Category Archives: Arab Revolutions

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, GCC, Saudi Arabia

A Rhetorical Arab Question: Where is the Oil Money………..

 

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“But the general trend is toward a hardening of rules. Prince Nayef, the crown prince and power behind the throne, believes this is no time to show weakness. Dissidents are detained or given travel bans, a favourite tactic of the regime in Syria until it started to use harsher methods in the past year. Media rules have also become tighter. No fly appears too small to warrant swatting. Hamza Kashgari, a young blogger, fled to Malaysia after posting provocative comments about the Prophet Muhammad. The government applied all available diplomatic pressure to have him returned. Emboldened senior clerics are asking for Mr Kashgari to be executed for blasphemy. Religion is at the heart of many conflicts. The volatile but oil-rich Eastern Province, home to many of the Sunni kingdom’s sizeable Shia minority, has witnessed frequent bouts of violent unrest in the past year. Two men were killed and several injured when police opened fire on a demonstration in February. In Qatif, the provincial capital, the walls of the main street are covered with graffiti insulting members of the royal family and asking, “Where is the oil money?”…………”


That graffiti question was rhetorical, no doubt. For whoever wrote it on that wall knows as well as I do where most of the oil money goes. The oil comes from the Eastern Province, Qatif and other areas, from the belly of the ancestral land of the same people who are treated like third or fourth class citizens in the Wahhabi ‘kingdom without magic’. But the money goes mostly to Riyadh, to a few thousand princes and their retainers and tribal sycophant. If in doubt as to who gets the oil money, this link here will clarify matter.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, France, Saudi Arabia, Syria

The Frustrated King and the Tragedy of Baba Amr………….

 

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The King of Saudi Arabia is apparently pissed at the Syrian opposition, especially the Free Syrian Army, for evacuating Baba Amr in Homs. The FSA said its withdrawal was “tactical”. Generalissimo Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the ‘hero’ who was trounced by the Huthi tribal militia in Yemen two years ago, snorted that “’Tactical’ my ass. That is what Napoleon said after Moscow. That is what Adolf said after Stalingrad.”


The King is reportedly upset that the FSA could not hold long enough for his own elite National Guard, now preoccupied in Bahrain, to blitz across some border into Syria and relieve the people of Homs. Burhan Ghalioun of the Syrian national Council announced in Paris (possibly from a corner table at Fouquet, corner of Champs–Élysées & George V) the formation of a Supreme Military Council to support the Free Syrian Army (FSA) now that it may be too late. He reportedly offered the job to Marshal Tantawi who declined, adding that he has enough trouble with his own Salafis and Muslim Brothers, and has no intention of taking on the Syrian version (or was it the Saudi and Qatari versions?)


Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, told anyone who would listen that the fall of Baba Amr and Homs proves that he is still loved by the Syrian people (especially those his security forces have not killed, yet). He added: “They were willing to die for me…….. and for the immortal ideals of the Ba’ath Party, WTF that be“.

His wife, smarter than her husband which is the normal case for Arab leaders, reminded him not to cancel the offer on that old dacha of Brezhnev overlooking the Black Sea.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Syria, US Foreign Policy

The Agony of Syria: More on Ghalioun, SNC, FSA, KSA, GCC, KGB, XYZ……..

 

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“Meanwhile, the head of Syrian National Council (SNC) announced on Thursday at a press conference in Paris, the launch of a military council to support the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Burhan Ghalioun who said that SNC will be seeking advice from consultants and experts on how to support, organize and oversee FSA, added that the formation of the military council came after consensus among all armed oppositions in Syria. Ghalioun said that the military council was also created after some countries announced that they were ready to arm the FSA. He said it is a step to bring together one Syrian umbrella all armed groups in a bid to reduce foreign influence in the country. ………….  But the Arab League chief, Nabil al-Arabi, said on Thursday that the Arab group has nothing to do with the decision to arm the Syrian opposition………”


