural phenomenon that has been prevalent in Arab society since independence, that those who assumed power during the past 60 years in all Arab states (with the exception of Lebanon) did not surrender their authority willingly. Either they have died while in office, such as Abdel Nasser, have been killed while in office, such as A. Saddat. Or have been removed as a result of a military coup, as was the case in Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. The people in the Arab world have not experienced a real democracy so far. I hope that the Arab Spring Revolution, which has removed the blanket of fear, will end up ushering in a new horizon of freedom. This trend has already begun in Tunis and will be a free election in Egypt at the end of November 2011

Global Weather Changes and Desertification

2011-11-17T08:40:00.001-05:00

During the previous two years I have written several posts regarding the global weather changes. The Middle East and North African region have been hit by an extensive drought and an increase in temperature. Such global weather changes began to increase desertification, especially in North Africa and the Middle East, negatively impacting the agriculture sector in the region.

Even before the recent global weather changes, less than one third of the land was suitable for agricultural cultivation and the rest was barren desert. Water resources in the region have been decreasing rapidly. Nearly 18 Arab states have been classified as water poverty stricken. The majority of Arab states depend on rainfall for their cultivation. The two major rivers that flow in a few Arab states (the Nile and the Euphrates) start beyond the boundaries of Arab states. The water flow in both major rivers has begun to decrease, which has already impacted Iraq, Syria and Egypt.

The U.N. declared June 17^th, 2011 the International Day to Combat Desertification and Droughts. The U.N. report revealed a grim picture of Egypt and ranked the country as number one in desertification. The report further revealed that Egypt loses 3.5 acres per hour of fertile agricultural lands in the Delta region and along the Nile River as a result of urban expansion. This loss of lands equals more than 30,000 acres per year and at this rate, Egypt’s agricultural lands will totally disappear during the next 160 years if desertification continues.

It should be noted that Egypt’s agricultural lands have already decreased from eight million to six million feddan (acres). Furthermore, nearly 85 million Egyptians are living on only 6% of the total land of Egypt and the rest is barren desert.

The desertification of Egypt’s agricultural lands due to urban expansion should be viewed with keen and serious interest, because Egypt’s future is in danger. First, Egypt is not self sufficient in food production and it relies on imports for its food needs. Egypt imports 42% of food and 60% of its wheat. Secondly, population growth has been a problem for Egypt, despite government efforts to encourage family planning and birth control. Family planning and birth control programs date back to the mid 1930s. Since the 1952 revolution, the Egyptian government has officially declared and supported a family planning and birth control policy. The impact of such an official government policy has not been successful. Third, Egypt adds 1.2 million people to its population per year. This means 1.2 million new mouths to feed. For example, Egypt’s population in January 2000 was around 70 million. By January 2010, the population increased by nearly 14.5 million to reach nearly 84.5 million people. At this rate, Egypt’s projected population size will be 160 million by the year 2050. It should be noted that nearly half the Egyptian population is below the age of 29 years and the median age is 24.3 years. As of 2011, 2.97 children per woman were born in Egypt.

From a demographic point of view, even if each married couple limits themselves to two children, it will take Egypt around 50 years to reach a zero population grown (ZPG), which means that the birth rate will be equal to the death rate which translates into ZPG.

Fourth, according to the U.N. report, nearly 43 % of Egypt’s population lives below the poverty index level, which is $2 per person per day. Fifth, the Egyptian government heavily subsidized basic food needs such as bread, cooking oil and sugar to enable the poor to survive. According to the Census Department the Egyptian government spends 109 Egyptian pounds per year on subsidies (ahram.org 11/18/2011)

Therefore, and in light of the population growth and its impact on the Egyptian economy, the government should wake up and take a serious look at the problem of desertification as a result of urban expansion. Egypt already has a law that prohibits urban expansion on agricultural lands. The tragedy is the fact that, as usual, the public officials are not enforcing the law and no public official is held accountable for such violations. Corruption is the name of the game at all governmental levels.

Furthermore, the fragmentation of agricultural lands, which has been taking place since the 1952 revolution, has contributed directly and indirectly to the desertification. When a person inherits a fraction of a feddan (kerat or two), he can’t use it for cultivation because of its small size. As a result, he sells it or builds on it.

There ought to be a new law pertinent to urban expansion. People should be encouraged to expand their homes vertically and not horizontally. This will provide an alternative to curb urban desertification.

The Greed of American Oil Companies

2011-11-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Vice President Joe Biden went to Iraq in an unannounced visit. It was reported that he was there to discuss the future political and military security relations between the U.S. and Iraq after the withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2011.

At the same time, it was announced that Exxon Mobil Oil Company signed a contract with the Kurdish government to drill for oil in their region.

The government in Baghdad has issued a warning stating that no contract signed by the Kurdish authority will be honored unless it is approved by the central government.

Exxon Mobil is already involved in the production of 370,000 barrels of oil on a daily basis in al Kurnah Field. The American oil company is also aware of the fact that no contract for oil will be honored unless it is approved by the central government. Why, then, did Exxon Mobil bypass the central government?

Exxon Mobil’s greed does not help its aggressive policy for more control of Iraqi oil. The company is aware of the Iraqi government’s law, which clearly states that contracts signed by the regional government will not be honored by the central government.

The Iraqi central government has prevented oil companies who signed contracts with regional governments from participating in bids elsewhere in Iraq. In 2009, the Iraqi central government signed a contract with Exxon worth $50 billion of investment to develop and increase oil production in southern Iraq.

It was reported that the Iraqi oil minister was outraged about Exxon Mobil’s contract with the Kurdistan regional government without consulting proper central government authority.

I am wondering if the central government will cancel its contract with Exxon Mobil as a result of its violation of Iraqi oil law.

The Iraqi government should do that to set a standard, especially with aggressive American oil companies. What Exxon Mobil has done is increasing the ethnic tensions between Kurdistan’s regional government and the central authority in Baghdad.

Furthermore, I wonder if Vice President Joe Biden’s recent trip to Baghdad and the Kurdistan region is connected with Exxon Mobil, the Kurdistan regional government and the central government in Baghdad.

It seems to me that through their lobbyists, American oil companies exert so much pressure on the U.S. government to do their dirty work for them. After all, the American oil companies have played an influential role in supporting the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The American oil companies have never forgotten the Saddam Hussein nationalizing of all oil companies during the early 1970s.

Iraq is viewed as the richest country in oil reserves, which puts it ahead of Saudi Arabia. As a matter of fact, Vice President Dick Cheney, while in office, pointed out publicly at a conference in Britain that Iraq will be the country that will sell the last barrel of oil.

It also should be stated that Vice President Joe Biden has advocated after the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the partitioning of Iraq into three states: a Kurdish state in the north, a Sunni Muslim state in the center and a Muslim Shiaa state in the south. Mr. Biden’s rationale was that such a plan would lesson the conflict among the three major groups in Iraq.

Foreign interference in Iraqi internal affairs, especially by Britain and the U.S., has been going on for many decades. The strategy of divide and rule has been followed by the West, especially in the Middle East. This policy was and still is a major destabilizing factor in the region, which has created sectarian and ethnic conflicts among various groups, especially in the Arab world. Not a single Arab state has escaped such Western interferences directly and indirectly.

The Fate of Young Political Activists

2011-11-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

The Egyptian Revolution of January 25^th 2011 has been recognized worldwide as a model for its peaceful success, which brought down the previous authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak.

The young Egyptians not only inspired the uprising but also were the vanguard of the revolution. Their political success has inspired younger generations globally to rise up and challenge their governments, even in democratic societies, demanding political and economic reforms. Such political movements have been going on in many cities, particularly in the U.S., Spain, Italy, Germany, China and India.

It is regrettable to say that the Egyptian Higher Military Council, who played a positive role in protecting the revolution during its first stage of uprising, began to change its original strategy.

Many of the demands set by the protestors were not met. Furthermore, many of the supporters and followers of the previous regimes are still part of the functioning government, especially in the areas of the judicial system, the media both electronic and print and the political security system. Also, the emergency law that was supposed to be lifted is still in use. According to the Egyptian press, more than twelve thousand Egyptians have been arrested and many consists of young political activists who have defied the military power and continue their protests to achieve their goal. However, during the past few weeks, several prominent members of the leadership of the young group who played an active role in the Egyptian uprising have been arrested and are waiting to be tried by an Egyptian military court.

The latest well-known political activist is Alaa Abed il-Fatah, who has been accused by the military security as a criminal who stole weapons from the Egyptian military security and was calling on young Egyptians to attack the military security forces during the Copts’ protest in front of Maspero TV station in Cairo last October 9th. Alaa has denied the accusation and he has been in prison pending further investigation by the Egyptian military court. The Egyptian press has revealed a rumor that Alaa was offered release if he stopped attacking General Tantawi, the head of the Egyptian Higher Military Council, but he refused to do so and said that his supporters will continue the struggle for the liberation of Egyptians from the authoritarian rulers. The Egyptian press reported (11/9/2011) that Alaa’s mother, Dr. Liala Sueif began a hunger strike in protest of the jailing of her son. Another young Egyptian individual has joined the protest with Alaa’s mother to send a message to the Military Council demanding that he be tried in front of a civil court instead of a military one.

The supporters of Alaa marched with his mother to protest in front of the Turah prison and were attacked by a group of hoodlums to disperse their protest. I wonder who sent such hoodlums to do the dirty job for the military.

In the meantime, international press such as the British Guardian newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, the Washington Post and other newspapers have criticized the Egyptian Military Council for their un-democratic ruling and the suppression of free press and free speech. After all, the Egyptian revolution objectives were not only the removal of Hosni Mubarak’s regime, but also to restore democracy, justice, freedom and free expression. The emergency military law should be abolished and civilian, not military, courts should try suspected violations of the law. Torture of suspects is still taking place in Egyptian prisons. The security officers who killed Khalid Saeed received seven-year jail sentences. Such light sentences encourage some security investigators to continue with their inhumane torture of prisoners. The latest murder case that was reported a few days ago was the death of Issam Atta. Reports revealed that the security found a cellular phone in the possession of Atta and that led to his torture and death. If they are found guilty, those security officers should receive death sentences in order to set a new standard for others. It is regrettable to point out that many indications going on reflect on the changing policy of the Egyptian Higher Military council. The military commands are drifting away from the Egyptian public and want to maintain their authority and control of the Egyptian society. After all, they were part of the previous three regimes from 1952 until January 25^th, 2011.

It will be a miracle if the Egyptian Military Council will surrender their authority to a civilian government after the forthcoming election, which is scheduled at the end of November 2011. After all the main objectives of the January 25^th Revolution were democracy, justice, equality and freedom of expression. Let us hope that such demands will finally be accomplished without more bloodsh

The Vanishing of $40 Million in Iraq!

2011-11-05T11:51:00.000-04:00

Recently, an inquiry has been reviewed about the disappearance and lack of accountability for the $40 billion Iraqi money that has been referred to as the biggest financial mystery of all time.

After the invasion of Iraq by American troops in 2003, the U.S. Federal Reserve shipped $40 billion in cash of Iraqi frozen money by the Air Force to Baghdad International Airport. The money was supposed to be used for civil and economic restoration after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s government. During the past few years, investigators in the U.S. and Iraq have failed to trace or even find evidence to account for what happened to that huge sum of money. (readersupportednews.org, 10/27/11). Even congressional hearings and inquiries in Washington and Baghdad have failed to find out what happened to that huge amount of money. It is a very puzzling situation. If the amount that was missing was equivalent to one or a few billion it might be understandable in light of the corruption that was rampant in Iraq even before the invasion and which increased drastically after. In addition, of the greedy and corrupt foreign contractors, many were American and have abused and taken advantage of the absence of control and accountability during the past eight years of fighting in Iraq. Many of these contractors were investigated in the U.S. and some were found guilty. Even some American officers were involved in such corrupt deals.

CNBC has reported that former Congressman Christopher Shays co-chaired the commission on wartime contracting, digging into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, has traveled there many times and was unable to find any trace of that huge amount of money. He continued to say “It just blows you away”. (CNBCNews, 10/26/11).

The money was shipped from the U.S. and was designated as “Development Fund For Iraq”. The $40 billion were frozen Iraqi assets as a result of the sanctions imposed on Iraq by the U.S. and the U.N. prior to the Iraqi invasion of 2003.

It should also be made clear that since the American Invasion of Iraq, corruption became a way of life at all governmental and civil levels. This is attributed to a number of factors, but the most important one is the absence of official accountability in various governmental institutions. This led to the rapid deterioration of public services in nearly all economic and physical structures of Iraqi society.

According to an international report on corruption issued in Belgium, Iraqi corruption was referred to as a virus that has contaminated all governmental institutions and has led to the deterioration of Iraq’s economic, political, physical and social institutions.

One of the main factors behind such corruption has been attributed to the fact that government high officials who were responsible for the prevention of corruption were afraid to investigate high government officials due to threats on their lives. It has been reported by the Iraqi press that some journalists and public officials who tried to report on corruption have been killed.

The report also revealed that in various governmental ministries, corruption takes place as part of business contracts where government funds are being abused due to the lack of accountability. The U.S. government ahs bragged that the war removed Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian regime and turned Iraq into a democratic state. It is unfortunate to point out that the new government in Iraq has been created as a result of a free election, and yet is worse than Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian regime. At least prior to the invasion there was stability politically, economically and socially in Iraq, while the present regime in Iraq resembles mafia rule because the election was based on sectarianism which has directly and indirectly fed the conflict between the major Iraqi religions and ethnic groups such as Sunni versus Shiaa, Arabs versus Kurds, Kurds versus Turcoman and Assyrians, and Muslims versus Christians.

For example, during the entire period of Saddam Hussein’s rule, not a single attack against Christian churches took place, while many attacks and bombings of churches have taken place in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. It was reported that half of the Christian population in Iraq has left the country to escape potential threats.

Furthermore, under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was among the most secular states in the Middle East region. Saddam was the number one enemy of bin Laden when he described the regime in Iraq as more dangerous to Islamic militant groups than the U.S.

What did the American invasion of Iraq accomplish? Nothing but destruction, physically, environmentally, politically, economically and socially. Many Iraqis are yearning for the days where Saddam Hussein was in power. People felt secure economically and physically as long as they did not interfere in governmental affairs. At the present, many Iraqis fear even leaving their homes and wonder if they will return home safely at the end of the day.

The U.S. and the UNESCO

2011-11-03T10:25:00.000-04:00

Despite the U.S. government and Israeli pressure and threats, the UNESCO members have voted to admit Palestine as a fully-fledged member of the U.N. organization. 107 members have voted yes, 14 members including the U.S., Israel, Germany and Canada voted no, and 52 members have abstained from voting.

The U.S. government has already declared that it will stop its financial support to UNESCO, which amounts to 20% of its budget, $60 million. The Israeli government also stopped its financial support to the organization, which amounts to 3% of the organization budget. The U.S. congress, which is under the thumb of AIPAC and some Jewish Zionist organizations passed a bill in 1990 preventing the funding of any U.N. organization that admits the Palestinians as full members before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is accomplished. Of course, negotiations have been going on for more than 40 years and the Palestinians have rejected Israel dictating the terms for peace. This policy was pursued by the Israelis to give them more time to continue their expansion in the occupied West Bank.

The points that ought to be raised for the benefit of Americans and the public in general are as follows. First, the biggest loser is the U.S. government, who continues to lose influence, not just in the Arab-Islamic world, but worldwide. American society, with more than 310 million people, are under the influence of Jewish Zionist organizations who put Israeli interest ahead of the U.S.’s interest.

Second, the U.S. foreign policy for the last 6 decades has been consistent in its support of the Israeli Zionist state, regardless of the issue. The U.S. representative at the U.N. Security Council has used its veto power more than 75 times – more than any other permanent member – to protect Israel.

Third, this type of American foreign policy has been a major cause referred to by Islamic terrorist groups as a justification to attack the U.S. Some of these organizations have made it clear that the U.S. should play a neutral role in this conflict and not side with Israel against others, especially the Palestinians.

Fourth, the U.S. government has supported the Israeli government, not just politically, but also militarily and financially. The U.S. provided Israel with the most sophisticated armament that was not even given to members of NATO. Furthermore, Israel, since its creation, has received more than $170 billion in economic and military aid.

