Category Archives: Arab Revolutions

Algeria, Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions

Algeria’s Ouyahia and Albert Camus: Arab Spring as a Plague, about the Humor……..

 

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“What was meant to be the highlight of the government’s election campaign – a mass rally in Algiers at the weekend addressed by prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia – seems to have backfired. Ouyahia’s speech was certainly memorable, but mostly for the wrong reasons. Harking back to the country’s independence struggle against France, he said: “The Arab spring for me is a disaster. We don’t need lessons from outside. Our spring is Algerian, our revolution of 1 November 1954.” Unlike the glorious days of 1954, the current Arab spring is “a plague” sweeping the region, he told voters. Its effects can be seen, he said, in “the colonisation of Iraq, the destruction of Libya, the partition of Sudan and the weakening of Egypt”. “The revolutions that engulfed brotherly and friendly countries such as Iraq, Sudan, Tunisia, Mali, Libya and Egypt are not accidental but are the work of Zionism and Nato,”………..”

Zionism was behind the Arab uprisings? That sounds like the Saudi Mufti Shaikh Al Al Shaikh talking (or maybe the Saudi king or Muammar Qaddafi or the al-Khalifa of Bahrain or the Assad regime in Syria). They have all blamed “foreigners” and Zionists and drugs and even obsession with sex (Tahrir tents and virginity tests) for the uprisings.
Interesting that he called the ‘Arab Spring” a plague , maybe he is a fan of Albert Camus (another native of Algeria). I suppose it all depends on how things turn out in the end (whenever that may be). Who knows how it will turn out in the future, but at least people are voting for their own governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya (as they do in Lebanon and Iraq). They are NOT voting for their own governments in Syria and Bahrain and Yemen and Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the Sudan. I may not like the government they vote for, most likely I don’t in these cases, but it is their choice.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Fatwas, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Mufti Diagnoses Arab Uprisings: Sectarian Fitna, Sinful Anarchy, Ali and the Umayyads, Al Shaikh Female Drivers..….

 

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Saudi Mufti Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh (called affectionately Al by the princes) is famous for his fatwas and announced positions on various issues. That is what he is paid for. Now he has, again, blamed miscreants and sinners among Muslims for instability in the Middle East. In that, he is no different from some interesting American political pastors who blamed 9/11 attacks on similar factors (mainly sinning). 
A Saudi daily quotes Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh that “what the Islamic countries are experiencing of divisions (fitna) and disturbances and insecurity are a result of their sins and crimes” The Mufti charged that mobs have been wearing the mask of “democracy and justice” in order to commit acts that cause injustice and chaos among Muslims. Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh will promise in his next speech stability, justice, and prosperity to everyone in the whole Muslim world, as long as they adopt the Wahhabi absolute tribal monarchy model of governance and looting.
Of the sectarian divisiveness (fitna): nobody in the history of the Muslim world has pushed and encouraged and caused it more than the al-Saud dynasty and their vast media and their tribal and Salafi affiliates and their paid academic mercenaries across the Gulf, along with their Walis (satraps) in Bahrain. At least nobody since the battles of Ali and the Umayyad usurpers almost fifteen centuries ago.
 
About the Mufti (for new readers only): the Al Al-Shaikh (call me Al) are descendants of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdulwahhab, an old Saudi ally after whom the Wahhabi sect is named. They have had close relations with the al-Saud ever since and many hold high positions at the Saudi court and bureaucracy. I expect that when the Saudi king finally decides to allow women to drive (drive cars not their spouses) he will give the first franchise to an Al Al Al Shaikh chick to be the first legal female driver in the Kingdom without Magic (no, the famous Manal al-Sharif will not be the first driver: she may have the wrong surname). As I have repeated here, the shaikh is not to be confused with Mohammed Abdelwahab, the late great Egyptian musician, singer, and occasional actor from the golden (pre-Sadat-Mubarak) days of Egyptian art and culture who was no Salafi, Wahhabi, nor any kind of fundamentalist but a bon vivant in his own right.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Human Right

One Picture Worth a Thousand Words in Bahrain…..