Mr. Burhan Ghalioun may be somewhat naïve. He has stepped into the middle of an uprising that is being hijacked by absolute tribal Arab potentates and their fundamentalist surrogates. I wonder if he doesn’t realize that he is stepping into a snake pit that might be more venomous than the regime of Bashar al-Assad and his Baath. I wonder if he does not realize that he will be a temporary tool for his domestic and foreign “partners”. That is the way it often goes: all exiles who deal with dogmatic and fundamentalist allies are at a disadvantage. Just look back at France after 1789, Russia after 1917, and Iran after 1979.
If and when (probably more when than if) the Assad regime departs, Mr. Ghalioun will be effectively brushed aside. I hope I am wrong, but I think not. He may temporarily return to Syria as a figurehead ‘leader’ of some initial use to the Salafis and Muslim Brothers, but not for long. The example of Libya and Tunisia (and probably Egypt as well) are quire relevant here. Especially relevant is Tunisia, where a secular opposition figure was brought back to legitimize what is becoming a fundamentalist takeover of a secular revolution.
Cheers
mhg


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Anti-Semitism, Arab Revolutions, GCC, Israel, Religion, Salafi, Saudi Arabia

Another Saudi Killing Fatwa: on Assad and Hezbollah and Israelis and Jews…….

 

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The prominent Saudi cleric Shaikh ‘Aayidh al-Qarni has issued a fatwa that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad should be killed. He is quoted that killing Assad now has priority over “killing Israelis” under current circumstances. (Netanyahu may feel comforted by that small favor). He fatwad that obeying Assad is like disobeying the creator (God, Allah, Yahweh). He did not say it in so many words but his silence implied that obeying the absolute al-Saud princes is like obeying the creator (God, Allah, Yahweh) and that obeying the rapacious shaikhs of Bahrain is the next best thing to obeying the creator (God, Allah, Yahweh). …. … Shaikh al-Qarni added that Hassan Nasrallah (of Hezbollah) is a heretic sinner and that his testimony in defense of the Syrian regime is as worthless as the testimony of a Jew. The shaikh is quoted to address Assad “Aren’t you ashamed? Even Jews didn’t do as much to Syrians as you have done”.

Media Wahhabi faux-liberals and Salafis along the Persian-American Gulf are all excited, going orgasmic, over this Wahhabi masterpiece of bigoted fatwa (is there any other kind?).
Cheers
mhg


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

Hillary Clinton and Democracy Hypocrisy: Yemen and Syria and Iran……

 

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“Syria’s authoritarian regime held a referendum on a new constitution Sunday, a gesture by embattled President Bashar Assad to placate those seeking his ouster. But the opposition deemed it an empty gesture and the West immediately dismissed the vote as a “sham.”…..” AP

“U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday hailed the presidential election in Yemen, offering continuous support to the Arab nation as it confronts challenges ahead. …..”
Only one candidate allowed in Yemen and he “won” 99.8% of the vote, and there were many dead. Clinton must think Arabs are stupid. Here are my rantings on Yemen yesterday.

“On June 14, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement on repression in Iran and Syria to mark the second anniversary of the disputed 2009 presidential election in Iran….“
Ahmadinejad had three candidates running against him, he claimed less than 60% of the vote, I think about 58%. Arab SpringMuch more democratic than the travesty in Yemen, wouldn’t you say? The difference is that he was not sponsored by the Saudi king and the absolute potentates of the GCC and the Western powers.

So, the new definition of democratic elections is simple: they are the elections that are approved by the absolute tribal polygamous Saudi king and the absolute shaikhs of Qatar and UAE and Bahrain. And they are hailed by Western media (CNN, Fox) as true elections. Cute.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Jihadis, Religion, Theocracy

Adonis of Syria: Secular Reactionaries and Islamo-Fascist Revolutionaries……

 

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The renowned Syrian poet Adonis (nom de plume) opines that he understands why many Arab ‘progressives’ are against the Arab revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria. He said that some may be right in warning that these uprisings are creating Islamic Fascist states (Islamo-Fascist sounds like the favorite term of the American Republican extreme right wing for Muslims).
Adonis told an Austrian newspaper that the recent movements are now being led by Islamist fundamentalists and fascists and represent a move back toward the Middle Ages. He said that as an example, Tunisia had a secular system established by Habib Bourguiba but that Tunisia now has an Islamic regime. He added that the ‘opposition’ in his country, Syria, wants to change the regime form a military dictatorship to a religious dictatorship. He said that Arab elections now lead to Islamist rule and that even Hitler came to power at first as a result of elections.