I would say that generosity should start at home. There are more than 40 million Americans who are classified as “poverty stricken”. The irony of such a policy is that Israeli never put the U.S.’s national interest ahead of its own.

Now, the positive admission of the Palestinians to UNESCO will give them the right to protect their heritage, antiquities, educational system and religious institutions (Islamic and Christian) from destruction by Israel.

For example, to illustrate this point, is the recent Israeli government’s announcement to incorporate Al-Haram Al-Ibrahim “The Ibrahim Mosque” and the Bilal ben Rabah mosque in the occupied West Bank to be listed as part of Jewish heritage antiquities and religious sites. Such an act has already been criticized by UNESCO.

Irene Bukove, the director of UNESCO, stated that these sites are also important for members of the Muslim and Christian community. She stated that Israel should not proceed with this illegal plan. Such an illegal act will contribute more to the instability of the region.

Furthermore, Katherine Ashton, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the European Common Market pointed out that the Israeli action will create more obstacles towards peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Israel has been following an aggressive policy since its creation in 1948. This is attributed to total U.S. support. It is about time that American national interest should supersedes the Israeli one.

A Revolution or a Military Coup?

2011-10-30T15:47:00.000-04:00

The Arab Spring Revolution that first started in Tunisia in December 2010 and which spread to Egypt on January 25^th, 2011, sent shock waves worldwide. The Egyptian Revolution in particular was referred to by foreign politicians, journalists and academicians as the most inspiring and peaceful uprising in the last 400 years. Some even stated that it was a model that should be taught reflecting on the commitment of the younger generation who aspired to achieve their goal peacefully. What happened in Egypt less than a year ago has inspired young people almost globally to rise and lead their own protests against their own governments demanding an end to corruption and demanding reforms.

Such protest movements began in Russia, China, Israel, Spain, Portugal and the U.S. In some of these countries, slogans that were used in Tahrir Square in Cairo were adopted. The American press has referred to the fact that young Americans who were protesting in front of Wall Street were inspired by the Egyptian Revolution.

The critical question that I would like to ask about the Egyptian Revolution is whether the younger generation, who were the vanguard of the protest movement, has won or not. Did the Egyptian Higher Military Council accept and implement their demands? It is not that easy to answer such questions with accuracy. Some demands were met and others are pending or were ignored completely.

During the past few months, some journalists, political analysts and even some of the leaders of various political groups began to raise some doubts about the sincerity of the Egyptian Higher Military Council, especially General Tantawi. The leadership of the Military Council has been moving slowly by design and has already rejected some of the major demands of the protestors. For example, the majority of these political groups, with the exception of the Muslim Brotherhood, have demanded the drafting of a new constitution before the election. One of the circulating rumors that the Military Council has made is that the Military Council has made an agreement with the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to delay the drafting of the constitution. Those who are familiar with the political situation have reached the conclusion that the upcoming election in November will lead to a victory for the Muslim Brotherhood political group, who will be in a better position to influence the drafting of the new constitution.

There are other demands that the young protestors have made over and over and the response has been slow so far. These issues include the cleansing of the judicial system, various governmental institutions, academic institutions and the Ministry of Interior. Many important figures that were appointed by the previous government are still there and are performing their political roles as usual as if nothing has happened. Another demand that the protestors made is the prevention of any members from the previous ruling party from running in the November election. The Military Council rejected that demand. The press has already predicted that around 35% of the seats of the parliament will be taken by ex-members of the previous ruling party in the November election. If this happens, then the revolution is back to square one.

Furthermore, almost nine months have passed and security in the society at large still has not been achieved. The baltageya (hoodlums) are still posing a risk to the public and are being used by people with money and influence from the previous regime. The rationale behind it is to create a counter-revolution.

There are many wealthy individuals who have acquired their wealth during the Mubarak period. No attempt has been made to investigate some of these people. To put it clearly, the Higher Military Council is not doing what was expected of them.

It seems to many of the protestors, especially the leadership of the younger generation, that the real meaning of the revolution has not been understood or made clear. The official definition of a revolution, according to the Webster dictionary, is “Constituting or bringing about a major change. To change fundamentally or completely.”

So far, the pace of change has been a slow one, and I am of the opinion that the Military council does not intend to bring changes that might lead them to surrender their authority to a civilian elected government. After all, the Military Council was part of the previous regime and has been in total command of the Egyptian government since 1952.

General Tantawi and his military group have supported the revolution as the best option that was available to them at the time for two reasons. Before Mr. Mubarak surrendered his authority, he issued an order to replace Mr. Tantawi as the defense minister when he refused to turn the army against the protestors. Second, General Tantawi is a wise and rational man. The number of protestors in Tahrir Square reached three million people and another 15-17 million were protesting in different Egyptian cities at the same time.

It would have been an impossible task for any military general to turn the army against the millions of protestors. Obviously, General Tantawi made the right decision and won the public’s trust.

Second, the army will support some democratic reforms, such as free elections that will lead to the formation of government by the winning political party or the group who ends up with the majority of seats in parliament.

The military has been saying that they will transfer their authority to the newly elected government. However, I have my own doubts that they will continue to have the power and influence governmental policy from behind the scenes.

Third, the Egyptian Higher Military Council has been running and managing a sector of the Egyptian industrial economy, but not too many Egyptians are fully aware of it. Where does the financial benefit from this sector go and who is in full control of it? The response to such questions is always that the issue should be kept secret and it is part of the Egyptian military national defense strategy. I am wondering if the 25^th of January Revolution will turn out at the end to be a military coup.

Tunisia has Joined the Democracy Club

2011-10-29T16:48:00.000-04:00

The Arab Spring Revolution has begun to bear fruits in Tunisia. The Tunisian people began to cast their votes last Sunday (10/23/11) in a democratic way for the first time in their modern history. International organizations have reflected positively on the Tunisian election and have recognized its transparency and straightforward achievement of succeeding in removing the country from dictatorship and creating a democratic setting in a short period.

However, it was also reported that the popular political party headed by Mr. Hamdi, who is linked to the previous regime, has violated election rules. The seats they have won were canceled by the election commission due to financial irregularities used in Sidi Bouzed City.

Mouhammad bou-Azizi set himself on fire (12/2010) to protest the corrupt authoritarian regime of Zein Al Abideen, which led to the collapse of his regime. This has paid off for the Tunisian population. The Tunisian electoral commission said that the Islamic Ennahda political party emerged as the winner in the election and they will end up getting between 40%-45% of the votes for the assembly, which will consist of 90 seats out of the 217 seats.

The party’s leader Mr. Rashid Ghannouchi has said publicly that he will not form an Islamic state and he will invite other secular political parties to join his government. The reported news noted that Mr. Ghannouchi has already contacted two centers, left secularist groups, the Congress for the Republic and Ettakatol as possible partners in the proposed future government that will be formed when the voting counts end.

Tunisia, which led the Arab Spring Revolution, also initiated the first real and free secular democratic voting in an organized and peaceful manner in the modern history of the Arab world.

It was reported that more than 90% of the eligible Tunisian voters have participated in the election. The Tunisian people have set an example to the rest of the Arab world as a model to follow the path toward democracy.

The Tunisian people deserve the credit for the smooth transition that took place during the past nine months after the collapse of the previous regime. They have developed a sound political strategy by starting with the creation of a civilian commission who supervised the direction of the transitional period, which at the end led to the election of its parliament. Despite the fact that the Egyptian revolution took place one month later, the transitional period reflects many problems due to the fact that the Egyptian Higher Military Council has been the source of authority and not the civilian government. In Tunisia, the military stayed out of the way of the civilian transitional authority.

Furthermore, the Tunisian people traditionally have lived in a more socially and culturally liberal environment, even under the previous authoritarian regime of Zein al Abideen. For example, Tunisian women enjoyed more equality than their counterparts in Egypt. Also, the illiteracy rate in Tunisia is less than 15% while in Egypt it is about 34% for the society at large. The illiteracy rates among Egyptian women are much higher than among the men.

Since its independence, the Tunisian government has put more emphasis on education and healthcare, even before Zein al-Abideen assumed power 24 years ago. The Egyptian situation has been deteriorating rapidly during the more than three decades of Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

One additional remark to be made is that the Tunisian Islamic Ennahda political party is more liberal in its views of Islamic interpretation than any organized Islamic political group in the Arab world. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood could learn a great deal from their Tunisian brothers.

Finally, we can say without hesitation, so far, that Tunisia is marching on the right path towards the creation of a democratic society and that it is setting an example for the rest of the Arab world to follow.

End of Gadhafi's Era

2011-10-22T21:02:00.002-04:00

Moammar Gadhafi, the ousted head of Libya, was found hiding in an underground drainage pipe in Misrata, his birthplace. He was arrested but was killed in crossfire, according to reports. He ended up getting what he deserved. Also, his son Mutassim was arrested and killed as well. Saif il-Islam, the second son of Gadhafi, was reported killed but later reports revealed he is still alive and there are no updates on where he is.

Nevertheless, the Gadhafi era is over. He ruled Libya with an iron fist for 42 years and killed many young Libyans who rebelled against his rule. More than 70,000 civilians were killed.

Gadhafi ruled and viewed Libya as his own ranch and the people as his own sheep. His lawless political and personal manner and behavior reflected on his abnormal personality. Gadhafi came to power as a result of a military coup in 1969. During the past 42 years of his rule, he wasted large portions of Libya’s wealth on unproductive economic projects that were of no benefit economically to the country as a whole. Due to the absence of transparency and a lack of accountability, nobody dared to challenge his political strategy and actions for 42 years. He was a corrupt political leader. His hidden family wealth has been estimated to be between $131 and $150 billion.

Despite the fact that Libya is rich in oil resources, the income from its sales was not directed to meaningful economic development, which kept the country underdeveloped. Nearly 20% of the Libyan population of 6.5 million is classified as poor. Its GNI is $12,000 per capital. In addition, Libya is one of the largest Arab countries area-wise. Most of the land is classified as desert. Nevertheless, the country’s oil and natural resources remain partially underdeveloped.

However, the Gadhafi era ended and the young people’s revolution turned out to be among the most violent and bloody among the spring revolutions in the Arab world.

The New Libyan political leadership has a major political, economic and social responsibility. It should begin by establishing a free democratic society with equal rights to all of its citizens, irrespective of their tribal, ethnic or religious beliefs. The new political rulers should eliminate the barriers and the regional tribal conflicts that Gadhafi created during the past four decades. Unity among the Libyan people is a must and a prerequisite for progress and economic development.

The era of a man who inflicted so much suffering and agony and torture on his people has finally come to an end. A new future is now available to the Libyan people and I hope they will use it wisely.

What will the impact of Gadhafi’s death be on the leadership of hot spots in the Arab world, especially Syria and Yemen? Those corrupt political regimes have failed so far to get the message. However, at the end, the will of the people and their fight for freedom will prevail.

Withdrawal of US Troops from Iraq

2011-10-21T15:44:00.000-04:00

During the past few months, several high-ranking U.S. officials, from Vice President Biden to Secretary of Defense Panetta and the Chief of Staff of the military forces, visited Iraq. The main objective of such visits was to prolong the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Previous President George W. Bush signed an agreement in 2008 with the Iraqi government to pull all American troops out by the end of 2011. Also, in a speech at a meeting of the American Veterans of Foreign Wars (8/2/2011) President Obama announced that American soldiers’ combat missions in Iraq would come to an end by August 31^st, 2011 and that the troops would leave by the end of 2011.

The puzzling question that needs to be asked is why President Obama is trying to reverse his decision by pressuring the Iraqi government to agree to keep a residual force as large as 18,000 (nearly half of the 44,500 troops) in the country? The American rationale is that Iraq is not ready to assume the responsibility of defending its borders. Furthermore, the rationale maintains these troops will be needed to train the Iraqi military forces on the new weapons purchased from the U.S. The Iraqi government has been reluctant to accept that number, which has dropped to 5,000 troops. Also, the Iraqi government stipulated that the American soldiers who will be left in Iraq would also be subjected to Iraqi law. As of 10/18/2011, the U.S. government has rejected the Iraqi proposal since it will not provide immunity to U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraq.

The Iraqi government does not want to see another irresponsible group like the Blackwater security forces that opened fire on Iraqi civilians that led to the killing of 17 people in 2007. It was reported that the U.S. government is planning to send 16,000 civilian employees who will be connected to the Secretary of State Department under the supervision of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. Nearly 80% of that number are American contractors and not officially employed by the State Department. The U.S. Embassy staff in Iraq has already been estimated at 1,750 employees. In addition to the military forces that will be kept if the Iraq government agrees, the U.S. is also planning to contract from the American private sector around 5,000 security guards to protect Americans who are connected with the U.S. Embassy.

The U.S. military forces have already closed 484 bases and there are still 20 active military bases. Leaving even a small military force in Iraq after December 20^th 2011 would prolong the problem. It seems to be that American politicians have failed to see beyond their noses.

First, the majority of the American public has demanded that all U.S. troops should be pulled out not only from Iraq, but also from Afghanistan.

Second, as Professor J. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner and economist at Columbia University, pointed out, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was the first war in U.S. history paid for entirely on credit. The direct government spending on those wars so far amounts to roughly $2 trillion or $17,000 for every U.S. household, with bills yet to be received that will increase this amount by more than 50%.

Third, the members of the American Congress, in particular the Republicans, are ignoring the American public’s call to pull out American troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fourth, members of the Republican Party in Congress keep talking about the budget deficit and ignoring that the two wars that they have supported are a major contributing factor to the budget deficit.

Fifth, what has their aggressive military adventure has achieved so far? Close to 6,000 American soldiers have been killed in both wars and more than 35,000 have been injured. There is no end in sight, at least for the war in Afghanistan. I would say that at the end, the U.S. will withdraw from both wars and the only winners will be the American Military Industrial Complex and their lobbyists in Washington D.C.

Recent Protesters Clashes

2011-10-11T17:55:00.000-04:00

While watching the news on Arab TV networks, I was disappointed and dismayed by the clashes that were taking place between the protestors and the Egyptian military at Maspero Square in front of the Egyptian TV building (10/9/2011). The protestors were young Egyptian Copts who were demanding political reforms as a result of the burning of an Egyptian Coptic church in Aswan governate a few days earlier.

The protestors accused the Higher Military council of being too soft on Islamic fanatics whose influence has been increasing against Egyptian Copts since the January 25^th Revolution. Several churches have been attacked and burned during the past seven months and the government has failed to prevent such violent acts.

The protestors were demanding the removal of the Aswan governor, who has failed to interfere and stop the attacks on Coptic churches. An Egyptian law from the nineteenth century, which is no longer applied by the government, prevented the construction of churches in Egypt. According to that law, the president of Egypt is the only authority that can permit the construction of a Coptic church. The protestors demanded that this law be replaced. The protestors were demanding the passage of a new common law that will apply equally to the construction of churches and mosques.

The issue of religious discrimination is the most serious problem for Egypt, because it tampers with its natural unity and security. It is a very puzzling question to ask – why has the Egyptian Higher Military Council failed to remove the outdated law, which they have already discussed and which led to past Coptic demonstrations? The Military Council has the power to do so and it would be a politically constructive act that would prevent the enemy of the revolution (at both the national and international level) from interfering in Egypt’s national security and unity.

Furthermore, the recent protest movement has caused the deaths of 25 people and the injuries of another 329, according to the reported news. It should be repeated that Muslim and Christians stood together in support of the January 25^th Revolution, which led to its success. Also, it is understandable that the Egyptian public, who has been living for many decades under authoritarian rule, especially during the Mubarak regime, wants an immediate and quick positive result. Reform is a slow process, especially in certain sensitive areas that require more time to accomplish it. However, the slow changes, especially in regards to sensitive areas such as religious discrimination, should not wait. Reforms should be implemented immediately to maintain unity among the Egyptian population. To illustrate the urgency of the political reforms, some people within the Egyptian Coptic community called for international protection, which means that their own government has failed to protect them. The Coptic Christians of Egypt are an important part of the Egyptian political and social structure and should be treated equally and should not be viewed differently from their Muslim brothers. The elimination of the law that focuses on the delay or prevention of the construction of churches is urgent. It should be replaced by a new law that gives equal treatment to the construction of churches and mosques in Egypt. Until this happens, the conflict will continue to threaten Egypt’s unity and national security.

