All posts by Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

Dr. Mohammed Haider Ghuloum: trained as an economist, been called a few other names..... الشرقية للبنين- المتنبي- ثانوية الشويخ

On Hezbollah, Israel, and Arab Hopes for War………

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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Some Arab media on the Gulf and their ‘attached analysts’ often taunt Hezbollah when Israel attacks in Syria or Lebanon and does not get a response. The same controlled media and the same ‘attached analysts‘ are also quick to blame Hezbollah for recklessness when it responds to Israeli attacks, as they did this week. But that is politics.

Some of them are no doubt disappointed and dismayed that none of the skirmishes and little wars between Hezbollah and the IDF ever lead to a larger war. Their hope is that it might somehow lead to the eradication of the Lebanese Party which is close to the mullahs in Iran. I have seen some of them salivate ‘audibly’ at the prospect of an israeli all-out war in Lebanon, and that includes oligarchs as well as Salafi Islamists. Perhaps they think of how the 1982 Israeli invasion led to the expulsion of Arafat and the PLO from Lebanon. There have been sporadic unconfirmed but credible reports that some of them have lobbied for direct American action in Lebanon as well. Of that I also have no doubt.

But we know, most of us, that wars often turn out different from the expected. The Israeli invasion and occupation of 1982 lead to the rise of Hezbollah, a much fiercer foe than the PLO groups ever were. They prefer to forget that the invasion of Iraq led to the rise of AQI and ISIS, and that the Arab Wahhabi interference in the Syrian uprising led to the rise of the murderous Caliphate. That earlier the interference during the 1980s in Afghanistan led to the rise of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban
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Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

An American Sniper in the Mirror……….

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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Saw the film American Sniper last Sunday. A powerful film, as many Clint Eastwood films tend to be. No matter what you think of the underlying politics, no matter what your stance on the Iraq war.

Most of the Arabs in the film were not really Arabs, they spoke with thick accents and certainly ignored the distinct Iraqi dialect. There were also some small mistakes in the location of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in Baghdad. At one point they seemed to consider Sadr City as a possible hotbed for Al Qaeda, which is absurd given that its residents are overwhelmingly Shi’a, who are the main targets of AQI terrorists.

I had no problem with the portrayal of the AQI terrorists as bloodthirsty killers, including the gruesome “killing with a drill” part. They were and they are.

Oh, and like Exodus: Gods and Kings, it will not be seen in most Arab or Muslim countries, if in any.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

The Grim Jordanian Luck of Kenji Goto………

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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Kenji Goto, the Japanese being held hostage by ISIS is lucky in one respect. The other hostage whose release is being negotiated now is a Jordanian air force pilot from a prominent (humorless) Jordanian tribe. My unreliable Jordanian source reports that there has been a lot of pressure from his clan for a deal to get him out through a deal with the terrorists. She added something roughly to the effect that: “Nobody in Jordan gives a rat’s ass about Kenji Goto. They want Mu’ath…“, only more colorful.
If Mu’ath is still alive. If not, then Kenji Goto’s luck, and Sajida Al Rishawi’s luck, may run out…….

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Iranians Worry about Pro-Likud U.S. Senate, Seek a More Active Europe……….

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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“The European Union (EU) can play more active role in the negotiations between Iran and the world powers over Iran’s nuclear issue, Press TV reported on Tuesday quoting Iran’s foreign minister as saying. In a meeting with his Portugese counterpart Rui Machete in Tehran on Monday, Mohammad-Javad Zarif hailed what he termed as “positive” the European countries’ current approach to oppose the imposition of any new sanctions against Tehran and trying out diplomacy………….”

The Iranians are apparently just trying to get some help from Europe. They can see that the U.S. Knesset Congress/Senate is trying to create the conditions for failed negotiations. They see that the legislators are setting the U.S. up for being dragged into an Israeli war against another Muslim country. They know that the Europeans, like almost everybody else outside the USA,  are skeptic about Netanyahu and the Israeli stance. They are trying to get the Europeans to be a bit more forceful on this issue.

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Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Will the Balance of Terror Between Israel and Hezbollah Hold?……..

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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“Missiles fired by the Lebanese Hezbollah group struck an Israeli military convoy on Wednesday, killing two soldiers in an apparent retaliation for a deadly airstrike attributed to Israel that killed six Hezbollah fighters in Syria earlier this month. The violence was the deadliest Hezbollah attack against Israeli forces since a 2006 war between the two sides. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would respond “forcefully” to the attack, and the military launched aerial and ground assault on Hezbollah positions………….”

Israel has been taking a lot of liberties in recent months over Lebanon and Syria. Its air force has been flying at will over Lebanon, violating its airspace, bombing at will into Syria, and its artillery active along the Golan lines. The Golan is a particular worry for them these days, given the proximity of one theatre of the Syrian war. They have tried to increasingly play the regional “policeman”, by stealth, of the Eastern Mediterranean. With apparent American acquiescence, so long as the targets were Hamas or Hezbollah or Syria.

The Israeli attack last week that killed several Hezbollah members was bound to lead to a response from Hezbollah, given the implications for future Israeli incursions. Given the missile-based balance of terror that has existed along the border with Lebanon. Given the understanding in Lebanon of the role of the upcoming Israeli elections in Mr. Netanyahu flexing his military muscles at this time. Perhaps also given the symbolism of the fact that one of the victims was a son of Imad Mughniyeh, a leading Hezbollah strategist who was killed by the Mossad-planted bombs in Damascus in 2008.
(FYI: foreign bombings in Arab and Muslim cities are not considered terrorism in the West, although the UN has not voted on it yes).
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Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Sorcerers Beware: New King Inaugurates his Reign with a Beheading……..