ALL Arab states that had successful uprisings are becoming fundamentalist; that is a fact. But then most Arab states that have had no successful uprisings are fundamentalist anyway. Unless you think that Saudi Arabia is a secular democratic kingdom.

(Adonis. I wonder, when he was young, if he was what some American females woiuld call a hunk.)

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Saudi Arabia, Syria, US Foreign Policy

Syria and Yemen and the Lions: the 100% Solution, the 99.8% Solution……..

 

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No doubt President Assad will not last in Syria, not if the alleged 6,000 killings are true. His father is reported to have killed many more in Hama, but we are not sure how many. Those were days of no internet (not outside the U.S defense establishment) and no cell phones with cameras. The opposition was not as media-savvy and opportunistic as it is now. Besides, most governments, including all Arab governments that now condemn Bashar, colluded with the father in covering up the alleged massacre. The father survived, nay thrived, after Hama because the rest of the world allowed him to.
This is unlikely to happen with Bashar. Not only there are television videos, no doubt some of them are fake or modified for international audiences, but there are other factors. Under Hafiz al-Assad (Arabic for the Lion Keeper) the political atmosphere in the region was quite different. Under Bashar al-Assad (Arabic for Bearer of Good News to the Lion) too many regional and international powers want a piece of Syria. The Iranians and Russians want to keep Assad in power because he is their ally. The Saudis and Gulf potentates want Assad replaced with someone who would be their ally against Iran. The West wants someone in Syria who would kick the Iranians out and switch their support in Lebanon from Hezbollah to the Hariri and the Falange militias. The West, and the Israelis, dream of 1982, when the Lebanese right-wing made an impossible short-lived deal with Israel and Reagan stupidly sent in the Marines, thinking Lebanon was like Grenada. They believed the right-wing Arab propaganda that the Lebanese people welcomed them (most did not, even more would not now).

So, what to do with Syria? The Yemen solution where the “new” president reverted to the true Arab election style by winning 99.8%? Or the Tunisian solution which is more democratic (so far)? Or the Egyptian solution that is not clear yet?
Syria will have to be different if a civil war is to be averted: it will probably have to be a consensus solution that gives everyone something to take home. Nobody loses too much: not sure about the Syrian people. The Iranians and Russians want the regime to remain; they don’t want to lose out. The Saudis want the regime to go and they prefer a new fundamentalist regime that is close to them: the princes can dangle the promise of a lot of money even their own people face tough conditions at home.
No doubt the next regime will be some sort of fundamentalist Islamic concoction that reflects the “current” mood of many, if not all, Syrians. It will be a Sunni regime, which will probably be hostile to both Iran and Israel, at least on paper. Until the Saudi (and maybe the Qatari) oligarchs present them with the political bill for “liberation”.
Well: you live and you learn.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, GCC, US Foreign Policy, Yemen

Electoral Democratic Joke: Yemen’s 99.8% Landslide, a F–king Big Deal………………

   

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The election results were typically Arab: the vice president of Ali Saleh, the man supported by the Saudis and the potentates of the GCC and the democratic Western powers won. He won with a modest 99.8% of the vote. He was the only candidate. Even Ahmadinejad won less than 60% in that disputed 2009 election in Iran (but Ahmadcinejad was not appointed by the Saudis and the West). It was like electing the King of Saudi Arabia or the ruler of Bahrain or Abu Dhabi. Now that is, to quote Joe Biden, a fucking big deal!

Here is what I posted about it before the vote results:
“Yemenis, including Tawakkol Karman, winner of the 2011 Nobel peace prize, go to the polls. Tuesday’s election is the fruit of a US-backed deal that eased President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in exchange for immunity from prosecution over the alleged killing of hundreds of protesters. Saleh’s deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, is the only candidate………..”

Tawakkol Karman: “This is a day of holy joy!”
This is a Nobel Laureate speaking.

Is the lady out of her blinking fundamentalist mind? Had she been chewing qat? A day of ”holy joy”? So they were forced by the neighboring potentates to vote for one man, maintaining the power of the old regime.