The rector of al-Azhar, Dr. Al-Tayeb, and other high ranking religious leaders from both sides have issued an official request (10/11/2011) asking the government to expedite the passage of the new law to replace the old one in order to avoid any further conflicts. The January 25^th Revolution has been tarnished by what occurred at Maspero Square.

Environmental Considerations

2011-10-10T14:56:00.000-04:00

This is posted with the permission of the author Dr. Mahmoud Roushdy.
Comments are welcomed.

الأستاذ الدكتور محمود رشدى

المستشار بالإكاديمية

الحديثة بالمعادى

تأملات فى البيئة

تتعرض القاهرة الكبرى هذه الأيام لما اعتدنا أن نطلق عليه السحابة السوداء والتى تعودنا أن نستقبلها فى المساء وتستمر طوال الليل حتى مطلع الصباح فتزكم الأنوف وتسبب لنا ضيقاً شديداً فى التنفس.

ويشاهد المسافر بالقطار من القاهرة إلى الإسكندرية ألسنة النيران ترتفع فى حقول الأرز للتخلص من قش الأرز الذى حولته دولاً كثيرة فى العالم إلى منتجات ذات فائدة لمواطنيهم مثل الأسمدة واستخلاص السليلوز الذى يدخل فى صناعة الورق والأعلاف الحيوانية بل تصنيع قوالب للبناء ذات درجة صلابة عالية، ولكننا فى مصر نضيق ذرعاً بهذا القش ونناصبه العداء فنلجأ إلى إبادته حرقاً.

ليس هذا وحسب، لكن تلجأ جهات مسئولة بالدولة إلى عمليات حرق مكشوف للقمامة التى تنتج منها القاهرة الكبرى يومياً ما يزيد عن 12 ألف طن، وكم سمعنا عن عمليات تدوير القمامة وتحويلها إلى سماد عضوى كما هو متبع فى جميع بلاد العالم بل ولا يوجد فى العالم بلد واحد يعانى من مشاكل القمامة أو بلد فى العالم يضم بين جنباته قرية للزبالين ومع هذا حين ظهر وباء حمى الخنازير سارعنا بقرار عشوائى متسرع بإبادة مزارع الخنازير عن آخرها دون مراعاة إلى أنها كانت وسيلة للتخلص من نسبة كبير من القمامة كما أنها كانت مصدر الزرق الوحيد للعاملين بها ولمالكيها.

وعجباً تقوم الدولة بتحصيل رسم للنظافة قسراً وتعسفاً مع فاتورة الكهرباء ندفعه ونحن صاغرين لا نملك من الأمر شيئاً فهو فرمان ملوكى غير قابل للمناقشة فأين تذهب حصيلة هذا الرسم الغامض؟

وقبلها 2% نظافة منذ عشرات السنين.

لقد طالعتنا الصحف الأسبوع الماضى بخبر هام استبشرنا به خيراً مفادة القبض على بعض المجرمين الخارجين على القانون وهم فى حكم الإرهابيين وتحويلهم للنيابة وإخطار وزير البيئة بالواقعة المؤسفة التى تتمثل فى اصطياد هؤلاء المجرمين لصقر صغير من إحدى المحميات الصحراوية التى تعيش فيها هذه الصقور البرئية وهى من الأنواع النادرة التى نخشى عليها من الأنقراض وقامت وزارة البيئة باتخاذ الإجراءات الفورية اللامة لردع هؤلاء المجرمين – عجبى!!

وبالمناسبة يوجد لدينا شرطة للبيئة ومندوبين من جهاز شئون البيئة لهم سلطة الضبطية القضائية ولدينا قانون البيئة رقم 4 لسنه 94 لكنه مصاب بالشلل والعياذ بالله بل ربما قد أصيب بالسكتة القلبية.

إن هواء القاهرة الكبرى الآن على الخريطة الصحية العالمية به أعلى نسبة من الملوثات من أكاسيد كربون وأكاسيد كبريت ونتروجين ورصاص وشوائب عالقة تفوق المعدلات المسموح بها عالميا، وهناك ألاف المركبات تجرى فى شوارع القاهرة تنفث سمومها دون أن تعترضها شرطة المرور أو شرطة البيئة التى لا ندرى الواجب المنوط بها تنفيذه، وهذه المركبات جميعها قد أجازت صلاحية السير بالفحص فى إدارات المرور والحصول على صلاحية السير مقابل رسم مالى.

ويجب ألا ننسى شباب ثورة 25 يناير المباركة حين شمروا عن سواعدهم الفتية وقاموا بحملة تنظيف وتجميل للشوارع والميادين، وفى المقابل ورداً للجميل يقوم المواطنون بنشر تلال القمامة فى مختلف أنحاء المدينة لتكون مرتعاً للحشرات الناقلة للأمراض والكلاب الضالة.

ودون أن تتحرك الإجهزة المسئولة للتخلص من هذا العار؟ ألا نخشى على شباب الثورة من أن يصيبه الإحباط واليأس؟

أخيراً وليس أخراً يحسب لوزارة البيئة أنها تحتفل سنوياً باليوم العالمى للبيئة وتقام الندوات والليالى الملاح ويلقى الوزير خطابا بالإنجازات والمنجزات فهل لنا علاقة من قريب أو بعيد بأنظمة البيئة فى دول العالم بل وما نتائج مشروع تحسين هواء القاهرة الكبرى الذى مولته هيئة المعونة الأمريكية سابقاً بما يقرب من 36 مليون دولار تضمن خمسة بنود رئيسية أحدها بند (الوعى البيئى) وذلك عن طريق برامج دعائية فى وسائل الإعلام المسموعة والمقروءة والمرئية ومع هذا لم نشاهد برنامجاً واحداً فى التليفزيون يدعو لتوعية المواطنين بأهمية الحفاظ على البيئة وهى أولاً وأخيراً مسئولية مشتركة بين المواطنين ووزارة البيئة بالمقام الأول ثم الإعلام والصحة والسياحة، وبالمناسبة ما أكثر برامج التوك شو والفيديو كليب التى يبثها التليفزيون.

ولابد من ضرورة تجريم إلقاء المواطنين للقمامة بالشوارع وتغليظ عقوبة ذلك والاستعانة (بشرطة البيئة) فى التنفيذ.

ولكن وبالتوازى ما هى الوسيلة العصرية والمقبولة لتداول القمامة بدءاً من باب المسكن حتى مكان التجميع وأن تكون داخل أكياس خاصة تصرف للمواطنين من حصيلة رسم النظافة على فاتورة الكهرباء وهو لازال بنداً غامضاً حتى الآن.

انتبهوا أيها السادة.

مصر الثورة تناديكم

Code Name Troy – The Killing of A. Al-Awlaki

2011-10-04T08:27:00.000-04:00

The American news networks focused their attention nearly all day (9/30/2011) on the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen by a drone strike.

It was reported that both the Saudi and Yemeni intelligence helped in locating al-Awlaki and the information was passed to the Americans.

Al-Awlaki is an American born citizen and graduated from the College of Engineering at Colorado University.

Al-Awlaki abandoned his engineering profession and became an Islamic cleric preaching his new political-religious doctrine with emphasis on America’s aggressive foreign policy against Muslims in general and the Arab population in particular. He emphasized the one sided American support of Israel, which continues to kill Palestinians and confiscate Palestinian land to build Jewish settlements in the West Bank, demolishing thousands of homes to implement their ethnic cleansing policy. When the Palestinians resist, then they are labeled as terrorists. Furthermore, when the issue of aggression is taken to the Security Council, the outcome can be predicted in advance. The U.S. representative is there to cast their “veto” to protect Israel and give the Israelis the green light to continue their aggressive policy against the Palestinians.

The American support of Israel has been consistent since its creation in 1948. President Obama’s recent speech at the U.N. General Assembly (September 2011) turned many people off, especially those who are knowledgeable on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even Prime Minister B. Netanyahu couldn’t have written a better speech in support of Israel.

Such types of one sided American foreign policy is nothing but an invitation to some young people to join organized terrorist groups with an intention of attacking the U.S.

In my judgment, Mr. A. al-Awlaki, who was born in the U.S., is a typical example of someone who joined al-Qaeda to retaliate against and fight the one sided American foreign policy in the Middle East.

The American born al-Qaeda cleric was also critical of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which led to the killings of more than one million Iraqi civilians.

The American military strategy to fight terrorism has produced a counter reaction by contributing to an increase in terrorist activities worldwide since the 9/11 attack.

The remarks made by President Obama about the killing of the al-Qaeda cleric al-Awlaki, who threatened to use WMD against the U.S., include that the killing was justified and that it was a major “blow” to al-Qaeda.

Some writers and judicial organizations, such as the ACLU, have questioned the killing of an American born citizen without an investigation and the due judicial process.

For those who are well versed in the issue of terrorism, it is a fact that violence produces more violence. There are two terrorist ideologies, the al-Qaeda one and the American governmental one, which are being used by both to justify the war on “terrorism”.

The killing of some top leaders of terrorist organizations, such as bin Laden, A. al-Awlaki and others, will not stop their aggression. Leaders are always replaced by others from their ranks. The terrorism that has been taking place reflects a struggle between two ideologies: an American one and al-Qaeda’s.

The American political policy, which has been in use and is based on the domination of the Arab world through their support of corrupt political regimes, has been consistent since the end of World War II. The two main objectives behind the American political ideology are the control of oil production and the protection of Israel. Bin Laden made it clear and stated publicly during the 1980s that the U.S. should stop supporting Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. The U.S. should play an evenhanded role in this conflict. According to bin Laden, if the U.S. complied with his request, then there would be no conflict between al-Qaeda and the U.S.

It was unfortunate that there was no communication at that time between al-Qaeda and the U.S., which could have stopped the tragic attack of 9/11. It is unfortunate to say that the war on terrorism between the U.S. and al-Qaeda will continue until wise political leaders on both sides begin verbal communication, which might lead to an end to terrorism.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush

2011-09-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

The American invasion of Iraq in 2003 prompted some politicians, writers, journalists and scholars to raise many questions about the legality of the war. Some even called for the investigation of crimes committed during the Bush era. In his book The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Vincent Bugliosi stated that, “On the evidence collected, George W. Bush should b put on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of nearly 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq”. Mr. Bugliosi has built a popular reputation as a public prosecutor at the L.A. County District Attorney’s office.

There are still many supporters of President Obama who are raising questions about the Bush era and the crimes committed and so far there have been no attempts to investigate members of the previous administration.

In an article written by Andrew King of the Justice Integrity Project, “Obama Team Feared Coup If He Prosecuted War Crimes”, he stated, “The transitional advisors team led by Christopher Edley, Jr., Dean of Law School at the University of California Berkeley, have advised Obama’s ‘Look Forward’ policy on Bush-era law breaking that the president elect announced on a TV talk show in January 2009.” Edley’s rationale implies that “Obama and his team fear the military/national security forces that he is supposed to be commanding. It suggests also that Republicans have intimidated him right from the start of his presidency, even though voters in 2008 rejected Republicans by the largest combined presidential-congressional mandate in recent U.S. history.”

I am of the opinion that Obama made the wrong decision by following the transitional committee’s recommendation for the following reasons. The first reason is that the majority of the American voters, especially the younger generation, cast their votes for the first time, hoping that the president elect would introduce massive political and economic reforms badly needed to put the U.S government back on its correct track.

It is unfortunate that President Obama did not learn quickly that the Republican members of Congress are not going to cooperate with him. They have made it public that he is a one-term president. During the first two years of his administration, Democrats dominated Congress, the Senate and the House. Obama was not even influential enough to control the members of his own party due to the influences of lobbyists on them. Second, one of the major promises that Obama made during the campaign was to curtail the influence of lobbyists in Washington on members of Congress and he failed to do that.

It was reported that there are more than 16,000 registered lobbyists in Washington and another equal number who are not officially registered, but still play an influential role in shaping political decisions for the benefit of companies that they represent.

Third, the National Healthcare Bill that Obama introduced was not accepted in its totality. The public sector, which was the major component, was removed from the bill, which still left the private healthcare companies as usual without the competition needed to control the healthcare cost.

Fourth, another major blunder of Obama’s policy was his tax bill, in which he proposed to tax those who are earning more than $250,000 per year. These people, who are not subject to taxes, constitute the vast majority of the American people. Unfortunately, he caved to the demands of the Republican majority in the House. It has been said that Obama’s breaths are shorter than the Republicans’ breaths, and that they knew he would cave to their demands in the end.

Fifth, U.S. society from its beginning more than two hundred years ago has been developed on the basis of democracy, which the founding fathers created. The constitution of the U.S. has set the guidelines for politicians and the public at large to follow in order of preserving democracy. No person is above the law.

Crimes and violations of human rights were committed during the Bush era, which should have been investigated. Some members of the Justice Integrity Project and other activists are still demanding the investigation of the crimes committed by George W. Bush and his vice president and the secretary of defense. Some activists’ members are organizing to replace Obama on the Democratic 2012 Ticket. This is reflected by Swanon Publications, “Insider Tells Why Obama Chose Not To Prosecute Torture” (www.readersupportednews.org/opinion2/424-national-security/7367_focus_obama_te, 9/10/2011).

Those activists were strong supporters of Obama and were a force behind his election in 2008. It is unfortunate that President Obama lacks the courage to implement the promises he made during his campaign. There is overwhelming evidence to support the prosecution of George W. Bush by lying to the nation, using fabricated and false reports to justify his policy of the Iraqi invasion. That reckless move has produced great harm to the nation economically, politically and physically. Accountability of politicians for their actions is the basis for a healthy democracy.

Continuous Lies and Deception

2011-09-25T20:03:00.002-04:00

During the past year (2010-2011) three autobiographies were published by the leaders of the Iraq invasion: George W. Bush’s book Discussion Points, Dick Cheney’s book In My Life and Donald Rumsfeld’s book Known and Unknown. The three criminals, including Paul Wolfowitz, have played the major leading roles in misleading the American Public to justify the Iraq invasion (2003). All three of them have defended their roles in supporting the Iraq war, despite the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. The three of them shared a similar view, which is that Iraq is better of without Saddam Hussein.

Furthermore, none of the three terrorists have admitted the negative economic and human loss on both the American and Iraqi sides. The three of them, instead of apologizing to the American people for the blunders that they committed, insisted that the invasion was justified. The three of them have left two wars that are still going on, and, in the end, the world has accomplished nothing. Furthermore, both wars doubled the American foreign debts from nearly $5 trillion to nearly $10 trillion. George W. Bush started his presidency with a federal budget surplus of more than $250 billion and left with the longest federal deficit ever and national debts exceeding $10 trillion.

When George W. Bush’s book was published and some of the mass media publicized it, I had no desire whatsoever to even look at it for one simple reason: George W. Bush is a habitual liar and I was sure that he would continue to do so in his book, just like the other two criminals, Cheney and Rumsfeld.

Nevertheless, after a few remarks made to me by some friends about Bush’s autobiography, I checked the book out from the library. The autobiography consists of 497 pages, which are divided into 14 sections. I admit that I only read the section on Iraq, and as I thought, Bush continued his lines of deception and lying to the readers, claiming that the decision to go to war and remove Saddam Hussein from power was justified by all means and that the Iraqi people are free at last (p. 226). According to Mr. Bush, Saddam Hussein massacred thousands of innocent Shiaa and Kurds following the Gulf War (p. 225). The irony of this rationale is the fact that George W. Bush did not refer to the more than one million Iraqi civilians who have been killed during the war, in addition to the more than 4,000 American soldiers who have died in vain as a result of the invasion.

George W. Bush was under the illusion that the decision he made in order to protect the U.S. was accomplished after he asked his “heavenly father” for guidance, irrespective of what other people thought. The interesting fact is that Bush did not admit in his book that even before the 9/11 tragedy occurred, he was looking for an excuse to justify the invasion of Iraq. Former White House National securityAdvisor Richard Clark has confirmed in his book Against All Enemies that Mr. Bush was determined to find evidence of cooperation between al-Qaeda and the late Saddam Hussein’s regime, which he wanted to use to support his rationale for the invasion of Iraq.

It seems that Bush was not aware of the fact that Saddam Hussein was a strong opponent of all Islamic militant groups, including al-Qaeda. He went to the extreme to slaughter many of them. For that reason, bin Laden publicly stated that Saddam Hussein’s regime was more dangerous to their cause than the U.S. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, bin Laden offered his help to join the invading forces to get rid of Saddam Hussein.