    

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A picture worth a thousand words:
One angry young Bahrain woman standing up to heavily-armed, ready for battle, regime thugs and hired foreign mercenaries and Salafi invaders. This picture reflects the situation in occupied Bahrain.


Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Syria

Mr. Lavrov and a Russian-Iranian Strategy in Syria………..

    

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“Not 24 hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that a pre-emptive strike (by the US and/or Israel) would violate international law, Moscow put muscle into his warning: Tuesday, April 3, the Russian guided missile destroyer Smetliviy arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus from its Black Sea base for a naval exercise. The warship’s support group is on the way. debkafile’s military sources report that the Russian flotilla carried a threefold message for Washington: 1. The Russian-Iranian strategy of propping up the Assad regime which has brought the Syrian ruler close to victory over his foes, will continue: Diplomacy will be propelled by military impetus. 2. Russia is providing the Assad regime with defense systems capable of repelling foreign military intervention. 3. Consigning the Smetliviy warship to Syria illustrates Moscow’s new rapid response policy: Russia is launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean to match the “Noble Dina” air and naval maneuver the US, Israel and Greece are conducting across a broad expanse of sea between Crete and the Israeli bases at Haifa and Ashdod………………..”

Lavrov is certainly right about one thing: any attack on Iran, whether by Israel or the USA or both, will violate international law. It would be an act of aggression since Iran has not attacked anyone. The same applies to any Iranian attack on Israel or the United States since they have not attacked Iran yet, although they have been threatening to attack almost every two or three days.
As for the ‘threefold message’ mentioned by this Israeli site, it makes sense in light of recent developments. Yet it is hard to see the same Syrian regime in power after all the violence that has happened. Yet it is also hard to see the same unsavory characters who lead the different factions of the fractious Syrian opposition taking power in Damascus any time soon.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy

Gulf Prisoners of Conscience: AlKhawaja of Bahrain, al-Bejadi of Arabia, and Al Hypocritical West………….

    

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““Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent Bahraini human rights activist who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a military court, is now in a critical stage of a hunger strike which has gone on for 64 days. Foreign doctors who have been to see him have said he is at serious risk of death if he continues. The Bahraini government has rejected increasing international pressure to release him, and has limited outside access. His plight has begun to draw attention to the failure of reform in Bahrain, including an unusual White House statement yesterday. If he dies, it could mark a significant breaking point for the regime’s efforts to rehabilitate its tarnished reputation — and could accelerate the disturbing trend toward militant radicalization in the opposition. Hunger striking has become a distinctive phenomenon in the current round of Arab protest movements. It has a long history, marking many of the major emancipatory struggles throughout the world from British suffragettes to Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. It has recently emerged as a particularly important form of protest against tyrannical states. From Palestine, to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, prisoners of conscience have used the last thing they control — their bodies — as a tool of dissent. Palestinian Hana Shalabi was released by the Israelis after a 43-day hunger strike, while Mohamed Albajadi in Saudi Arabia is on his 33rd day. Al-Khawaja’s hunger strike, by dovetailing on the back of a revolutionary tide, and supported by a digitally wired and outspoken family, has elevated his protest beyond his prison walls……………” Foreign Policy

If Al-Khawaja of Bahrain and al-Bejadi of the Arabian Peninsula, with their brave acts of self-sacrifice, are trying to shame the Western powers they will not succeed. Western governments have proven their total hypocrisy and shamelessness this past year, from Washington through London and Paris to Berlin. They opposed the Arab uprisings until the fall of the despots in Tunisia and Egypt, then they rode the bandwagon. They were friends of Qaddafi until his country was split by revolt. They supported the despot in Yemen and, along with the Saudis, contrived to keep his hapless regime in power without him. They continue to support the murderous regime in Bahrain, ignoring its despotic and gangster nature.
The only Arab people the Western powers seem to profess to really like are the Syrians. They have shown eagerness to help get rid of the dictator of Damascus, but only him among all Arab despots. Now if you think a reactionary opportunistic politician like Joe Lieberman is looking for the interests of the Syrian people, I still have that one-eyed lame camel for sale.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Europe, Middle East Women, Sanctions, Syria, US Foreign Policy

The War against Bashar al-Assad’s Mother……….