The GCC, with Western support, have saddled the Yemeni people with a continuation of the dictatorship. Of course the potentates of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oligarchies would not want free choice for Yemen. So they have an election with one candidate! One candidate! Did anyone expect the Saudi princes to deliver democracy and freedom to the Yemeni people? When they refuse any mention of it to their own people? When you can vanish if you so much as mention freedom in Riyadh? And they call that travesty freedom? No wonder the Huthis and the Southerners are ready to resume their battle for whatever the hell it is they are seeking.
The Saudis, led by Field Marshal Khaled bin Sultan bin Technocrat bin Rommel were defeated militarily in Yemen. Their most expensively armed military was defeated by a ragtag tribal group armed with WWI and WWII weapons. Now they are trying to win their counter-revolution by diplomacy. It won’t work.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Libya, North Africa

Libya at a Crossroad………

    

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“The parade continues in Omar Mukhtar Street a few hundred metres away; there’s a toy shop in the street, and a family is hunting for something suitable for their child in among the pink tricycles and the shiny scooters, without even noticing the parade of weapons going by – that’s daily life in Tripoli. The ruling transitional council has banned firing into the air, but nobody takes any notice of that. They’re firing out of all barrels, with their Kalashnikovs, even with the anti-aircraft guns. It’s a clear message for the transitional council: many of the rebels don’t come from Tripoli, but from Zintan or Misrata. They’re showing their military muscle, to underline the fact that the country’s new rulers will have to take their interests into account as well.. The balance of power in Libya is fragile, and it’s partly based on who has the most firepower. Power in Libya these days is a limited commodity………..”

At least now a plurality of political opinions can be expressed in Libya, something unthinkable under Qaddafi. But they also have a plurality of armed groups with ‘shadowy’ loyalties. Now, can they switch from the guns to the ballot box? I have some doubts about that; the central government doesn’t look very ‘central’. I also suspect that many exiled Libyans who can help rebuild are remaining in exile; that tells me something.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Cairo, Egypt, Salafi, Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi

Fifth Column on the Nile: of Bodily Fluids and a Kingdom of Frustrations……..

   

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 “This version of Islam is not Egyptian. Real and honest moderate Egyptian Islam has receded in the face of Wahhabi Islam coming from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. For thirty years masses of oil money has been used to drown Egypt in Wahhabi ideas. The purpose of this support for the Wahhabi school of thought is basically political, in that the Saudi system of government depends on an alliance between the ruling family and the Wahhabi sheikhs. Hence spreading the Wahhabi ideology reinforces the political system in that country. At the same time millions of Egyptians have migrated to the Gulf seeking a livelihood and have then come back to Egypt full of Wahhabi ideas……… As for the Salafists, who are more numerous than the Brothers, they stood quite openly against the revolution. Their sheikhs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia issued fatwas that demonstrations are haram and that Muslims have a duty to obey a Muslim leader, even if he is unjust. They asserted that democracy is haram because it advocates government by the people, while they believe that God alone can rule, not mankind. When the revolution succeeded in deposing Hosni Mubarak we found the Salafists suddenly changing their beliefs, forming parties and taking part in democracy, which had been haram a few days earlier. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists made a deal with the Military Council.……….”

So writes
Alaa Al Aswany about Egypt’s new/old political “elite”. Mr. Mubarak and his al-Azhar appointees helped to gradually convert Egypt into a quasi-Wahhabi society. Even the courts started handing down Wahhabi-style sentences not aligned with Egypt’s traditionally tolerant laws. They changed some laws to fit the Salafi ‘proclivities’, like allowing temporary marriages, vacation marriages, under-age marriages, and other exotic Saudi Wahhabi forms. You notice Salafi Wahhabi proclivities evolve mostly around “bodily” functions (and a lot of bodily fluids, both kinds of bodily fluids). Just to accommodate repressed male Saudi tourists who spend their holidays seeking ‘halal’ sex in Cairo (and Alexandria). Away from the Kingdom of Repression and Frustration.

(The Salafis also received a lot of Saudi and Gulf money for their election campaign. Which means they will likely always have a strong influence in the Egyptian government, as long as the money keeps coming. Which it will. A fifth column on the Nile).
Cheers
mhg


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