George W. Bush was very ill informed about Iraq before and even after the invasion he admitted that he felt “blindsided” over some of the blunders that were committed in Iraq, such as the treatment of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prisons, which were a violation of human rights. Not only was he not aware of that, but also other issues such as the financial crisis, which was increasing with the cost of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As the Nobel Laureate recipient, economist Joseph Stiglitz, put it, “The subsequent invasion of Iraq was entirely unconnected to Al-Qaeda – as Bush tried to establish a link. That war of choice quickly became very expensive – orders of magnitude beyond the $60 billion claimed at the beginning, as colossal incompetence met dishonest misrepresentation. He continued to say that Bush’s Iraq war was based on false pretenses and it was the first war in the history of the U.S. to be paid for entirely on credit. (Project Syndicate, 2011).

It is unfortunate to point out that since the election of President Obama, no attempts have been made to investigate the rationale behind the Iraq invasion in 2003, which was based on false reports. The legality of Bush’s administrative war actions has been viewed as suspected criminal acts under U.S. and international law.

The Politically Naive American Public

2011-09-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

At the CNN sponsored Republican Presidential debate (9/13/2011), candidates’ discussions focused on a variety of topics, especially the U.S. economy and unemployment. However, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas made some remarks about the economy and he criticized U.S. foreign policy as a contributing negative factor to the U.S. Economy. He said that, “The U.S. is under a great threat because we occupy so many countries. We are in 130 countries. We have 900 bases around the world. We are going broke. The purpose of al-Qaeda was to attack us, invite us over there, where they can target us. And they have been doing it. They have more attacks against us and the American interests per month than occurred in all the years before 9/11. But we are there, occupying their lands. And if we think that we can do that and not have retaliation, we are kidding ourselves. We have to be honest with ourselves. What would we do if another country, say China, did to us what we do to all those countries over there?”

After he made these remarks, Congressman Ron Paul drew boos from the crowd and rebuke from other candidates because he criticized U.S. foreign policy. It is regrettable to say that the majority of the American public is politically illiterate and in many cases, are even not aware of what is going on in neighboring states and don’t take the extra steps to be informed about American foreign policy. For that reason, American politicians in general are more influenced by lobbyists than their constituents.

Another important factor that lets American foreign policy makers get away with everything, including genocide, is “American national interest”. That slogan gives politicians the justification to do whatever their lobbyists want.

Based on the U.S. government’s foreign policy since the end of World War II, the national interest was used as a pretext to dismantle freely elected foreign governments. This happened in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. American politicians in general think they are entitled to control the wealth and natural resources of other countries, especially developing ones. A classic example is the oil resources in the Middle East. It is the only, and in some countries the main, source of income, and they have to sell it in order to survive. The issue here is the fact that American oil companies do not only want to buy oil, they want to control its production and distribution and even its prices. Such a strategy is demanded by the pressure these oil companies put on politicians through their lobbyists who use their political financial contributions as a means to shape policy in favor of their interests and not the American consumers.

Congressman Ron Paul was telling the American people the truth. American foreign policy for many decades has been influenced and shaped by lobbyist and interest groups and not by the American voters.

Another classic example reflecting the dishonesty of some leading American politicians are those who misled the nation to go to war by choice in 2003. They have manufactured false reports to present to the American people that claimed Iraq posed a threat to the U.S. It was claimed that Saddam Hussein’s WMD posed a threat to the security of the U.S., despite the fact that there was not a single piece of evidence to support President Bush’s war strategy. He started an unnecessary war that led to many negative consequences, in the U.S. and in Iraq.

Professor Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, pointed out that, “The invasion of Iraq was entirely unconnected to al-Qaeda – as much as Bush tried to establish a link. That war of choice quickly became very expensive. This war was the first war in history paid for entirely on credit.” He further stated that government spending on those wars so far amounts to roughly $2 trillion, or $17,000 for every U.S. household. For more information, read Stiglitz and Bilms’ book, “The Three Trillion Dollars War”.

I wonder how many people in the crowd who booed Congressman Ron Paul were aware that their household share of that unnecessary war is around $17,000? Most probably none of them were aware of that fact.

An enlightened person would demand the prosecution of George W. Bush and his criminal associates. More than 4,000 American solders have died in vain during the Iraqi war.

The Iraqi War and Its Cost to the American Public

2011-09-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

The American public will remember those who perished on September 11, 2001 as a result of the tragic terrorist attack at the World Trade Center that was committed by Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda.

It took ten years for the U.S. to catch and kill bin Laden. It is regrettable to say that bin Laden’s attack provided President George W. Bush and his neocon supporters with the pretext for their invasion of Iraq in 2003, despite the well known fact that planning for that invasion preceded the 9/11 attack.

Furthermore, the president and his terrorist associates (Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz) began to manufacture false reports about Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction”, which they claimed posed an imminent threat to the U.S. and should be stopped. Despite the warning from CIA director George Tenet that the Nuclear Uranium Secret Report was false. That warning was ignored and the president and his terrorist associates supported the invasion of Iraq.

No weapons of mass destruction were found after the invasion. The tragedy of Bush’s policy of intentionally lying and misleading the nation led to the killings of more than 4,000 American soldiers and the injuries of more than 30,000. The American public should also hold a candle light vigil nationwide in memory of the soldiers who died in vain.

Furthermore, the terrorists who were responsible for the war should be tried as war criminals. It is unfortunate to report that the majority leader of the Senate said that this congress is the most corrupt in the history of the U.S. The majority of the members of the U.S. congress supported the invasion of Iraq to satisfy lobbyists who foot the bill for their elections.

Bin Laden’s strategy, as he put it after 9/11, is that while al-Qaeda can’t defeat the U.S. militarily, they can ruin it economically. Unfortunately, he was right. Dr. Joseph Stigiltz pointed out in his article “The Price of 9/11” that “President George W. Bush’s response to the attacks compromised America’s basic principles, undermined the economy and weakened its security. The attack on Afghanistan that followed the 9/11 attacks was understandable, but the subsequent invasion of Iraq was entirely unconnected to al-Qaeda, as much as Bush tried to establish a link. That war of choice quickly became very expensive.”

Dr. Stigiltz continued to explain that three years ago, he and Dr. Linda Bilms estimated America’s war cost to be around $3 – 5 trillion, but since then the cost has mounted further. He also pointed out that the invasion of Iraq was the first war in U.S. history paid for entirely on credit. The direct government spending on those wars so far amount to roughly $2 trillion, or $17,000 for every U.S. household, with bills yet to be received increasing this amount by more than 50%, according to Dr. Stigiltz.

I am sure that bin Laden probably never thought that the economic cost to the U.S. would reach that magnitude. It is also unfortunate that those who were responsible for undermining U.S. security and its economic disasters are still free and busy writing their own biographies of their roles in the Iraq war to earn more dollars and continue to mislead the American public.

Turkish Resolute Political Strategy

2011-09-08T16:56:00.000-04:00

The Turkish government has rejected the report prepared by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer and former Columbian president Alvaro Uribe, which said Israel’s blockade of Gaza was a legal security measure. (bbcsnews.com, 9/5/2011).

The Turkish foreign minster A. Davitoghi, said that the report will be challenged at the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, he stated that the Israeli attack of the Marmara Turkish ship in international water on May 31,2010, which led to the killings of nine Turkish citizens, is in violation of international law.

The Israeli government’s refusal to apologize for the crime they committed led the Turkish government to expel the Israeli ambassador from Turkey and freeze its cooperation with Israeli military forces.

The Turkish government should be commended for its political strategy for challenging the Israeli aggression and arrogance, which they have been following since the creation of that state.

Arab political heads of state, especially Egyptians, have been dismissing the Israeli aggressions during the past 30 years of the deposed Mubarak’s regime. It is also of interest to notice that the killings of the seven Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces last month (August 2011) did not lead to either an apology by the Israelis, nor a joint investigation of the incident that was requested by the Egyptian Higher Military Council.

Israeli authorities have gotten used to their arrogant behavior due to the passiveness of the Egyptian government and the total support of the U.S of Israel’s policies. In an editorial article in the New York Times, “Israel Isolates Itself’ by Roger Cohen (9/6/11), he analyzed some of the consequences of the Israeli attack on the Turkish flotilla which led to the killing of 9 unarmed Turkish citizens. Mr. Cohen emphasized one point in particular about the death of an American citizen, Mr. Dogan, who was born in upstate New York. He further stated that Geoffrey Palmer’s report pointed out that “no evidence has been provided to establish that any of the deceased were armed with lethal weapons”. Mr. Cohen continues to say that, “The Turkish prime minister, Recept T. Erdogan, had raised Dogan’s fate with President Obama. But of course no U.S. president, and certainly no first term U.S. president, would say what Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said: ‘The Israeli attack on the Gaza Flotilla was completely unacceptable.’ Even if there’s an American citizen killed, raising such questions about Israel is a political no-no. So it goes in the taboo lettered cul-de-sac of U.S. foreign policy toward Israel, a foreign policy that is in large measure a domestic policy.”

It is of interest to say that an American Jewish journalist is still carrying the traditional Jewish Torch, “Let there be light”, exposing the Zionist Jewish influence on American foreign policy.

It is unfortunate that the Egyptian Military Council is still under the influence of the U.S. government’s foreign policy. The Egyptian Military Council should terminate the American foreign aid that has been used as an instrument of threat to implement U.S. policy, especially to protect Israel’s interests. Egyptian dignity and self-interest should supersede the $1-$2 billion of the annual foreign aid to Egypt. American policymakers, especially in the American Congress, have lost their bearings and the majority of the members have been put under Israeli influence, disregarding American national interest. The Arab states, especially the oil producing countries in the Gulf region, are in a good financial position to substitute U.S. foreign aid by their own.

Egypt is the heart of the Arab world and its military strategy will also be of vital interest to the region. It is of interest to read that the Turkish prime minister will be visiting Egypt on 9/11/2011 to discuss Egyptian-Turkish regional strategy.

The Haaretz Newspaper views such a visit as a threat to the security of Israel. Furthermore, the article reflects that such a visit is a slap on the Israeli face. Also, the Turkish policy of expelling the Israeli ambassador is encouraging the Egyptian government to follow a similar policy. (Harest Newspaper, 9/5/2011).

The Egyptian public has been calling for expelling the Israeli ambassadors, especially since the killing of Egyptian soldiers last month and a revision of the Camp David Agreement.

I doubt that the Egyptian Higher Military Council will yield to Egyptian public pressure and this still reflects that the main objective of the January 25^th revolution has been implemented.

The Fall of the Third Tyrant – Two More to Go

2011-09-04T09:35:00.000-04:00

The fall of Col. Gadhafi and his departure from Tripoli led the Libyan people to celebrate their holiday without the dictator for the first time since 1969. There has been much speculation about his whereabouts, but no one knows for certain where he is.

The Libyan National Transitional Council stated that more than 50,000 Libyans have been killed since the uprising started. Also, more than 30,000 have been injured and nearly 50,000-60,000 are missing and not accounted for.

Nevertheless, Libya is still not completely free from Gadhafi’s mercenaries. Sirt, the birthplace of Gadhafi, with a population around 70,000 people, is considered the strongest military community where plenty of armaments are stored.

Reports revealed that Gadhafi stored chemical and nuclear armaments in addition to heavy military equipment, such as tanks and artillery. The Libyan Transitional Council issued an order for those responsible leaders in Sirt to surrender peacefully within one week, or they would be attacked by the rebel forces. Gadhafi and his son responded negatively. Nevertheless, the days of Col. Gadhafi will come to an end within the next few weeks.

After the Libyan Transitional Council’s message, which was sent to the followers of Gadhafi in Sirt, Saif al-Islam issued a taped message that he is leading 20,000 Libyan soldiers and is ready to fight the rebels, whom he described as the rats of Libya.

In the meantime, the civil protests and violence is still going on in both Syria and Yemen. In Syria, according to an Amnesty International report, around 580 people have died in prison since the uprising nearly 7 months ago. The report is based on 45 videos that show torture used in prisons during interrogations, such as burning, electrical shock and beating.

It seems to be so clear that the Syrian government, led by the two brothers Bashar and Maher al-Assad, will not surrender their authority peacefully and they will have to be forcibly removed. The only way this might happen is if it comes from the Syrian military forces. In the meantime, the balance of regime survival is tilted more towards the government than the protestors. Regardless, the present regime’s days are limited and their government will collapse at the end.

In Yemen, the protestors continue to call for President Ali Saleh to surrender his authority and he is still refusing to do so. He just returned from Saudi Arabia after spending nearly two months in the hospital after an attempt on his life in Sana.

Recent reports revealed that the Persian Gulf mediation might be implemented, which might lead to a transitional government until a new election takes place. Regardless, the Yemeni dictator’s days are also limited, and at the end he will be kicked out.

Vice President Cheney’s Biography – The Iraq War

2011-09-01T21:07:00.001-04:00

Recently, several biographies were published by previous members of President George W. Bush’s cabinet. All of them, including President Bush, Vice President D. Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld provided their personal views about the role they played in regard to the Iraqi invasion in 2003.

The latest biography is written by Mr. Cheney and is called “In My Time”. Mr. Cheney presents strong rationale from his point of view in support of the Iraq war. He expresses no regrets, even about the false reports used by President Bush to justify the Iraq invasion. The president used the secret report that Saddam Hussein obtained uranium material from Niger to be used as weapons of mass destruction, despite the fact that the director of the CIA, Mr. George Tenet, warned the administration that the report was false. The president used the report in his “State of the Union” address in 2003 to justify his plan for the invasion of Iraq. He said Iraq posed a serious threat to the security of the U.S. Mr. Cheney criticized Mr. Tenet for publicly stating that the report was not valid.

Mr. Cheney even went to extremes by saying that no apology is needed for the use of that report. Furthermore, Mr. Cheney criticized Mr. Colin Powell, the previous secretary of state, and Ms. Condoleeza Rice, Powell’s successor, for not cooperating with the administration in regard to various foreign policy issues. Mr. Cheney referred to Ms. Rice as a naïve secretary of state who tried to reach an agreement with North Korea regarding the WMD. Some of those whom Cheney criticized, such as Colin Powell, responded by blasting Mr. Cheney for his “cheap shots” on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. (8/28/2011). Mr. Powell challenged and criticized Cheney’s claim that Powell was pushed out of the Bush administration in 2004.

It seems that the vice president was very critical of all of those who were not supportive of the Iraq war. Mr. Cheney was also pushing for the bombing of the suspected Syrian Nuclear site, but no members of the Bush cabinet were supportive of such an idea. That suspected Syrian site was bombed by Israel in 2007. Such an act of aggression by Israel didn’t come as a surprise when Mr. Cheney failed to do the job for them. It is not a hidden fact to say that Mr. Cheney was a strong supporter of Israel and an active member of the neo-con group. The vice president was also a member of President Reagan’s cabinet during the 1980s. During that period, other neo-con members such as Paul Wolfowitz, began to plot the invasion of Iraq for two important reasons.

First, Mr. Cheney was connected to the American oil companies and he was aware of Iraq’s huge oil reserve. In a public meeting in Britain, Mr. Cheney said that Iraq is not a democratic state, and unfortunately will be the state that will sell the last barrel of oil.

Mr. Cheney’s strategy was to invade Iraq and regain the oilfields that were nationalized by Saddam Hussein during the early 1970s. The second rationale for the invasion of Iraq was to remove Saddam Hussein’s government because he and other members of the neo-con group thought that Iraq posed a threat to Israel. For that reason and others, Israel bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor during the Reagan administration in 1987.

US Government Bribe to Ayatollah Sistani

2011-08-29T13:14:00.000-04:00

Donald Rumsfeld’s recently published memoir reflects his role in the Iraq war when he was Secretary of Defense during President George W. Bush’s administration. The book reveals some interesting and secretive information that took place when he was in the Pentagon.

Mr. Rumsfeld stated that the U.S. government paid the leading religious Shiaa imam, Ali al-Sistani, $200 million to issue fatwas in support of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to Mr. Rumsfeld, the religious fatwas helped the fall of Iraq and solidified the occupation of Iraq by allied forces. Mr. Rumsfeld also pointed out that he established a personal relationship with the Ayatallah Sistani in 1987, before the Gulf War invasion. After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, that relationship, according to Rumsfeld, was established through Jawad al-Mahri, Mr. Sistani’s secretary in Kuwait. It was through him that the $200 million was sent to Ayatallah Ali Sistani. Mr. Rumsfeld and President Bush were aware of the strong relationship between those who took the money and Iran. When the gift was acknowledged by Sistani, President Bush established a new desk at the CIA, which was refereed to as the link to Mr. Sistani, headed by retired admiral Symon Polandi.