    

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“The year-long effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad and his government has failed. Two or three months ago, it seemed to come close to succeeding, as insurgents took over enclaves in cities such as Homs and Deir el-Zour. There was talk of no-fly zones and foreign military intervention. Severe economic sanctions were slapped on Syria’s already faltering economy. Every day brought news of fresh pressure on Assad and the momentum seemed to build inexorably for a change of rule in Damascus. It has not happened. Syria will not be like Libya. The latest international action has been an EU ban on Assad’s wife, Asma, and his mother travelling to EU countries (though, as a UK citizen, Asma can still travel to Britain). As damp squibs go, this is of the dampest. …………. “

They sanctioned his mother? The widow of Hafiz al-Assad and the mother of Bashar? The widow of the man all Western and Arab leaders were courting and kissing up to for thirty years?
Cockburn is absolutely right here: they can’t figure out what else to do about him. This is scraping the bottom of the ‘moral’ barrel. What next? The wife of the king of Bahrain? Mrs. Ahmadinejad? How about Sarah Netanyahu? Or a favorite concubine of the king of….…
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Hezbollah, Iran, Saudi Arabia, US Foreign Policy, Yemen

The Usual Suspects: Hezbollah and Hamas in Yemen and Casablanca………….

    

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Captain Renault: “Major Strasser’s been shot. Round up the usual suspects.“  Casablanca

“Washington believes Iran is working with Shi’ite Muslim rebels in northern Yemen and secessionists in the country’s south to expand its influence at the expense of Yemen’s Gulf neighbours, the U.S. envoy to Sanaa was quoted as saying on Sunday. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat cited Gerald Feierstein, in an interview in London, as accusing Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Hamas of helping their backers in Shi’ite Iran at the expense of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a bloc in which Sunni-led oil giant Saudi Arabia’s influence is dominant. “The Iranians want to build influence in Yemen… both internally and more broadly in the region by establishing a foothold in the Arabian Peninsula,” the paper quoted Feierstein as saying in remarks published in Arabic. “It’s something that’s naturally regarded as a security threat to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC states.” Feierstein told Reuters in an interview last month that there were signs of greater Iranian activity in Yemen, There is evidence that Hezbollah and Hamas support this Iranian effort ……….”

Also sprach the US ambassador quoted by Saudi semi-official daily al-Hayat (owned by Prince Khalid Bin Sultan).
Yemen is much more complex than the picture this ambassador paints. Al-Qaeda has become a major disruptive force across Yemen now, including the once secular south. That is what 20 years of union with the tribal north Yemen has done to the rest of the country. That and nearly twenty years of Saudi Wahhabi influence.
The fact is that the GCC (Saudi) plan that the West supported in Yemen does not meet the aspirations of most Yemeni people (excluding Tawakkol Karman). The killings by regime forces continue, except that Arab and Western media are not covering them anymore. The people want a regime change, but they had a reactionary status-quo GCC plan rammed down their throats. Clearly they are not accepting it.
There is some Iranian involvement and influence in parts of Yemen, just as there are Saudi influences in parts of Yemen. And there is American influence, especially in the skies. But it is not clear how Hamas and Hezbollah got together in Yemen. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood Sunni, Hezbollah is Shi’a. Maybe the ambassador has some evidence he can’t share with the public. It is also quite likely he is just mouthing the same old manta the Yemen regime has been repeating for the past two or three years. The “foreign interference” mantra most Arab regimes repeat when they are in trouble in places like Bahrain and Syria and before them in Egypt and Libya.
Of course, this is not to say there is no Iranian interference, there probably is some of that (the theory of political vacuum and all that). But Hamas and Hezbollah? That sounds like a 2012 American presidential campaign slogan, produced by AIPAC.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Iran, Iraq, Syria, US Foreign Policy

American-Iranian Tug of War over Iraqi Skies and Syria………

    

