Iran To The Rescue!
Sometimes I wonder how troublesome Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad would be without the “spiritual” backing of the Ayatollah, Ali Khamenei. Yesterday Khamenei remarked to the Iraqi president..
“The first step to resolve the insecurity in Iraq is the withdrawal of the occupiers and handing over the security issues to the Iraqi government, which is backed by the people,” state television quoted Khamenei as telling Talabani in their meeting.
“Some U.S. agents in the region are the middle men for implementing American policies and creating an insecure Iraq …
“Supporting terrorist groups in Iraq and igniting insecurity … will be very dangerous for America’s agents and also the region,”
Riiiiight, as if 24 years of Saddam Hussein fueled Sunni/Shi’a hatred had nothing to do with it. I would be extremely interested to see how Iraqi security forces would fare against their fellow countrymen. (by the way, I have abandoned the concept that those fighting each other and those fighting the U.S. troops are “insurgents” from other countries) I would also be interested to know how many of those security members are invested in sectarian fighting and support themselves.
“U.S. agents in the region”? Ahhh of course…ISRAEL! If only we had previously known the Mossad was at work in Iraq giving Sunnis and Shi’as more reasons to hate each other. I’m willing to criticize Israel when necessary but a claim like that is simply intellectual laziness. Whatever, I guess every country needs an arch rival or maybe two.
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You know, there’s this whole conspiracy about Iran interfering in Bahrain’s very recent parliamentary elections to give more power to the Shiites. I wouldn’t doubt it, I know for a fact that Iran funds certain Shiite groups in Bahrain, and I just pray to God that we will not turn into a Southern Lebanon.
I’m not too fond of the whole Shiite/Sunni division, most of my friends are Shiites and they’re more sane than many Sunnis I met, there are awful people representing both groups within our political system. I smell a civil war cooking.
Many arguments made by “approved” political analysts in the region have this sort of mentality, it’s so sad to watch. You get loads of people running around insisting that Israeli and U.S forces are behind the Shiite/Sunni conflict in Iraq and even Bahrain (though the Sunnis like to blame it on Iran.)
Even IF those “Zionist” conspiracies were true – which they aren’t – we’re still the ones to blame because we’re stupid enough to fall for it.
I think just as Israel is the Middle Easts arch rival to blame everything on, so is Iran for the U.S., Israel and some Sunni populations. “whats that the shi’as are gaining strength…must be Iran”, “what, the shi’as have weapons…must be Iran” I think everyone in the MidEast has fallen into that trap. As moderate bloggers we condemn the blame game when its always on Israel and support it when its on Syria or Iran. Many roads do lead to Iran but we have given ourselves over to assuming all roads lead to Iran without any investigation.
We need to help others, especially Arabs, understand the fact that there’s no shame in admitting our mistakes. When we do something stupid – we should stand up and say, “what we did was really stupid.” It’s the only way we can learn from our mistakes instead of watching history repeat itself.
Fouad Ajami writes about this all the time, and has been saying the same thing for like a decade now. No one ever listens. I’m going to review a book he wrote about Arabs and Arab political thought since 1967 and post it here.
Once this site gets bigger though, you will see a huge flow of nationalists coming here accusing us of being traitors, you’ll be disgusted, and even ashamed. These people always come in huge groups, too. There’s never one, there has to be a huge flock of them. I think the case might be much worse for you as an Egyptian. My friend Kareem is still being accused of being a brainwashed traitor for having different thoughts on Islam and shit like pan-Arabism. Not surprising that he’s still in prison today, and not surprising that people are sending me nasty e-mails for starting a campaign to help free him. I get things like, “you infidel, this guy deserves to be in prison, and I hope you will be sent there too! How DARE you question Islam, how DARE you insult this country,” etc.
7aga ghareeba awi.
D.B. Shobrawy,
I couldn’t agree this sentence more. I think we can replace Iran with the US, Israel, etc. After all, in this nasty game, everyone is fighting for themselves. And that doesn’t mean I think they have the right to do so, just that they do and it is important to see the whole picture.
Esra’a
You are sure having a very good time with those not-so-friendly emails. By the way, what does “7aga ghareeba awi” mean?