The emphasis of such a relationship is to encourage Sistani to inform his Shiaa followers not to target American soldiers.

According to Mr. Rumsfeld, Admiral Polandi was connected directly with Imam Sistani’s elder son Mohammad Ridda in one of the palaces of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Sometimes the admiral also met the secretary in Najaf with Imam Sistani.

According to Rumsfeld, Saddam Hussein left more than 6 million weapons in the hands of Iraqis who posed a threat to the safety of the allied forces in Iraq. As a result, Imam Sistani issued a fatwa prohibiting the use of these arms against the allied forces.

Mr. Rumsfeld’s book is 800 pages long, and the BBC, New York Times and Washington Post revealed some of the information in it. Nevertheless, Mr. Rumsfeld remained defiant in his justification of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Furthermore, Rumsfeld noted that he met with President Bush 15 days after 9/11 in which he was told to plan for the invasion of Iraq. As the BBC’s Steve Kingstone says, the memoir reinforces the view that President Bush was already looking ahead to Iraq, even as his administration planned the war against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada.print-true, 8/4/2011).

It is unfortunate to read about high-ranking religious individuals who abuse their religious role under the banner of religion. If Ayatallah Sistani did what has been revealed, it is an act of treason against his country that has led to the deaths of more than one million Iraqis and he should be prosecuted for it.

I wonder how many fatwas Imam Sistani issued for the $200 million he received. It will be of interest for the readers to find out how many dollars each fatwa ended up costing the politically uninformed Americans.

Conflicting Reports on the Libyan Uprising

2011-08-25T10:18:00.000-04:00

During the past few days (8/20/11-8/23/11) conflicting reports were aired by the international press about the Libyan rebels’ success against the Gadhafi forces.

First, the Libyan and international press revealed that Gadhafi’s two sons were arrested. Mohamed surrendered freely to the rebel forces in Tripoli and his brother Saif il-Islam was captured. The head of the Libyan Transitional Council issued an order to the rebel leader in Tripoli to secure and protect both prisoners until they are tried by Libyan courts.

Second, Mr. Morino OKampo, the prosecutor of the international court, issued an order to transfer Saif il-Islam to Geneva to be tried for crimes committed against the Libyan people.

Third, it was declared by the Libyan Transitional Council that Tripoli has been secured by the rebel forces except for a few pockets that are still under the control of Gadhafi forces. The puzzling situation is that two days later and after such official statements, the international press reported that Saif il-Islam was free and met with foreign journalists in a hotel in Tripoli. Another report also revealed that the second son of Gadhafi was also free and not under arrest.

Furthermore, Saif il-Islam stated publicly in front of journalists that the Gadhafi forces will continue to fight the rebels.

The irony of all this is that either Gadhafi’s sons were not arrested or they escaped with the help of their supporters after their arrests. The truth of this situation will be revealed sooner or later.

After the rebels entered Tripoli, the foreign popular international news organizations began to report the European governments’’ concern about what comes next in Libya, after the removal of Gadhafi and his supporters from power.

The French president Mr. Sarkozy called for an international meeting to discuss the future Libyan situation. He extended an invitations to the president of the Libyan Transitional Council to attend that meeting.

The irony is that the European powers are rushing to see who will end up with the lion’s share of Libyan oil. France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the U.S. oil companies are already plotting their own individual strategy to see who will be the winner of the Libyan oil wealth.

No one can deny that the NATO forces played an active role in the downfall of Mr. Gadhafi’s regime. However, the war, which has been going on for more than six months, caused significant physical destruction in Libya in addition to the tens of thousands of human casualties.

Libya needs more time to get its house in order to prepare for a smooth and democratic election, which it has never experienced before.

Western European governments, as well as the U.S., have failed to understand during the past eight to nine decades or since the discovery of oil in the Middle East, that oil is the only economic commodity that they have. Oil is their major source of income and they need to sell it in order to be able to run and develop their own economics. To put it even more clearly, the oil producing countries can’t drink their own oil; they have to sell it.

The irony of western capitalism is who is going to control the oil as an economic commodity to maximize the margins of their profits. They are fully aware that oil-producing countries have no other choice but to sell that product. Even when people/consumers complain about the increasing prices of oil, they quite frequently blame the oil producing countries for it. The vast majority of oil consumers are not aware of the fact that the corrupt and greedy Wall Street gamblers are the major instrumental factors in influencing oil prices worldwide. Let me conclude by stating that the Libyan people need time to get their house in order, before starting to assess their oil strategy. They need to sell their oil and it is the only economic commodity that they can depend on to provide the funds needed for the economic development of their country.

Perennial Blunders of the American Foreign Policy

2011-08-23T14:49:00.001-04:00

Recently, an American congressional group went to Israel on a junket sponsored by the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to investigate the recent turn of events in the Middle East. It is a well-known fact that AIPAC is the most influential lobby in Washington D.C. It also plays an important role in shaping American foreign policy in the Middle East in favor of Israel. The congressional group who visited Israel was led by Eric Cantor, the leader of the Republican party in the House, who is well known as an outspoken Jewish Zionist and extreme supporter of the state of Israel.

It was reported in the Jerusalem Post newspaper that Mr. Cantor was very concerned about the recent changes that took place in Egypt, which led to the removal of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. He further pointed out that he is concerned about the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood winning a majority in the upcoming election (November 2011). Such a possibility will threaten the American Israeli interests in the Middle East region.

Such a public statement by an American political leader during a trip to Israel is a foolish act that is in violation of international law, which prevents foreign interference in any state’s internal affairs. Furthermore, such acts are also in violation of the basic principles of democracy, which the U.S. keeps talking about.

Nevertheless, the U.S. government only pays lip service to the implementation of democracy abroad, especially when it contradicts its basic interests. It is also a well-known fact that the U.S. government helped to remove freely and democratically elected regimes in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The U.S. government has been consistent in removing regimes that create problems for their national interest, irrespective of how that interested is defined.

The recent spring uprising in the Arab world caught the American government by surprise, despite the fact that they were fully aware of the political corruption, lack of democracy and accountability, poverty and high unemployment rates, especially among the young generation.

Despite all of its ill foreign policy, especially in the Arab world, over the past 50-60 years, the U.S. failed to learn a lesson that might give them more credibility in the future. For example, the U.S. government’s high officials, such as the secretary of state and others, have been in contact with high officials from the Muslim Brotherhood, to see where they stand in terms of their views on the U.S.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest organized political group in Egypt. Many political analysts in Egypt have predicted that they might get at least 30-40% of the seats in the upcoming parliament election (November 2011). Again, such an approach by U.S. government officials is in violation of Egyptian law and is considered interference in Egypt’s political affairs.

Also, the U.S. recently committed a blunder, by giving nearly $64 million to various organizations in Egypt without consulting with the Egyptian government. However the Egyptian government was outraged at the financial support given to various organizations under the rationale of supporting democracy.

The Egyptian prime minister Dr. I. Sharaf stated publicly that the distribution of funds to various Egyptian organizations without permission from the Egyptian government is in violation of Egyptian law. He further stated that he is going to reveal the names of the organizations that take money form the American “AID” agency. (www.alwafd.org, 8/16/2011).

It is unfortunate that the U.S> government continues to commit one blunder after another as part of its foreign policy, which is being influenced by lobbyists and interest groups in contradiction with its national interest.

A recent survey of Egyptian views of the U.S. showed that 95% of the Egyptian public views the U.S. negatively.

The Killing of Egyptian Militaries by Israeli Forces

2011-08-21T17:38:00.001-04:00

Since the 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty, Israel has been violating the basic conditions of that agreement. During the past three decades, Egyptian soldiers were killed at the Israeli-Egyptian border and in most cases; the Israeli government expressed its regrets. However, the January 25^th Revolution has inspired new military and political trends that is totally different from the policy of the Mubarak regime. During the past 30 years, Egypt was an American-Israeli satellite. Whatever the U.S. dictated, Mubarak used to implement. During the past few days, the Israeli military forces inside Egypt’s boundaries killed five Egyptian soldiers.

The U.N. peace force in the Sinai Peninsula issued a report confirming Israeli aggressions against Egyptian soldiers. Nevertheless, the Israeli aggression has created a public upheaval all over Egypt, calling for retaliation against Israeli aggression. Tens of thousands of protestors in front of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Egypt and the recall of the Egyptian ambassador from Israel.

The Israeli aggression gave a new boost to all Egyptian political groups in support of the Egyptian military forces. In the meantime, the Israeli defense minister issued an apology and expressed regrets the killings of the Egyptian soldiers. The Egyptian government rejected the apology and demanded an investigation of such violations. In the meantime, foreign powers, especially the U.S., are using their influence to avert a crisis and possible confrontation between Egypt and Israel.

The crisis has been the most dangerous since 1979. Prior cases of Israeli aggression during the Mubarak regime were dismissed due to the influence of the U.S. over Egyptian policy. This trend and strategy is part of the previous regime’s policy. It is no longer a secret that the expelled president Mubarak was under the thumb of both Israel and the U.S. and such information is prevalent in Egypt. This recent crisis led to a united front of all Egyptian political parties supporting the military forces and calling for an evaluation of the relationship between Egypt and the U.S. Also, they are calling for the reconsideration of the Camp David Agreement. It is unfortunate that the U.S. government has been following a one-way foreign policy in support of Israel.

During the previous 12 months, I have witnessed several documented rationales from various sources supporting the U.S.’s blind support of Israel. U.S. foreign policy towards Egypt has, since the time of President Sadat, put Egypt under its thumb. During the past forty years, American politicians have pursued the same strategy in the Arab world as a whole and especially in Egypt, by supporting authoritarian regimes as long as they implement the American strategy.

This era is over and the Egyptian public is demanding a reassessment of the Egyptian-American relationship. They are focusing on important issues such as:

1) American foreign aid to Egypt, which has been instrumental in giving the U.S. the upper hand to implement U.S. foreign policy. All political parties have called on the Egyptian government to reject American aid to Egypt. For example, the Egyptian public, as well as the Egyptian government, recently protested the U.S. distribution of $64 million to various civil and political groups and organizations in Egypt. Such an act is done in violation of Egyptian law. The money distributed is part of $150 million of American foreign aid to Egypt. Imagine if a foreign government gave money to various political and civil groups in the U.S. in order to influence the political trends in the U.S. Such an act would be considered interference in the American political system, which is prohibited by law. In my judgment, Egypt will be better off without American economic and even military aid. Considering Israeli influences over the American congress and White House, Egypt will be better off without such insignificant help from the U.S.

2) The Egyptian public is calling for, among others things, the reevaluation of the Camp David Agreement in light of continuous Israeli violations. More Egyptian military forces need to be permitted to enter Sinai to ensure stability and Egyptian influence over its territory.

3) Reconsideration of trade agreements between Egypt and Israel, such as the Qauize Trade Agreement, which facilitates exports of Egyptian-Israeli products to the U.S.

4) The sale of natural gas to Israel, which was done illegal to begin with as part of the peace treaty of 1979.

These points are being discussed by the Egyptian public, which is asking the government and the military council to adopt them.

The Syrian Tragedy

2011-08-16T21:23:00.000-04:00

The past few months of violent uprising in Syria led to the killing of more than 2,000 people and the influx of more than ten thousand refugees to neighboring states. Such a bloody situation led to international concern about the Syrian government’s ruthless policy towards its population. Many foreign and Arab heads of states warned President Assad to stop its army’s ruthless attacks against the protestors. The Arab states, after nearly five months of silence, called on President Assad to send the army back to its camps and start immediate political reforms that will lead to stability in Syria.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan have called their ambassadors back home for consultation. This political act is also a sign of protest against what is taking place in Syria. Also, Turkey sent its foreign minister, Mr. Davutogh, to Syria to urge President Assad to put an end to the killing of Syrian protestors. The foreign minister pressured Assad to start immediate political reforms that will lead to Syria’s stability.

Despite all the pressure and the official delegates travels to Syria to urge President Assad to stop the Syrian army’s ruthless attacks, his response was that he would not stop pursuing the terrorist groups in Syria who have killed more than 300 soldiers and security men.

It was reported that some of these soldiers were killed by army officers because they refused to kill protestors. Nevertheless, the political pressure generated in the Middle East and at the U.N. especially by the superpowers might lead to some political reforms in Syria. However, at this point, the chances are very poor that the Syrian regime will submit to external pressure. Also, I think the regime has crossed the point of no return.

It is also of interest that some of the Arab states who are pressuring the Syrian government to initiate political reforms and stop killing their people have failed to do similar things in their countries. A few moths ago, the Saudi and Bahraini governments suppressed the peaceful protest movements that were calling for political reforms and free elections. Saudi troops were moved to Bahrain, which helped the Bahrain Sunni government to crush the uprising. I would say that both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain should clean their backyards first in order to be more credible.

It is also of interest to read the global news that has been revealed recently, that the Saudi government is creating new terror law (as they call it) with the purpose of stifling protestors, according to Amnesty International. Criticizing the ruling family will be considered an offense that will send the attacker to jail for 10 years. The proposed law is aimed at the future protestors and not at the potential terrorists.

There is also another reason behind the pressure mounted by several Arab states against Syria: the fact that all of them are dominated by Sunni Muslim rulers, while the Syrian regime is dominated by a minority Muslim Alawite, an offshoot of Shia who are being criticized for killing Sunni Muslims, especially during the month of Ramadan.

There is no doubt that the Syrian regime, headed by President Assad, is almost controlled by members of his family such as Maher Assad, who is the military leader of the Republican Guard, which is the other strongest military regiment in the Syrian army. Other high military posts are also headed by relatives or associates of the Alawite community.

The influence of the Assad family extends to other political and economic institutions, which led to the spread of corruption on a larger scale due to the absence of democracy and lack of transparency and accountability.

During the past three months, President Assad has promised political reforms and free elections. In the meantime, the army is still attack and killing protestors. In addition, many thousands of people have been arrested and I see no end in sight. At the same time, the protestors’ crowds continue to get larger in many Syrian cities. Even the political slogans have changed. From “Irhal Now” (“Leave Now”) to a new one: “You Should Be Hanged”.

My assessment of the Syrian situation reflects no light at the end of the tunnel. The next few weeks will shed light on what the outcome will be in Sy

The United Nations and the Palestinian State

2011-08-11T17:16:00.000-04:00

The Director of the Arab League, Dr. Nabeel al-Arabi, said recently (7/24/11) that discussions about the Israeli Palestinian conflict are nothing but a waste of time. He emphasized that the creation of a Palestinian state should be done through the United Nations. He sated that all members of the Arab League are supporting that move, which will be discussed at the U.N. annual meeting in September 2011.

It is of interest to read an article in the New York Times (8/4/11) “Seeking Balance On the Mideast” by Nicholas D. Kristof.

Mr. Kristof was referring to the wart of democracy in congress using the latest debt ceiling horrors. He pointed out that, “There’s one area where congress has been even more obstructionist: the Middle East”. He tried to explain that the Palestinians will bring their case to the U.N. next month, seeking recognition of their state. The irony of this conflict is reflected in the U.S. foreign policy, which is designed to support Israeli policy regardless of its impact on American national interest. He pointed out that the House of Representatives voted 406:7 to call on the Obama administration to use its diplomatic capital to try to block the initiative, while also threatening to cut the Palestinians funding if they proceed to seek statehood. He went even further and pointed out that when Israel stormed into Gaza in 2008 to halt rocket attacks, more than 1,300 Gazans were killed along with 13 Israelis, according to B’Tselem, a respected Israeli human rights group. As Gazan blood flowed, the House voted 390:5 to hail the invasion as “Israel’s right to defend itself”.

Mr. Kristof, in his analysis, referred to several Jewish writers and organizations that are speaking against Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and trying to inform the American public as playing a balanced role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nevertheless, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the most influential lobby in the U.S. and American foreign policy in the Middle East has been one sided for more than fifty years. For example, President Obama has abandoned the Palestinians and has said recently that the U.S. will veto the proposal of recognizing a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. Such a statement by President Obama is in contradiction of the general political views of all major powers such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, who indicated that if the issue of the Palestinian case is brought to the U.N., they will be supportive. Also, 122 states have already recognized the Palestinian state.