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“The first major test of U.S. post-war influence in Iraq is now raging over efforts to stop Iran from funneling arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace, but the Iraqis are either unwilling or unable to assure the United States the shipments will cease. Last week, the Washington Times reported that the Iraqi government was refusing to halt Iranian cargo flights to Syria that fly over Iraqi airspace, despite the fact that U.S. officials believe the flights carry massive and illegal shipments of arms to aid President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which is murdering civilians by the thousands in its struggle to keep power. Publicly, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has stated the shipments contain “humanitarian goods, not weapons.” However, U.S. officials aren’t buying that excuse, and have been repeatedly pressing Maliki behind the scenes to make Iran halt the arms shipments, with limited if any success……….”

No doubt the Iranians are sending some weapons and equipment to Syria, among other things they send to help the Assad regime. Yet whatever Iran sends by air pales in comparison to what the Syrians get by sea from the Russian fleet based on the Syrian coast. Which always puzzled me: the Russians can and do provide much better weapons to Syria from safe sea routes (Black Sea to Mediterranean). And they can ship real heavy equipment and armor by sea. Whatever the Iranians provide must be small change, unless the Russians have decided to stop or restrict their Syrian arms shipments, and there is no so indication of that yet. So why all the fuss about smaller Iranian shipments? Could it be political rather than of any military value? Yes, it could, it could.
The Iraqis would love to get their hands on sophisticated warplanes to replace their old Baath air force that was destroyed, ironically, by the United States. This is a bargaining chip the Obama administration can use, may be using. On the other hands, there are other suppliers willing to supply the Iraqis with warplanes, but these are not as good as American brands. These are the variables. Oh, and there is an Arab ‘summit’ scheduled for Baghdad soon which the Iraqis would like to succeed and some neighborly Arabs would love to fail.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab League, Arab Revolutions, GCC, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Theocracy

Tars Tarkas of Arabia: From Revolutionary Spring to Reactionary Sectarianism ……….

    

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“It seems a sorry outcome after the Arab Spring raised the cry of equal citizenship and democracy around the region………… The clearest support for rebellion in Syria has come from overtly anti-Shia, militant Salafi groups that have been gaining strength in Lebanon for many years. Based originally in Palestinian camps, especially Ain el-Helweh in Sidon, they have been hardened by battle experience in Iraq and have expanded operations, especially in Tripoli. Mikati recently confirmed that the authorities had arrested a group within the army plotting to attack military bases; the Lebanese media reported that the militants were part of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Ahmad Moussalli, professor of political science and Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut, argues this may be only the beginning of the story. “It would be surprising not to uncover more al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafi terrorist cells,” he says. “Keep in mind that the Salafis do not recognize the legitimacy of the Lebanese state and its security and military personnel. Now, these groups are emboldened by the opposition in Syria, given that the opposition is largely composed of Islamic forces supported by Salafi Wahhabi states, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as other Islamic and Western states. The Salafi condition is going to be a major problem that the Lebanese government has to face before the north of Lebanon turns into a hotbed for al-Qaeda and other Salafists under the pretext of fighting the Syrian regime.”………….. “

If the history of the demise of the ‘Arab Spring” is ever written by an impartial person (unlike me), perhaps Tars Tarkas from Barsoom (Mars), he or she will note the following:

  • Early in 2011, the Iranian mullahs improbably and brazenly claimed that the uprisings were inspired by their own theocracy. Their claims were self-serving but wrong: if any Iranian movement inspired the Arab uprisings, it was probably the 2009 Green movement. Few Arabs want to be ruled by a theocracy, and that is also the case in majority Shi’a countries like Iraq and Bahrain. That is probably also true of the Saudis, who are already ruled by a theocracy.
  • The Arab uprisings started as mainly secular movements for freedom and equality and better economic conditions. As this piece I quoted notes, it has descended into sectarianism, by deliberate design and not by accident.
  • The Arab uprisings started at a time when three or four oil-rich Arab states dominated the League of Arab Potentates. With the unraveling of the stagnant regime in Cairo and the fall of the outspoken Qaddafi, with Iraq being deliberately kept out of the Arab circle, the field was open for the princes. 
  • Money is being used to support various Islamist groups that owe allegiance to different dynasties. The Salafis’ first and only true love are the Saudi princes (and their palace ulema and muftis). This is especially true of the Salafist movements on the Persian Gulf, basically a Saudi fifth column. It also extends to Egypt and the Levant and Libya. 
  • Money is also being used to softly blackmail countries like Egypt and Tunisia, possibly others, to keep them in line. Billions of Saudi and other aid money are promised, to Egypt for example, but none of it has actually been paid. Pending some policy ‘modifications’ vis-à-vis regional issues. The Egyptians have already complained of being promised aid without the funds actually materializing.
  • The Saudis have been ready, from a media and propaganda side, for the Arab uprisings. Over the past two decades, Saudi princes and their retainers and surrogates have been buying up and establishing vast Arab media networks. The names define an Arab media “Who is Who”: Alarabiya, Asharq Alawsat, Al-Hayat, MBC, LBC, Orbit, Rotana, etc etc etc. All that besides other media whose ‘services’ they purchase. All these outlets dominate Arab airwaves and satellites and they have had one message since at least 2003: sectarianism. The al-Saud princes know that sectarian tensions and divisiveness are the best way to divert attention away from real political and economic issues, especially on our Gulf of Sectarianism. 
  • Now the Arab Spring looks more like an Arab winter, with the most despotic, most regressive, most reactionary dynasties dominating the “Arab System’ as never before. The Saudis and Qataris and others call the shots, for now. They are even adopting their own Arab uprisings in places like Syria (as they did in Libya), calling for the Western powers to repeat the ‘liberation’ of Iraq. 
  • All this can be deceiving: once the Arab rebellions ‘win’, once some form of elected regimes are in place, the remaining depots, in the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain and other places, will begin to feel the pressure. Money can buy you love for a limited time: one hour, one night, one week, or maybe longer.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Religion, Salafi, Saudi Arabia, WTF

Paid Fatwa: Using Allah in Politics…………

    

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“She said: “Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and make the noblest of its people its meanest thus do they behave….…..” Holy Quran, Surat al-Naml (The Ants)

“The protests in Eastern Saudi Arabia have been ongoing for several years now; the protesters from the Saudi Shiite minority, a majority in the Eastern province, are only demanding end of all forms of discrimination in public and private sector jobs, improved housing (some live in shameful slums), and a ban on incitement against their faith. The hard-line religious establishment opposes any reforms, and continues to consider Shiites heretics. Recently, and when asked on the proper punishment for protesters, the Saudi Mufti cited the following verse from the Quran:
“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter“. (below, a photo of Saudi’s mufti)…………”

The royally-paid always-accommodating Grand Mufti said: “execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land“. Nice Effing Mufti, huh?
Yet that is what is being done in the kingdom without magic, except it is easier nowadays to shoot and torture and imprison them. Waging war against oppression and corruption is twisted as waging war against God. Of course, that Hadith applies more to the princes and their retainers, for it is they who wage war against God by disobeying Quranic and Hadith rules against oppression and corruption and hypocrisy. By their very existence they disobey Islamic rules against the rule of kings and princes.

FYI for my new readers only: His Muftiness Shaikh Abdulaziz Al Al Shaikh is
a relative of that other Shaikh Al Al Al Shaikh who heads the Saudi Commission
for the Propagation of Vice (religious police). They are both relative of that
other Shaikh Al AL Al Shaikh who used to be the Saudi Minister of Justice,
among others. All these Al Al Shaiks are descendants of Mohammed Bin Abdulwahab
of Nejd, after who the Wahhabi sect is named. They have been close allies of
the al-Saud clan, sometimes more than just allies if you get my drift. Mr.
Mohammed Bin Abdulwahab should not be confused with the late great Egyptian
musician and singer Mohammed Abdelwahhab, who was no Salafi, not even a
Wahhbai, but an Egyptian-style bon vivant.


Cheers
mhg


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