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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“An alleged rapist was executed Monday but many Saudis believe the case against him was shaky. A Saudi man accused of raping young girls was beheaded on Monday in the first execution under the administration of Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman. Teacher Moussa al-Zahrani, 45, was beheaded in the western city of Jeddah…………..”

So the new king continues in the progressive liberal reformist tradition of his predecessor, the late King Abdullah. European leaders are like most Arab journalists, hungry for Saudi money and contracts. They have flocked to Riyadh and firmly anointed the late Abdullah as a progressive liberal reformer. Those fine traits were evidenced by his military crushing of the Bahrain uprising, his financing of the restoration of the old Egyptian military regime, and the continued flogging of dissidents and the beheading of witches and sorcerers, among other feats.
The new monarch has big shoes to fill…..
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Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Western Delusions about Kenji Goto, Al Rishawi, and Jordan……….

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) demanded the release of a woman being held in Jordan for allegedly attempting to carry out a series of terrorist attacks in 2005, Reuters news agency reported. In a broadcast carried by the Al-Bayan radio, which transmits in areas the group controls, ISIS described Sajida al-Rishawi as “our sister” asking for her release in exchange for the freedom of Kenji Goto, a Japanese hostage held by the militants. Rishawi is a would-be Iraqi female suicide bomber on death row in Jordan in connection with triple hotel bomb attacks in Amman that killed 60 people…………….”

Sometimes Western pundits and media experts seem delusional about the Middle East. Take the example of the remaining Japanese hostage held by ISIS, Kenji Goto. There is serious talk among Western ‘experts’ that perhaps the humorless Kingdom of Jordan might release an Iraqi terrorist in exchange for him, as the terrorists have demanded. They mean an Iraqi woman, Sajida Al-Rishwai, who participated in bombings in Amman hotels that killed tens of people during the days of Al-Zarqawi. She claims she was coerced by her husband, which is very likely, although she failed to detonate it in the end.
They actually think that Jordan could release the woman, Rishawi, as ISIS is demanding in exchange for the Japanese man. I have some bad news for them.
Can you imagine the uproar in Jordan if the woman is released in order to free a Japanese hostage in Syria? At a time when ISIS is holding a Jordanian Air Force pilot who was shot down over Syria? If the Jordanian pilot is indeed a hostage and not just a defector from the humorless Jordanian Air Force. Which reminds me: we have not read much about how he happened to end up in the hands of ISIS.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Arabian Reich: Arbeit Macht Frei, Public Flogging Macht Frei, Tear Gas Macht Frei………

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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It is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The Nazi concentration-death camp was liberated by the Soviet Red Army as it swept across Poland toward Germany in January 1945.

Sometimes I think the 1960s terms used by JFK “Let them come to Berlin“, “Ich bin ein ‘Berliner'(?)” must have sounded naive and absurd to an average Russian in Leningrad or Stalingrad or to anyone in any Soviet village east of Poland. Barely 15 years after WWII and the horrors of Operation Barbarossa. By the 1980s, however, Reagan’s “Tear down this wall…..” sounded more reasonable and plausible.

Anyway, my focus is the Middle East. The Nazis posted a cruel slogan at the entrance to their concentration camps, which housed mostly Jews but also dissidents, leftists, and other undesirables. The absurd slogan was “Arbeit Macht Frei“, something the cotton plantation owners never thought of in Old Dixie. In the Middle East, one can imagine new slogans based on that one. The Saudi princes can erect “Public Flogging Macht Frei“, or “Absolute monarchy Macht Frei“. The Egyptian regime can erect “Bullets Macht Frei“. The Bahrain rulers can erect “Tear Gas Macht Frei“, or “Kleptocrats Macht Frei“. They and the rulers of UAE can both quite reasonably erect “Foreign Mercenaries Macht Frei“. The caliphate of ISIS might put up “Concubines Macht Frei”. Tony Blair might add to his letterhead “Oil Oligarchs Macht Frei”. No irony intended………..

BTW: did you read that the British Ministry of Justice “is hoping to profit from selling its expertise to the prison service in Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for public beheadings, floggings, amputations and courts that regularly violate human rights.…………”?

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

American Education: from Czechoslovakia to Houthi……….

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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Poor American public. They had thought Ahmadinejad was a tough one to pronounce. Was just beginning to get comfortable with him, if that is possible, when our region provided new distractions. They had to learn how (not) to say Shi’a (or Shi’ite) and how to spell AlZarqawi and Abu Bakr Al Samarrai. Now with Yemen in the headlines they have been hit with how to pronounce ‘Houthi‘, which makes any American feel like they have a sore throat and maybe streptococcus (only if they say it the correct way).

But that is okay. A people that weathered Dzhugashvili (remember Joe?) and Czechoslovakia (phew, that one is over) and Shevardnadze (so is he) and Brzezinski and Gronkowski (of the losing team of upcoming Super Bowl XLIX) can learn to spell and pronounce anything, especially simpler Muslim names like mine and ours……….
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Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com

Hyperbole Arabica: Saudi-Egyptian Ties to Last Until the Dinosaurs Return…….

Shuwaikh-school1 RattleSnakeRidge Sharqeya-Baneen-15

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Egypt’s Shorouk News quotes the Saudi ambassador in Cairo making a strange statement. Supposedly a prescient statement. He is quoted as saying that Saudi Arabian policy towards Egypt will not change until the Judgement day (or End of Time).
He might have added: until the regime changes or until the dinosaurs return……….

After that, all bets are apparently of.
Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com