One of the basic factors behind the U.S.’s foreign policy in the Middle East is the influence of lobbyists in the U.S. Despite the fact that Americans vote and send their representative to the American congress, decision are influenced by lobbyists who are on payrolls of big economical, political, ethnic, racial, religious and educational groups. Their financial contributions to members of congress during elections runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars, leading to the fact that the majority of the members of congress are put under the thumb of lobbyists. Senator Reid put it clearly when he said that the U.S. congress is the most corrupt in the history of the U.S. The situation has even been recognized by President Obama, who during his campaign, promised to curtail the lobbyists influence in Washington D.C. So far, he failed to fulfill his promises to the American public. It is a well-known fact that the Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is the most influential lobbyist group in the U.S. and has succeeded in putting congress under its thumb.

According to ex-Senator Jim Abourisk, the pro-Israeli lobby does most of its work without publicity. But every member of congress and every would be candidate for congress comes to quickly understand a basic lesson: the money that is needed to run for office comes with great ease to those who support Israel, provided the candidate makes certain promises in writing to vote favorably on issues considered important to Israel. For further information on AIPAC’s contributions to members of congress, read the “Washington Report on Middle East Affairs”, Vol. XXIX, no. 8, November 2010.

What drives much of congressional support for Israel is the knowledge that money will be given to one’s opponent if one does not support Israel. This situation led to the defeat of a few members of congress who opposed Israeli policy, such as ex-Senator Charles Percy and Congressman Paul Findley, who explained this in his book They Dared To Speak. Also, former senator Fritz Holling wrote in an article in the Charleston Daily Post Courier (May 6, 2004) that the role of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) the most important lobby group in Washington D.C., is determining U.S. policy in the Middle East. “You can’t have an Israeli policy other than what AIPAC gives you around here. I have followed them mostly in the main, but I have also resisted signing certain letters from time to time to give the poor president a chance. I don’t care whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat – that all of a sudden AIPAC will tell him exactly what the policy is and senators and members of congress out to sign the letters.” He further pointed out that the U.S. has lost its moral authority. There are other members of the Senate and House who spoke of the power or AIPAC’s influence on U.S. foreign policy. The tragedy of this is that AIPAC has succeeded in blending Israel national interest with U.S. national interest and has misled the American public. In reality, Israeli puts its national interest ahead of the U.S. national interest. Since its creation, Israel has been biting the hand that feeds it. Between 1948 and 2009, Israel has received more than $160 billion of American taxpayers’ money in foreign, economic and military aid. Despite all of that, Israel has been caught spying on the U.S. on several occasions, and some of the vital military information was passed to both Russia and China.

On September 24^th, 2010, the press reported that some members of congress sent a letter to President Obama to release the American Jewish spy J. Pollard from jail. He is serving a life sentence for passing vital military information from the U.S. to Israel. Mr. Pollard’s case is one among several other spy cases. The reaction to such a violation by Israel has been minimal due to the power and influence of AIPAC on congress. Any members w ho attack Israel are automatically labeled anti-Semitic. For more on this, read Professor Norman Finkelstein’s book Beyond Chutzpah. He noted that whenever Israel is criticized for its violation and abuse of human rights, its supporters sound the alarm “new anti-Semitism” is upon us.

For that and other reasons, President Obama has failed to condemn Israel’s abuse of the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

President Obama has lost his courage to stand up for the truth. He has been snubbed by Prime Minister Netanyahu several times and failed to challenge the Israeli prime minister. One of the basic reasons for this, from my point of view, is the position he finds himself in because of the influence of AIPAC on the majority of the members of congress. As a matter of fact, during the past few months, letters were signed by some members of congress telling the president to stop pressuring and challenging the Israeli government to participate in the peace process. President Obama is in a very awkward position. He was elected with a promise to implement a national reform agenda and foreign policy agenda and for that reason he is trying to avoid a clash with members of his own democratic party, whose support he needs to pass his national agenda. It is a pity that there is no party discipline in the American political structure. Sometimes, members of one political party desert their own party and join the other, or call themselves independent members of congress. What matters to many members of congress is their personal interest to assure their reelection, regardless of the cost to American national interest. President Obama, in my judgment, might compromise on his agenda regarding Israel to win the support of at least some members of his own political party.

It was reported on August 9, 2011 from Informational Learning House “Twenty percent of the House of Representatives will be spending its recess holiday on American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) paid tours of Israel. This does not seem to have made the mainstream news. The tours consist of 26 Democratic congressmen headed by the House Minority Leader, mayor of Maryland and two of the 55 Republican’s, lead by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. This is intended to provide congress with a “deep understanding” of the situation in the Middle East. “Sure it will, but one suspects the understanding will be in one direction only.” (www.informationlearninghouse.info/article28790.htm#.TKHT64MVCQO.email by Philip Geraldi).

It should be of interest to know that Congressman Cantor, Republican House Majority Leader, is a well-known Jewish Zionist and strong supporter of Israel. It would be interesting to ask the members of the House who are going on such a junket to Israel, whose national interest should

The Historical Egyptian Trial

2011-08-04T21:47:00.000-04:00

The historical trial of the ousted president Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, as well as previous Minister of Interior Habib al-Adli and six of his aids took place in the police academy in Cairo (8/3/11).

Millions of Egyptian and foreign viewers watched the trial on TV. All of the accused were seen in the court cage where Mr. Mubarak was on a mobile hospital bed and the rest of the accused were standing. The court prosecutor read the wide range of crimes committed by the accused.

Mr. Mubarak faces three major crimes: the killing of unarmed Egyptian protestors, the illegal sale of natural gas to Israel and the abuse and waste of public wealth. If the ousted president is convicted, he will face a death sentence.

The ex-minister al-Adli is facing similar charges as well and if convicted will also face a death sentence. The other accused individuals, Jamal and Alaa, will receive 5-15 years in prison if convicted. The other accused also appeared in court (8/4/11).

The interesting open court trial reflects the beginning of a new stage of democracy in Egypt, where all people are considered equal according to the law. This gives Egypt a new birth certificate reflecting a new era of freedom and democracy that the whole world is witnessing.

Furthermore, seeing and listening the prosecutor calling the names of the accused and reading the accusation of crimes committed was a historical moment, despite the fact that all the accused denied that they committed any crimes. Nearly seven months ago, no person in Egypt could have predicted seeing the accused in a court cage. It is a tribute to the young Egyptians who started the revolution and the millions of Egyptians who supported them.

Finally, credit also should be given to the Egyptian army, who refused to turn their guns against their own people and despite the delay of the trial of the ousted president, have finally responded to public requests to implement the revolutionary demands.

Nevertheless, until the date when the accused appeared in court, many people, including myself and those I spoke with, thought that the trial would not take place due to the fact that many members of the Higher Military Council were appointed by Mubarak. These members will be reluctant to see Mubarak being humiliated in public. In addition, the Egyptian Higher Military Council, was also under heavy pressure by the political leaders of oil producing countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to stop any attempts to prosecute Mubarak. The Saudis were very angry when the military forced Mubarak to leave office as a result of the demands by millions of Egyptians.

The history of the Arab world reflects that the political heads of state stay in power until they die, are killed in office or are removed by a military coup. A new horizon has begun to emerge in the Arab world, in which dictatorship and authoritarianism is no longer acceptable to the people who have thrown away the blanket of fear.

The trial of the ousted Egyptian president who ruled Egypt with an iron first has come to an end. His prosecution is sending a message that from now on, no person will be above the law.

Finally, the prosecution of Hosni Mubarak will send a message to the remaining corrupt political leaderships of the Arab world

The Salafi – Another Face of Islam

2011-08-04T16:26:00.000-04:00

The Islamic Salafi group’s massive invasion of Tahrir Square July 29^th was the result of a planned strategy. It was reported (almasry-alyoum, 8/1/2011) that the Salafi group began to transport supporters from different parts of Egypt by bus three days in advance of Friday, which was designated as the “United Front”. All organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood and various Salafi Islamic groups, agreed in advance that no religious signs would be carried and that the emphasis would be placed on implementing the January 25^th Revolution demands that have not been fulfilled.

Instead, the Salafi group disregarded the agreement and after the noon prayer, Tahrir Square was filled with people carrying religions signs with various slogans such as “There is no God but God and the secularists are the enemy of God”, “Raise your head high you are a Muslim” and “The people want the application of the Sharia Law”.

There were many more of these signs, which I saw on TV, in addition to the use of loud speakers to shout Islamic Salafi slogans. The press estimated the Salafi group in Tahrir Square to be close to half a million people. Furthermore, it was also reported that the Salafi were carrying the Saudi flag, which I think was a disgraceful act, regardless of the intention behind it. Was it a sign to let the Saudi Wahabi religious group know that their reported financial support of religious groups in Egypt is paying off?

Let me emphasize one point as a foreign observer who was an eyewitness to the January 25^th Revolution: it was the young Egyptians who initiated the revolution and they are still its backbone. It was not the Salafi group or even any Islamic organized group who initiated the revolution; they were late participants in it.

Some organized Egyptian groups are asking the Egyptian Higher Military Council to investigate the Saudi flag raising in Tahrir Square to find out who is behind it. It is no secret that the Saudi government is doing its utmost to prevent the spread of the spring revolution into the Gulf area. The success of the Egyptian revolution will have a very positive impact on the rest of the Arab world. Nevertheless, there are still many authoritarian dictatorship regimes that are suppressing their own people and have gone to the extreme by turning their guns against the citizens to prevent them from challenging their authority.

The killing of thousands of peaceful protestors in Yemen, Syria and Libya reflects the brutality of Arab dictatorship. Nevertheless, Islamic Salafi groups are conducting their own type of war. As Sheikh Mohamed ala-il deen Abou-alazaim, the founder of the Egyptian Tahrir party and the leader of the Sufi alazmia said, the Salafi religious philosophy is an extension of the Wahabi religious dogma that does not accept other points of view besides their own and such thinking reflects that they are narrow-minded. They view Sufi and Christians as pagans and heretics. (al-masry-alyoum, 8/1/2011).

The Egyptians Islamic Salafi group is an extension of the Saudi Wahabi group, who are close-minded religious fanatics and who use their financial resources to extend their umbrella of ignorance under the pretext of Islam.

The Egyptian writer and historian Mahmoud Ismail, who is a specialist in Islamic history and civilization, attacked the Islamic brotherhood and called them opportunists. He also referred to the Salafi group, which is under the thumb of the Wahabi group. (al-masry-alyoum, 7/27/2011).

European Islamophobia

2011-08-03T11:12:00.000-04:00

The recent terrorist attack by an extreme right wing Norwegian led to the deaths of 76 people. Mr. Anders Breiviek, the attacker, stated in court, “the purpose of his action was to strike a blow against the Labor Party because of its policy of ‘mass import of Muslims’.” He claimed he acted to save Europe from Islam. (Financial Times, 7/26/2011).

A tragic thing to notice is that immediately after the attack, the mass media (print and electronic) in western society gave the impression that the attack in Norway may be related to Islamic terrorism.

Islamophobia is deep-rooted in western societies and it pre-dates the rise of al-Qaeda and its attack against the U.S on 9/11.

Islamophobia in the west dates back more than a thousand years to the Crusades wars. Pope Benedict II called on Christian European political rulers to organize a war in the Middle East to save Christ’s land. The irony of the pope’s call is the fact that “Christ’s land” was inhabited by the people of three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, who lived side by side. The Crusaders war lasted nearly 200 years but at the end they were expelled from the Middle East region. The anti-Islam views are deep rooted since that time in nearly all western societies. However, since the end of World War II, extreme right wing political views have been increasing in western societies.

The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 opened the door for Jewish Zionist organizations and some Christian evangelicals to play an active role against Islam.

The Financial Times presented an interesting article (July 26, 2011) in which it shed some light on extreme right wing populist parties that have been on the rise in European states. They have been active in state politics as is reflected in the following data:

1) Norway – Progress Party received 22.9% of the vote

2) Finland – True Finns received 19.1% of the vote

3) Sweden – Swedish Democrats received 5.7% of the vote

4) Denmark – People’s party received 13.8% of the vote

5) Netherlands – Freedom Party received 15.5% of the vote

6) Austria – Freedom Party received 17.5% of the vote

7) France – National Front received 4.3% of the vote

8) U.K. – British National Party received 1.9% of the vote

9) Italy – Northern League Party received 8.3% of the vote

10) Hungary Jobbic Party received 16.7% of the vote

11) Bulgaria – ATTACK Party received 9.4% of the vote

All of these political parties have attacked Islamic immigration to European countries and have expressed their concern about Islamic threats to their Christian identity. Pope Benedict the 16^th publicly stated that Europe consisted of Christian states and he was opposed to Turkey, a Muslim nation, joining the European Common Market. The pope’s statement enforced anti-Islamic views in Europe.

There are several other factors that have nourished Islamophobia in western societies, especially in Europe. The economic factors influenced the views of many blue-collar workers who are unemployed. They tend to view immigrants as a major cause for their unemployment, especially when the rate of unemployment continues to rise. Immigrants are looked upon as their competitors for employment. Such feelings contributed to hostility to foreign-born European citizens. Also, they look at foreign workers as the major cause of depressing wages.

In Norway, nearly 28% of the population is foreign born. However, not all of these immigrants are Muslim. Nevertheless, the number of Muslim immigrants to Europe have been increasing and most of them are from previous European colonies in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Their number has been estimated to be around 53 million as of 2007, according to the German Central Institute – Islam Archive. That number is equal to 7.2% of the European population, excluding Turkey.

This small percentage is viewed as a threat not only by the working class but also by some of the heads of European states like A. Merkel of Germany, N. Sarkozy of France and D. Cameron of the U.K. All of them have referred to Muslim immigrants as threats to European identity and believe that multiculturalism has proved to be a failure. These leaders have ignored the positive contributions these immigrants have made to their countries. First, what percentage of the immigrants are college graduates and professionals? It has been estimated that the coast to raise and educate a person is over $350,000. For example, the Arab world alone has suffered from the brain drain to the West, which has been taking place over the past 40-50 years, which have attracted millions of highly educated people.

The free cost of such highly educated Muslim immigrants to the west should be classified as a form of human and economic aid that runs into the billions of dollars on a yearly basis. Furthermore, the economic contributions of the Islamic immigrants to western states cannot be denied. Another positive factor that has been ignored is the fact that nearly all European countries’ birth rates have been on a steady decline. The birth rates have fallen below the replacement level, which is two babies per family. The flow of immigrants to these European countries reflects a vital demographic advantage. It will slow the aging of these European states, where in the near future the demands for workers will increase to fill needed positions that are vital for the maintenance and economic development of these countries. European political leaders rarely recognize the important economic role-played by educated immigrants in the west publicly.

They Started United and Ended Divided

2011-08-02T10:59:00.000-04:00

Friday July 29, 2011, the “United Front” protest movement, which attracted nearly two million participants, ended up being a total failure.

Prior to the protest movement, representatives of all political and religious groups met to agree on a designated name, which was the “United Front”. Also, they agreed that no signs connected with any political or religious groups will be carried to Tahrir Square.’’

After the noon prayer, many signs began to appear with different religious connotations and Tahrir Square appeared as if it was controlled by various Islamic groups. Some of the signs read, “Join us and do not be a part of the atheists”. Other signs said “Islamiah, Islamiah”. Furthermore, it was reported that some Islamic Salafi groups and others attacked the platforms of the 6^th of April and the Kifaya movements and threw empty water bottles at them in addition to preventing them from using their loudspeakers.

Other Islamic groups were shouting through the loudspeakers demanding the application of Sharia law and stating that those who are not in agreement should leave Egypt. Other Islamic slogans used were directed at the Egyptian Higher Military council, warning them not to use the proposed document of basic principles that will be above the constitution, which is supposed to include, among other things, that the Egyptian government will be a secular one. The principle proposed to prevent any religious group in parliament in the future from declaring the Islamization of the government.

Nevertheless, what the various Islamic groups have done in Tahrir Square was in total violation of the agreement that they supported to stress a united front prior to the day of protests. The intention of these Islamic groups, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, is to get a message across that they are in control of the January 25^th Revolution, which was reflected in the signs their followers carried stating “Islamiah, Islamiah”.