Literally it would translate to, “something very strange/weird.”
Esra’a
As far as the nay sayers and nut jobs are concerned regarding my opinions on Egypt and the Middle East, I say, “BRING IT ON!” I love the challenge and I have a thrist for controversey. I LOVE the opportunity to defend my points and prove the other guy wrong. Unfortunately few of my audience on my site have challenged me.
P.S. 5 Egyptian pounds to the person who can identify that quote, its author and context.
In that case I should forward some of the e-mails to you.
Too bad none of them actually have an argument, though, it’s just insults. But I assure you with the new site, we’ll promote this place like crazy, and I know that more argumentative people will come because the views we express here are hardly “average.”
Which quote, “bring it on”? Other than it being the name of a cheap Hollywood movie, Bush said it during the first year of the Iraq war.
Ding Ding Ding. Thats right, quote from George W. Bush to the opposition! I’ll send you the 5 egyptian pounds in the mail.
When you say it you better say it with the Texan accent too, otherwise it doesn’t count!
I’ll be waiting for my $$
The ones in the position of power claiming being devoted to religion, I don’t take it.
Religion should back goodness, not only the interests of few followers of the same path.
I hope as Esra’a mentioned Iran won’t be a factor in creating a disintegrating atmosphere in Bahrain. I have heard in Bahrain, SHiite and Sunnis live in harmony, why should another country interfere in a way to take this spirit away from a nation.
Regarding the country of Israel, it is one of the countries created after the fall of Ottomon Empire, and if many little countries had the right to claim independence and have their own state, why not Israel?
The conflict in the region has overshadowed the fact that after the Ottomons many countries came to existance and Israel is only one of them. If I compare the wars of Arabs and Israel, and all the people killed in the conflict of that region from the start upto now, I still think in the war of Iran and Iraq, more people were killed, worse weaponary was used and much more innocent civilians from both sides where victimized.
What is my point is that if things are wrong we cannot blame Israel for every thing every thing bad that happens in Middle East. Each country has its problems and its little or bigger conflicts. Countries handle the separationists and independent seekers or freedom fighters in bad manners, and they rationalize it as to preserve their sense of integrity.
We have Iran and Baluchies, Iran and Kurds, Iran and Arabs, Iran and perhaps all the povinces and every now and then the measures taken to control a chaos, or an uprise, and I honestly think and believe that the measures are not Just. Here I began from my own country as not to point a finger to the rest of the countries initially.
We all can recall all the wrong things that happen in our countries and i am sure we all know that injustice is not the problems of one of us, we all need to change. I hope as neighbors in the region we help one another in promoting good things that might happen to us. We really need to emply alternative measures in dealing with our problems in the region. People are really respectful. I love to enter the home of any one in the region, Arab, Turk, Kurd, Palestinian, Israeli, Persian, Hindi, Baluchi, there in the territory of the indivitual’s Home I can understand what are the standards of treating a neighbor, which is the best, we treat neighbors with respect. It all becomes a mess when it comes to countries and the states, because many other factors are negaged and the true nature of our people is mostly not reflected when it comes to the state’s affairs.
I lost my father in the war of Iran and Iraq when I was a kid. Any one might think that I will dispise the Iraqis for that, for the rest of my life. But that is not true. Iraqi people were not responsible, people in the war have to get involved when their country calls. Years after the resolution I visited Iraq. Was there any difference between my people and theirs? Oh no, the same smile that flashed across the face of that little Iraqi girl would lit the little face of a girl on this side of the border. I liked people, they were so nice, so protective, so supportive. I remeber in Bagdad how the staff of my hotel were concenred that I don’t leave the hotler without some one guarding, they were the same Iraqis we were fighting with years back.
I don’t see the borders, as they do not exist but on the maps. Where humanity has so much to share i do not consider myself as a detached entity from any one that I might assume, particularly from the people of my region.
If there should be an activity to adjust, to make better , to improve the state of affairs in the region, it should be a single mission followed by all of us, as we share the good and the bad, and my goodness would contribute to the region as my evilside might affect the whole region in a wrong way.
I am so hopeful in the bliss of our Lord and in the constructing power of youth, specially when it comes to MidEast