Extension of American Troops in Iraq

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The United States and its Veto Power

Recently the German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for reforms of the U.N. that ought to meet the demands of the present world situation. The U.N. rules and regulations were instituted more than six decades ago after World War II. Since then, significant changes have taken place that lead to the rise of some states that carry a heavy weight, such as Brazil, India and Turkey. The Security Council, which consists of 15 members and only five permanent members, carry veto power and should be expanded to reflect the present reality of the world we live in.

However, the German chancellor did not call for the removal of the individual veto power that the 5 permanent members of the Security Council presently enjoy.

Such rules are outdated and in contradiction of the basic principles of democracy that the five permanent members of the Security Council keep talking about.

Let me be more specific to provide the reader with specific examples that led one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the U.S. government, to prevent the important resolutions that the majority of the U.N. Security Council has voted for. These votes were rejected because the U.S. used its veto power and stopped certain resolutions from being implemented.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a classic example of when the U.S. exercised its veto power more than 75 times to stop the implementation of any resolution that would force the Israeli government to stop its aggression against the Palestinians.

The U.S. government has abused its veto power at the Security Council to appease Israel and their American supporters, especially the American Jewish Zionist organizations. The American government’s political behavior at the U.N. Security Council since 1948 (after the creation of Israel) has been a disaster. It contributed to the instability of the Middle East region to appease a small Jewish minority who put the American Congress under their thumb. During the recent visit of the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to the U.S., he was invited to address the American Congress, where he received several standing ovations, which is reflective of the influence of the Jewish Zionist lobby.

For that reason, Israeli politicians have ignored the whole world and continued to implement their Zionist ideology, “Eretez Israel”, which means “greater Israel”.

In 1948, the U.S. government played the major role in the creation of the state of Israel, which allocated 51% of the Palestinian land despite the fact that the majority of the population that was living in that part were Palestinians. Since then the majority in Israel turned into the minority and 51% of its land expanded to become 78% of the original Palestinian land by the eve of the 1967 war. Since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the rest of Palestine, the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has been going on with the approval of the U.S. government. Many resolutions were approved by the majority of members of the U.N. Security Council, but they were rejected through the use of the U.S. veto power.

Recently, the Palestinian authority stated publicly that their case should be taken to the U.N. to ask for the official recognition of a Palestinian state. 119 states have already recognized the Palestinian state. Nevertheless, the U.S. government has already objected to the proposed Palestinian strategy and threatened to use its veto power. Instead, President Obama continued to say that the issue should be discussed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. The same policy has been advocated by the U.S. government during the past four decades without providing a solution to this conflict.

The simple and most reasonable approach is that since it was the U.N. that created the state of Israel, the same institution should creation a Palestinian stated based on the 1967 borders.

At the same time, the U.N. should initiated new reforms especially illuminating the veto power of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Also the number of memberships should be expanded and voting should be based on majority rule. This would set a new objective for the implementation of democracy

The Royalty Club

During the past few weeks, Arab press began to speculate about the Arab Gulf Corporation Council’s invitation to Jordan and Morocco to join their ranks.

One of the main speculations behind this new policy on the part of “GCC” is to strengthen the military capability of the Gulf region. Such a move, if implemented, will provide regional and local stability and minimize the possibilities of local uprising. Also, it will provide more security from any Iranian threats. Furthermore, it will strengthen the royal kingdom’s rules. As it was pointed out by some Gulf political leaders, in light of the spring revolutions that led to the collapses of the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes, such a move will prevent the domino theory from happening in the Gulf region.

It seems to me that such a move is an effort to develop a “royal monarchy club” to protect the thrones of absolute authoritarian regimes. In a way, what happened in Bahrain recently, when members of the “GCC” sent security forces, which led to the suppression of the protestors’ movement, is a clear example. Those who led the reforms movement in Bahrain were calling for justice and the implementation of democratic reforms. It happened that the Sunni minority, which constitutes one-third of the total population, is in full political control of parliament and other governmental institutions. For example, the Shiaa segment of the population is given only 18 sects out of 40, despite the fact that they constitute more than two-thirds of the total population.

The main rationale that the Bahraini government used to suppress the protestors reform movements is that they are influenced by the Iranian government. This unjustified political policy that has been going on for many decades in the Arab world between the Muslim Sunni and Muslim Shiaa should come to an end since both religious groups accept the content of the Quran in its totality.

As long as this dogmatic conflict continues in the Arab world, it will be a major obstacle to progress. It is no wonder to see that nearly the whole world is progressing, while the Arab world is regressing.

Nevertheless, the call by the members of GCC for Jordan and Morocco to join and become members of their council, in my judgment, is a positive step. If such a political step will lead to lifting political borders and allow the free movement of workers in search for jobs, it will be a positive political and economic step that will strengthen the region. The Jordanian government has already responded positively to the invitation from GCC.

There are many common characteristics of political, economic and religious traits that Jordan shares with the Gulf region. For example, it was reported that there are already more than ½ a million Jordanian workers in the Gulf region. Furthermore, Jordan is among the leading Arab states in terms of its high literacy rates, college graduates and skilled workers, which provides an important potential for further economic development that will benefit all.

It is no secret that Jordan will benefit from such a move that will provide the opportunity for the development of its human resources and will have a positive impact on the region as a whole.

Discussion is going on, and hopefully it will lead to full membership benefits economically and politically. It should also be pointed out that the Jordanian geographical position, sharing political boundaries with Saudi Arabia, puts it at an advantageous position by comparison to Morocco. Maybe this point made the Moroccan government less enthusiastic to join.

Let me conclude by emphasizing that total unity in the Arab world is more urgent now than ever before. In unity, there is strength politically and economically.