The history of the Muslim Brotherhood, since the movement began more than 80 years ago, assumes government control at any cost to convert it into an Islamic regime. Furthermore, the various other Islamic Salafi groups who shared a common interpretation of the Saudi Wahabi Islamic group’s interpretation of Islam goes even further in terms of their views on how Egyptian society should be managed. These groups, in my judgment, are a discredit to Islam. As some enlightened Muslim writers put it, they are trying to created “Al-Deen al-Badeel” or the new Islamic interpretation. Such personal behavior is reflected throughout history and especially in the three basic monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Many of those who classified themselves as the logical, knowledgeable religious experts tried to interpret the content of their religious books such as the old Torah, the Old and New Testaments and the Quran, interjecting their personal views on religion. Such actions throughout history have created divisions and confusion among believers in all three monotheistic religions. Such conflicts are reflected among the followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Muslim Brotherhood, other various salafi Islamic movements and religious groups reflect on the personal interpretation of Islam by those who call themselves religious experts. It was reported that some of the protestors were carrying the Saudi Arabian flag as an indication of the influence of the Wahabi religious group on the Islamic Salafist groups. The Wahabi religious group is a discredit to Islam in terms of their interpretation of the Quran.

Nevertheless, the basic principle document proposed by the Egyptian Higher Military Council is an important guideline that will be above the constitution to protect it from the possibility of it being manipulated by some political groups in the future parliament.

Religious beliefs and practices are between the believers and their Creator, but the country is the homeland for all.

What happened in Tahrir Square July 29^th was unfortunate and might weaken the outcome of the January 25 Revolution.

The Unmet Demands of the January 25 Revolution

2011-07-28T16:47:00.000-04:00

The Prime Minister Isam Sharaf addressed the nation (7/20/2011) after his new cabinet was confirmed. Nearly half of the new cabinet members are new. He said that he could have resigned but decided to respond to the demands of the honest protestors in Tahrir Square, who want the January 25^th Revolution to succeed. He promised that the trial of the accused criminals and corrupt ex-high government officials will be expedited and their courts will be open to the public. He also said that there are no political prisoners in Egyptian jails and he is going to check on it further.

Nevertheless, some judicial experts stated openly that the prime minister’s address to the nation is nothing but his personal interjection and the government is unable to present a general plan that will produce real needed changes.

The speech presents only promises that don’t meet the expectations of the public. The speech was aimed at those who are still holding protests in Tahrir Square. The January 25^th Revolution, which ousted Hosni Mubarak and his regime, is only the first stage of the revolution. There are other stages that are required to be implemented in order for the revolution to be successful. Reforms are needed to cleanse two institutions in particular: the justice system, where many who cooperated with the previous regime are still occupying important positions, such as the Minister of Justice and the general prosecutor. The other institution is the Minister of Interior. It is not enough to dismiss the more than 700 high-ranking officers. Those who are accused of crimes should be tried as soon as possible.

There are members of the previous ruling party who have played major roles in corruption. Many of them are prominent business leaders who are not being investigated and pose a threat to the revolution.

In the meantime, violent conflicts have taken place in several places, especially in Medan Alabassiah, between the supporters of the military council and those who are demanding that the council surrender their authority to a civilian council during the transitional period until the election.

The military council has accused the 6^th of April group of being behind the instability taking place that is harmful to the security of Egypt. The Military Higher Council’s accusation against the 6^th of April is without any evidence supportive of the claim. Some western press accused Mossad agents of traveling with Egyptian passports collecting money using the 6^th of April name. This is not the first time that Mossad agents have traveled using false passports and were caught doing so. Ahmed Maher, the spokesman for the group, rejected the accusation against The 6th of April. He said they were not part of the group who used their name in Europe and neither were they part of the protestors who moved to the headquarters of the Military Council. The Military Council’s accusation is an act done to avoid the implementation of the protestors’ demands. Meanwhile, 28 political parties and protestors’’ organizations refuted the Military Council’s accusation against the 6^th of April. They said it is an attempt to create a split between the army and the united revolutionary forces. Furthermore, they pointed out that there are differences in how to implement the real strategy of the 25^th of January revolution that will guarantee its success.

The Protesters Holding on in Tahrir Square

2011-07-26T16:39:00.000-04:00

Since July 8^th, protestors have been pressuring the military council and the prime minister to respond to the demands of the Egyptian public, which have not been implemented. This tense situation that has been going on for the last three weeks led to some new and positive changes. First, the military council announced the formation of a new judicial committee that will be responsible for drafting a document of basic principles to influence the direction of drafting the new constitution. This will be done after the election of parliament, Majliss il-Shoura and the president. Some hints were given by the military council about the proposed principle; such as the defense budget and that the future government will be a secular one. Such an announcement was welcomed by liberal political groups to limit the future influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliament. This group has already rejected the creation of the proposed document.

The declaration of such intentions came as a slap in the face to the Muslim Brotherhood strategy. Nevertheless, such a proposed document by the military council will contribute to the stability of the future constitution. At the same time, it will have an influential role for the military to play in the future secular government in Egypt.

Another positive announcement made by the military council is the delay of the parliament election until November to give various political groups more time to organize and prepare for election. This second announcement disappointed the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the largest politically organized group in Egypt. The delay will not be in their interest.

Furthermore, the military council refused to change the election law, as was demanded by 28 politically organized parties and groups. The present election law allocates 50% for individually elected groups and the other 50% for election by the party list. Furthermore, the old law that was created during the Nasser period allocates 50% of parliament seats to Egyptian peasants and the other 50% to laborers. This is a dysfunctional law that has been abused during the past sixty years and should be abolished. The 28 political parties are correct in rejecting the election law and the military council should respond to their demands. This tends to give the upper hand to parties that have the financial ability to support their nominees over others, especially the newly organized young people.

Another setback is that the military has rejected outside foreign observers at the upcoming election. It seems to me that the military council, even after the election in November, will continue to play an influential role in the affairs of the future secular government. Such a strategy will not sit well with all political parties, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, who will not have the political freedom to influence governmental institutions according to their political-religious strate

When the Protesters’ Demands are not Met

2011-07-25T15:13:00.001-04:00

Six months have passed since the fall of the Mubarak regime and not much has been done to prosecute those who have been accused of crimes and corruption. The protestors in Tahrir Square have disclosed that July 8^th is the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution. Millions of Egyptians are disappointed with Isam Sharaf, the prime minister, and General Mohammd Tantawi, the head of the Higher Egyptian Military Council and called for their resignations. Thousands of protestors vowed to stay in Tahrir Square until their demands are met. They called to expedite the trial of Hosni Mubarak and all of the high government officials, especially those who were directly connected with the killings of more than 850 young Egyptians. They also insisted on replacing the minister of interior and the minister of justice and cleansing the judicial system in order for justice to be attained. Furthermore, the protestors have demanded that the trial of the criminals should be open to the public to observe how justice is proceeding. There are other demands made by the protestors, such as the released of political prisoners, the cancellation of military courts and the resignations of all cabinet ministers who were connected with the previous regime.

The July 8^th continuous protest began to bring some positive results by July 22^nd. It was announced that the prime minister was able to add 13 out of 27 new cabinet members. There were some candidates proposed by Sharaf, but the Higher Military Council turned them down. The minister of justice and the minster of interior were kept. Both were target of removal by the protestors. There are other ministers from the Mubarak regime who were also kept, such as Minister of Environment Majid George and others. The irony is that Mr. George should have been dismissed a long time ago, because he failed to clean the piles of garbage from Cairo, which is a sign of disgrace for the society at large. The Nile River, which is the main source of fresh water for Egypt, is highly polluted. Why the Higher Military Council insists on keeping him, as well as others, in the cabinet is unclear. The prime minister should have resigned in protest of the decision made by General Tantawi. These points, among others, led the young people and other political groups to reject the prime minister’s appeal. They are continuing their protest in Tahrir Square and other Egyptian cities, repeating their demands that have not been met.

It seems that the Egyptian Higher Military Council has their own strategy to delay the prosecution of Hosni Mubarak and other high ex-government officials and ministers for crimes they have committed and the corruption that took place during the past 30 years. After all, the members of the military council, including General Tantawi, were part of the Mubarak regime for more than two decades.

The speculation behind the delay of prosecution of some high ex-governmental officials is that they have information of corruption liable to tarnish some members of the Higher Military council. Such speculation began to create conflicts and accusations between the military leadership and some of the political movements, such as the 6^th of April. Even some foreign press like the NYT (July 24, 2011) speculated that the previous president, Hosni Mubarak, would not be tried. Nevertheless, Hosni Mubarak’s trial is set to take place August 2, 2011. What will happen then will shed more light on this problem.

I also suspect some of the members of the previous regime, who are still on the loose, in addition to some of the members of the previous government parties and business leaders, who benefitted a great deal during the past 30 years, are playing a role in creating conflicts between the army and the forces of the revolutions. Promising news was released July 23, 2011, that the ex minister of interior’s trial would be held July 25.

Extension of American Troops in Iraq

2011-07-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

Recently, the new Secretary of Defense, Mr. Panetta, traveled to Iraq to pressure the Iraq government to request the extended stay of American troops in Iraq.

The 2008 agreement requires the removal of all American soldiers from Iraq by the end of 2011. It is of interest to observe that a number of high ranking American politicians, from the vice president to the chief of the armed forces, in addition to the ex and present secretaries of defense, traveled to Iraq during 2011 in attempts to convince the Iraq government to extend the stay of American troops in Iraq. The main rationale that has been used is that Iran poses a threat to Iraq. Another reason they give is that the Iraqi army is not yet ready to assume the task of defending Iraq. In June 15 American soldiers were killed. The U.S. accused Iran supporters in Iraq of the killings. The extension to keep American troops in Iraq requires more defense spending while the U.S. government is facing a difficult financial situation. A tug of war is going on in Congress, where the majority of Republicans are against raising the ceiling for borrowing. The foreign debt of the U.S. stands at $14.3 trillion and the Obama administration still wants to delay the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. The cost of the Iraq invasion, which has been going on for 9 years, has been estimated to exceed $3 trillion. If you add the cost of the war in Afghanistan, which has been going on for more than 10 years, it is another $1.5 trillion of borrowed money to fight wars by choice that were initiated by President George W. Bush. Bush doubled American foreign debt during his eight years of presidency (2000-2008). He raised the debt ceiling four times during his tenure and the defense budget increased from $379 billion in 1998 or $1500 per person to$687 billion in 2009 or $2500 per person.

Despite that fact, the Republican party in Congress and the White House were responsible for starting both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and now are pushing to lower the budget deficit by proposing cuts in social security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement spending without considering defense budget cuts. It is unfortunate that what President Eisenhower warned the public about regarding the danger of the American Military Industrial Complex is turning out to be true.

The majority of American voters are politically illiterate. The majority of the members of Congress, sent to represent the American people, work for the lobbyists who grease the wheels of their politicians. May God have mercy on the unaware American citizens who are not knowledgeable of how their political system operates.

Global Climate Change and its Negative Impact on the Arab World

2011-07-20T09:12:00.000-04:00

The global weather changes have negatively impacted many regions worldwide. The Middle East and North African region reflects a drastic negative change, especially the decrease in rainfall and the increase in temperature, dryness, and the longer duration of droughts in addition to an increase in desertification.

More than two thirds of the region has been already classified as barren desert. The less than one third of the land suitable for cultivation tends to be located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The general impact of such weather changes led to a decrease in agricultural productivity. This in return, led all Arab states to rely more and more on food imports to meet their national demands.

None of the Arab states could be classified as food sufficient. This situation increased reliance on food imports, which were estimated at $30 billion in 2010. Furthermore, it is projected to be more than double by the year 2020, reaching $75 billion. (almasry-alyoum.com, 6/17/11).

Such projections should be viewed in light of population growth, which is expected to double during 25-30 years. As of 2010, the population of the Arab world was estimated to be $365 million people. What will make the situation even worse is the shortage of fresh water. All of the Arab states, with the exception of Sudan, are classified as water poverty stricken. Several Arab states, such as Jordan, Yemen, the occupied West Bank, Iraq and Syria have slipped below the minimal water level needed, which is 700 cu.met of water per person per year, according to the U.N. Scale there is also other factors that have contributed negatively to this situation. More than 65% of water used is wasted due to the lack of recycling. Also, water use is mismanaged, especially in agricultural cultivation. Furthermore, the increases in urban growth due to natural population growth and the influx from rural to urban areas, lead to the expansion of housing constructions on agricultural lands.

Egypt, the most populated Arab state, reflects these common problems referred to. Nearly 95% of the population reside on 5% of the land, along the banks of the Nile River and the Delta region south of Cairo and stretches to the Mediterranean shores to the city of Alexandria.

Nearly 95% of the land is barren desert and this percentage is continually increasing due to desertification. Furthermore, nearly all the land that has been reclaimed for cultivation as a result of the construction of the Aswan Dam nearly 40 years ago has been lost due to urban expansion.

According to the U.N. report on “Compoting Desertification” classifies Egyptian lands in terms of its suitability for cultivation as follows: 86% of the land is extremely unsuitable for cultivation; 10% is barren desert and 4% is suitable for cultivation. The report revealed that due to climate changes, the rainfall along the Mediterranean Sea has decreased from 150 millimeters to nearly 85 millimeters per year.

According to Dr. Mohammad Yehia, the director of the Desert Research Center in Egypt, Egypt loses an average of 30,000 feddan of agricultural land per year to urban expansion. Furthermore, he pointed out that Egypt has lost 1.5 million feddan during the past ten years. Also, untreated sewer water, garbage and some industrial chemicals waste that were buried have contaminated some of the agricultural land. (almasry-alyoum.com, 7/1/2011).

There are more than 5,000 villages in Egypt and more than 60% of them have no sewer system. Also, Egypt has begun to experience a shortage of fresh water. Nearly 95% of Egypt’s consumed water tends to come from the Nile River that starts beyond the political boundaries of Egypt. 85% of the Nile River is diverted to agricultural cultivation, where Egyptian farmers are still using the ancient methods of irrigation. As a result, it has been projected by the Egyptian government that during the next 5-10 years, Egypt will experience severe water shortages. This should also be viewed in light of Egypt’s continuous population growth, which is anticipated to reach 100 million by the year 2020.

Therefore, the shortages of food and water, not just in Egypt but also in the entire Arab world, is the biggest challenge that the region is facing at the present. It has been estimated that there are already more than 95 million people in the Arab world who are classified as poverty stricken and live below the poverty index level, which is $2 per day per person.

This number will increase rapidly unless Arab states adopt a new strategy, especially in regards to population growth, the introduction of new advanced methods of cultivation, better management of the meager water resources and the creation of new jobs for the millions of young people who enter the job market every year.

The Slow Implementation of Protestors’ Demands

2011-07-16T10:34:00.000-04:00

The Egyptian Revolution of January 25^th has succeeded in removing the corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak. However, since then, the political reform that the protestors demanded has been slow. Their demands include the removal of all politicians who cooperated with the previous regime. Also, the process of investigating and the trials of previous high governmental officials have been moving at a slow pace. As a result of this, the young revolutionary groups and nearly all political groups have participated in the million protestors movement on July 8^th. The protestors demanded the resignation of Isam Sharaf, the prime minister, as well as the head of the Egyptian Supreme Military Council, General Tantawi.

Thousands of protestors remained in Tahrir Square, vowing to continue resisting the military demands to end their protest because it is endangering the Egyptian economy. The protestors group in Suez even threatened to block the Suez Canal until their demands are met. At the same time, the military council responded with a clear warning that they will not permit any attempts by the protestors to threaten Egypt’s security. They also made it clear that they are still the ultimate authority and will not tolerate the idea of being pushed aside. They have stated clearly that the election of members of parliament will take place, then the Shura Council, to be followed by the election of a president. Afterwards, a new constitution will be drafted on schedule. After the elections, the military council will transfer their authority to the newly elected government.

In the meantime, the present authority will continue its investigations and trials of the previous members of the Mubarak regime and promised that their trials will be open to the public.

While the protestors are determined to stay in Tahrir Square, it was announced by the local press that Yehya al Jamal resigned from his position as deputy prime minister. For the past couple months, the protestors have demanded his resignation. Furthermore, the press has speculated that between 7 and 13 ministers who were connected to the previous regime will be replaced by new ones. This led the protestors to end the blockage of entrances to government buildings in Tahrir Square so that government business could take place.

Still, it is the sixth day of continuous protests in many cities such as Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, which has led to clashes between the protestors and some hoodlums. This has caused the injury of more than 30 people in Tahrir Square.

These hoodlums are followers of the previous regime and it has been stated that they are paid to create instability for the present authority to justify the return of the ex-regime to power again. Such a desperate attempt, regardless of who is behind it, will never succeed. The Egyptian Revolution of January 25^th, which was supported by the vast majority of the 85 million Egyptians, will prevail and ultimately the young protestors will achieve their goal. It is a peaceful revolution that the whole world has recognized. It has been classified as among the ten most important and influential people revolutions that have taken place during the last 400 years.

The July 8th Protest Movement in Egypt

2011-07-15T11:25:00.000-04:00

The July 8^th protest by millions of Egyptians has been referred to by some of the protestors as the beginning of the New Revolution. Such cynical remarks are attributed to the fact that Prime Minister Sharaf and the Egyptian Higher Military Council have been moving slowly to implement the demands that were set by the protestors. Five months have passed and the previous President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Jamal and Alaa have not been tried by the justice system. Rumors have continued to spread that the reason behind all of this is that Hosni Mubarak is sick and under medical observation in Sharm el-Sheikh. There were also other statements made publicly by the Minister of Health that Mubarak is in stable condition. Such a statement allows Mubarak to appear in court. The press is speculating that he is fighting cancer and a German physician will be coming to Egypt to examine him. In addition, the attorney Mr. al-Deeb, who is appointed to the defense of Mr. Mubarak, has also been making frequent statements that Mubarak is not in an acceptable position to appear in court. All sorts of tactics have been used during the previous five months to justify the delay of Mr. Mubarak’s trial. Similarly, delaying Anjouan:le président renversé attendu à La Réunion tactics have been used to delay the trial of the previous Minister of Interior, Habib al-Adli, for crimes committed against protestors. Furthermore, the investigations and trials of hundreds of high-ranking officials of the Egyptian Security and Police Department have been moving slowly.

If Mubarak, al-Adli and others were found guilty, their punishments would be the death penalty for crimes committed against the protestors. These delaying tactics of bringing to justice members of the previous regime were the focus of the protest on July 8^th who felt that this specific demand as well as other was not fulfilled

It seems to me that the delay is attributed to the influence of some of the officials from the previous regime who are counting on time to bring relief to the ex-officials of the Mubarak regime. However, the young protestors are showing no signs of backing down.

The protestors are still demanding a clean sweep of the civil service, the judiciary institutions, the security and police department and the removal of all remnants of the Mubarak regime. They are also demanding that the trials be sped up to safeguard the revolution. The protestors have not forgotten the 850 (if not more) people who were killed in cold blood. They rightfully feel that the accused should pay for it.

Nevertheless, the continuous protests in many Egyptian cities began to produce some results according to some Egyptian newspapers. Al-Shorouk paper reported (7/13/2011) that the Ministry of Interior ended the services of 505 police generals, 82 colonels, and the transfer of 4,000 officers. According to the Minister of Interior, such actions were taken in response to the demands of the protestors. The delay in the implementations of the protestors’ demands reflects more negatively on the Egyptian Higher Military Council who are not moving fast enough. Speculation revealed that the Military Council has been relying on the support of the Muslim Brotherhood Party, who are the most organized and largest political group in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood, who were not the initiators of the January 25^th Revolution, have been trying to hype the revolution and claim the credit for its success. For that reason and others, they have been hesitant to join the protestors’ movement and in some cases they stated that publicly, but caved in during the last hours. This is one of the major factors that led to a rising conflict within the Muslim Brotherhood’s elderly leadership and the younger members who always defied orders and joined the protests.

The reliance of the Military Council on the Muslim Brotherhood for direct or even indirect support will not succeed. Many millions of young people, the poor and middle class groups, are behind the protestors and supportive of their demands. After all, the objective of the revolution is to create new institutions, politically, economically and socially, that will meet the needs of the vast Egyptian population. I am of the optimistic type who predicted the incoming revolution nearly two years in advance and will predict again that the future of Egypt looks more promising than ever before.

Arab Revolutions: Green Spring - Bloody Summer

2011-06-22T16:38:00.000-04:00

The Spring Revolutions in the Arab word that started in December 2010 produced three major trends. The first one was reflected in the success of the removal of both the Tunisian and Egyptian dictatorships. The collapse of both corrupt regimes took less than a few weeks. The second trend is reflected in the continuous protesting by the people to remove the ruling regimes in Yemen, Libya and Syria. The Libyan situation turned into a civil war between the revolutionary forces and Gadhafi’s army. The unfortunate consequence of the three authoritarian regimes is that the death toll has exceeded expectations and so far run into the tens of thousands. Furthermore, tens of thousands have fled the states into neighboring countries to escape from the ruthless acts of the ruling regimes.

The conflict in the three states, which has been going on for more than 3 months, will continue until the removal of the corrupt leadership of Yemen, Libya and Syria.

The third trend of protesting that has been taking place is reflected in Jordan and Morocco, where the protestors’ movements have been relatively peaceful ones and casualties have also been minimal.

Both royal regimes have been acting in a wiser manner in their slow responses to the demands of the protestors. The protestors in both countries did not call for the removal of the kings, but have been asking for a constitutional monarchy to limit the authority of the kings. Also, the protestors in both states have been demanding constitutional reforms and the free election of parliament members.

In both states, the kings responded in positive manners, reflecting willingness to initiate some reforms. In Morocco, King Muhammad VI has supported constitutional reforms. He stated that a new constitution will be presented to the public to be voted on in early July. The new constitution will provide for a free parliamentary election and the winning party will have the power to appoint a prime minister. However, the king still has to approve the Minister of Interior. Also, the proposed constitution continues to state that the king is the commander of the armed forces and the head of the religious authority.

Members of the February 20 have already rejected the proposed reforms and will continue their protest for more real political reforms. They want truly democratic reforms and the separation of powers. Morocco has been facing increasing poverty and a high rate of unemployment, especially among young people. Also, an ethnic conflict has been going on with the Berber population, who constitute more than 50% of the population of Morocco. They have been demanding that their language, the “Amazig”, be an official language like the Arabic language.

In the proposed new constitution, the Amazig language will be recognized as a second official language. Nevertheless, the constitutional referendum in July will reflect the will of the Moroccan people. This is still not the end of the conflict.

In Jordan, King Abdullah II responded to the protestors’ demands by creating a 52-member committee to start a national dialogue in Jordan to draft new electoral laws for the elections of members of parliament, where the winning party will have the responsibility to choose the prime minister. The prime minister will be held accountable to the parliament and not the king. In the new proposed law, the king relinquished his authority to appoint or to order the prime minister to resign. The king also asked the leaders of the 33 political parties in Jordan to merge and create three major political blocks that will make it easier for the winner in parliament to appoint the prime minister, who will be responsible for forming his new cabinet.

King Abdullah the II proposed political reforms shows a willingness to share power with the proposed winners in the parliament, reflecting accommodations to the protestors’ demands. How soon this will be implemented is still unclear. Nevertheless, the king’s authority remains and it is not clear if he still has the power to dissolve parliament.

The interesting observation in both kingdoms in Morocco and Jordan is that King Muhammad VI and King Abdullah II showed some flexibility in their responses to the protestors’ demands, in order to avoid the bloodbath similar to the ones that have been going on in Libya, Yemen and Syria.

Nevertheless, the reactions of the public to the proposed constitutional reforms in both Morocco and Jordan will be reflected in the result of the referendum. The situation in Saudi Arabia looks totally different from the ones in Jordan and Morocco.

The Saudi royal family is living in the past and pretending that the changes that have been taking place worldwide are irrelevant to their kingdom. Even the events that have been taking place since December 2010 did not signify to them that the Arab population is thirsty for democracy and freedom and wants to have the right to run their own lives. The drastic changes that have been taking place in the Arab world by rebelling against authoritarian regimes are a reality that the citizens will continue to fight to achieve.

The tragedy in Saudi Arabia is that the ruling political elites are too old to rule and they are still living in the past. To them, stability is the number one issue. For this reason, King Abdullah, who is 86 years old, has approved a large budget where more than $130 billion in additional money will be designated to special projects such as monthly salaries for the unemployed until they find a job. It has been reported that the rate of unemployment in Saudi Arabia exceeds 15%. Also, the construction of new housing projects to accommodate the poor is another special project, as well as an increase in government workers salaries and the creation of more jobs for the unemployed. These are some of the reforms that King Abdullah has announced recently to appease the young people who have been trying to start protests but have failed so far because security forces have arrested their leadership. King Abdullah’s new policy is an attempt to avoid people’s rebellions similar to what has been happening in the rest of the Arab world. For how long such a policy will be effective is to be seen. The critical point that the Saudi regime has failed to see so far is that freedom of expression and freedom to elect the political leadership is the norm of life worldwide that the Saudis are deprived of. I would say that it is a matter of time before the Saudi regime will collapse and the young people will achieve their freedom.

Appropriation of African Lands by Foreign Governments

2011-06-18T16:57:00.002-04:00

During the previous few years, a new and important trend began to take place in the African continent. Foreign governments and private agricultural and food producing companies began to buy and/or lease agricultural land for the purpose of food production. Nearly all of the countries involved are not self-sufficient in food production. The countries that have been active in the African continent include South Korea, who bought 1.7 million hectares in Sudan for wheat cultivations. Saudi Arabian companies have leased 25,000 hectares in Ethiopia to cultivate rice. The Indian government has leased hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land for cultivation of corn and rice. China also acquired large tracks of land in Zambia and the Congo to use the cultivated products to produce biofuel. There are other countries that are also involved in African food and agricultural cultivation to ensure their future food needs.

The American-Oakland Research Center in California reported that the buying and/or leasing agricultural lands for cultivation in Africa began to create a serious problem for native African farmers. Furthermore, the report revealed that foreign governmental and private investors have already acquired more than 60 million hectare since 1999. In addition, foreign governments and private investors also secured extra privileges and guarantees from the African governments of water resources and free taxation. The report also revealed that millions of dollars from such agreements ended up in the pockets of government officials. (www.ahram.org, 6/11/2011).

It is of interest to notice that the land that is suitable for cultivation and has been the target is located around the Nile River basin countries, as well as Sudan and Ethiopia. The various land purchases that will be used to cultivate agricultural products require water for irrigation. The water supply at the present is not sufficient enough, especially for Egypt, which depends totally on the Nile River for its existence. According to the 1959 water agreement between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, the latter should receive 75% of the Blue Nile Water and Sudan 25%.

Even this portion of water is not enough for Egypt, who imports nearly half of its wheat needs annually. During the past ten years, Egypt and the Nile River basin countries have been discussing the old agreements of water sharing and so far no agreements have been reached.

The sale of more agricultural land to foreign governments will complicate the matter even further, especially for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The situation should also be viewed in light of the population growth in the three states. At the present, Egypt’s population is around 88 million. Sudan’s population is around 45 million and Ethiopia’s population is 85 million, which adds to a total population of 218 million. At the present rate of growth, the three states’ total population by 2035 will reach around 450 million people and by the year 2060 will reach around 700 million people.

The sale of land by African states to foreign governments will not be implemented in the long run, due to pressing needs for food in these African states. In my judgment, such land agreements will turn into international conflicts that will require new considerations.

What will the impact of this population growth be on water needs? Even if the population growth could be controlled, the demand for water needs will continue to increase, particularly in Egypt. The flow of the Nile River through Egypt will also decrease. Nearly all the Arab states could be classified as water poverty stricken where the majority of the population hardly receives the minimal water requirement, which is 700 cu.met/person/year.

All of these states need to reevaluate their present water and food strategies and plan realistically to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

The Brutality of the Syrian Regime

2011-06-17T17:52:00.000-04:00

During the past two weeks, the protestors’ movement in Syria began to gain more momentum than before. The silent majority in Syria began to join the protestors’ movement in large numbers that have exceeded hundreds of thousands of people. The public in general began to overcome their fears and many were even accompanied by their children, joining the protestors in many cities all over Syria.

There are a number of factors that have led to the new changes that have been taking place. First, during the previous three months, President Bashar il-Assad promised the public broad political reforms. Not much of what he promised was implemented, except for the fact that he removed the emergency law officially, but the arrests of protestors is still going on. He also released around 450 political prisoners, but there are many who have been in prison for many years without trial. President Assad has missed the opportunity to initiate broad and genuine political reforms. Secondly, the Syrian population has given up on the possibility of real political reforms. The only way out, from the public’s point of view, is the removal of the entire Assad regime.

Third, the daily killings of protestors, whose deaths have already exceeded 1300, in addition to many injuries, led the public to the conclusion that protesting on a continuous basis is the only solution. The situation led some soldiers to refuse to shoot civilian protestors. Also, some have been shot by their officers for refusing orders. It was also reported that some of the Syrian military officers have refused to shoot at the protestors. Such incidents took place at Jisr al-Shughour where 120 soldiers were killed. The Syrian authority claimed that the soldiers were killed by armed rebels. This situation led the Syrian military command to attack and regain control of Jisr al-Shughour, where heavy military equipment such as tanks and helicopters, were used. It was reported that the attack was led by Commander Mahr il-Assad. He is well known as a brutal and reckless person, who will stop at nothing if the family regime is threatened.

Furthermore, the ruthless military attack led more than 10,000 people to flee Turkey to escape the brutality of the Syrian army. In 1982, his uncle, Rifa’at al Assad, ordered the attack of the city of Hama. It led to the death of more than 20,000 civilians.

It is not difficult to reach the conclusion that if those high government officials surrender their positions, they will be prosecuted for crimes and other acts of corruption committed.

The Tunisian and Egyptian leadership are being prosecuted and this led to a new political trend that awaits all political dictators in the Arab world.

The Yemeni, Libyan and Syrian authoritarian regimes are on their way out, irrespective of the abusive and brutal force that they have been using against their people.

The people in the Arab world are thirsty for democracy and freedom. They want to have the freedom to run their own lives without being fearful of their rulers. As the common proverb says, “Where there is a will, there is a way”.

The Lebanese Protesters Movement

2011-06-15T05:32:00.000-04:00

During the past few months, the young people of Lebanon have been leading a protest movement. The main objective is to change the political system of Lebanon. The political structure is based on sectarian divisions, which were created by the French at the end of their colonialist rule of Lebanon during the later part of the 1940s. It was an arrangement that was referred to at the time as a “gentlemanly agreement”. It specifies that the position of the president of Lebanon will be given to a Christian Maronite, the position of the prime minister will be given to a Muslim Sunni, and the position of the speaker of parliament will be given to a Muslim Shiaa. Such an arrangement did not consider the demographic composition of the Lebanese population, nor did it consider the basic principles of democracy.

For example, each sectarian group was given a certain number of seats in parliament, irrespective of their population size. The history of Western colonialism in the Arab world, both French and British, is negative. Both western powers created negative obstacles in the way of positive development politically, economically and educationally in order to serve their own colonialist strategy.

Nevertheless, the political sectarianism that the French instituted in Lebanon, has contributed to its instability during the past four decades. Political friction and competition was a common phenomenon, which has been part of the daily political events in Lebanon.

During the 1970s, a civil war began among the competing political parties that lasted nearly 10 years and led to the killing of more than 100,000 people in addition to an equal number of injuries.

The civil war caused both physical and human destruction and no political reform. One of the major reasons behind this is also foreign interference from within the region and from outside the region.

The Lebanese political stage even opened the doors for Israel’s invasion, the Syrian military domination as well as the landing of American troops in Lebanon. All of these foreign troops have left Lebanon, but the sectarian political conflict still dominates daily life there. The younger generations of Lebanon have understood the nation’s problems and difficulties much better than their parents and are asking for reforms. They want to abolish political sectarianism and replace it with a secular political system that disregards religious and/or ethnic affiliation, based on the free democratic system. The proposed reforms, if implemented, will minimize different sectarian groups that have been manipulating to continue dominating the political stage in Lebanon. Such a system not only contributes to political and social instabilities, but also to the stagnation of the country as a whole. I hope that the Lebanese younger generation’s protest movement will end up creating more support that will lead to genuine