Al-Qaeda, Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Egypt, Libya, North Africa, Qatar, Salafi, Saudi Arabia

Muslim Brotherhood Colors: Qatari, Saudi, Iranian, Chinese……….

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“The Islamists seem to have the upper hand, enjoying the patronage of Qatar, the boiling-rich little Gulf emirate that hosts Yusuf Qaradawi, an influential mentor of the global Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Jazeera, the satellite-television channel that shapes perceptions across the Arab world. Qatar, some surmise, could yet play the part in nurturing Islamists in Libya that Pakistan played in Afghanistan. Mosques are already influencing the new order—often for the good. Within days of the rebel victory in Tripoli, imams broadcast calls for gunmen to stop firing in the air. They have used Friday prayers to tell looters to register their weapons with local offices answerable to the national council and have distributed reminders to be pinned to lampposts. In many districts the mosque is the seat of the new local council, receiving alms to subsidise its activities. Many have wells, and the national council has declared that supplying fresh water is a top priority. Tripoli’s new military commander, Abdel Hakim Bel Haj, once belonged to the Libyan Islamist Fighting Group, regarded as an affiliate of al-Qaeda, which he subsequently renounced. His deputy, Mehdi Herati, sailed with a fiercely Islamist Turkish group in last year’s flotilla to break the siege on Gaza. Ali al-Salabi, a Muslim Brotherhood scholar, has returned from Qatar. Assorted Islamists are suspected of killing Abdel Younis Fattah, the rebel commander who died outside Benghazi in late July in mysterious circumstances……………..”

I told you so about two weeks ago. All Arab uprisings (none are true revolutions yet) end up with more power for the Islamists. That is the natural order now, if only because the dictators and despots had made sure there is no real political life other than in exile or in prison. That leaves out the mosque, in most Arab countries the only place where people can gather without police violence being visited upon them. Unfortunately for the regimes, they could not close down the mosques (most Arab regimes are not nearly as good in controlling the mosques as, say, the Saudis are).
The Qataris have for years had their own favorite Islamists, and they usually tended to be the ones the Saudis disliked: branches of the Muslim Brothers in various places like Egypt and Gaza. The Saudis mistrusted the Egyptian MB, the “Mother of all Muslim Brothers”, especially, partly because they were against Mubarak and partly because they did not think much of the Saudi system as an example to follow (unlike the Salafis).
That is a far cry from some years ago, when Egyptian MB’s found refuge and support in Saudi Arabia against the secular leftist regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser. This is not to say the Saudis don’t have their own favored Muslim Brothers: they do, especially in the Gulf region and parts of Iraq and Syria. Hell, even the Iranian (Shi’a) mullahs have managed to have their own (Sunni) Muslim Brothers in Gaza. (No, I don’t think the Chinese have their favorite Muslim Brothers, not yet, although I suspect that the West does).
Cheers
mhg


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Apartheid, Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, ethnic cleansing, Gulf states, Human Right, Mercenaries, Saudi Arabia

The Battle of Bahrain, the Battle of Algiers…………

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“It’s become a nightly duel in Bahrain: Security forces and anti-government protesters waging hit-and-run clashes in one of the simmering conflicts of the Arab Spring. So far, the skirmishes have failed to gel into another serious challenge to the Gulf nation’s Western-backed monarchy after crushing a reform rebellion months ago. But there are sudden signs that Shiite-led demonstrators could be poised to raise the stakes again on the strategic island, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Hundreds of demonstrators Wednesday made their boldest attempt in months to reclaim control of a central square in the capital Manama, which was the symbolic hub of the protest movement after it began in February. Riot police used buses to block roads and flooded streets with tear gas to drive back the marchers before dawn. Hours later, mourners gathered in a Shiite village in another part of Bahrain for a 14-year-old boy they claim was killed by security forces. Clashes flared until early Thursday across the oil hub area of Sitra before the boy’s burial. “Down with the regime,” chanted some of hundreds of people…………Bahrain remains the outlier of the Arab revolts. Its Sunni rulers have managed to hold their ground – and even tighten their grip with military help from neighboring Saudi Arabia……….”

It is not exactly a Battle of Algiers, mainly because the violence is decidedly one-sided. But it is as persistent as the struggle of Algeria, understandably so given that the same principles of equality and justice and freedom are at stake. And it is bloody, involves attacks on civilians and their neighborhoods, and midnight raids, and arrests, and torture, and threats of, and actual, assault on men and women. And so it continues, until the system of Apartheid is dismantled, the original constitution is restored, the foreign mercenaries and occupation forces sent packing. It is a tall order. A tough one for an island that is now effectively a Saudi province.

Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, CIA, Libya, NATO, North Africa, Racism, US Foreign Policy, WTF

Gallicus Sarkozicus Africanus: Who Said the New Libya is Not Independent?………..

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“Nicolas Sarkozy, of all people, is trying to put to rest the controversy over Abdelhakim Belhadj, the head of Tripoli’s military council. Belhadj rings alarm bells because of his past association with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and later on fought in Iraq and again in Afghanistan. In other words, they had been among Ronald Reagan’s “Freedom Fighters.” Belhadj was captured by the CIA and reportedly turned against terrorism while imprisoned. The CIA helpfully released him to Qaddafi, which is surely a crime of some sort (civilized countries do not send even enemy prisoners to countries where they might be killed or tortured by the government on arrival). Sarkozy has been anything but nice to French Muslims (who mostly voted for a Socialist woman in the last election precisely because Sarkozy he was the alternative), and he has been accused of legitimating the racist anti-Muslim discourse of Marie LePen. So if Sarkozy is vouching for Belhadj, then I’d bet that Belhadj is not a danger to the West. And, of course, the members of the Transitional National Council, the leadership of the new Libya, have been carefully vetted by the US, Britain and France……………”

Libya is, will remain, independent. Its ‘new’ government will have the freedom to make independent decisions. Its ‘new’ government can be relied upon to make the right decisions. Its new government has been carefully “vetted” by the three leading powers of NATO (make that OTAN). The Libyan people have progressed from a repressive dictatorial dynasty to a government “vetted” by the democracies of NATO. It is a testimony to the truly screwed up state of the Arab world that a NATO-vetted government is an improvement. The sad thing is that it is a step forward: an improvement over the Qaddafi dictatorship, and probably an improvement over most other Ara regimes.

Sarkozy (a k a Le Weasel) is now the Western Gauleiter for Libya. As Cole says “Sarkozy has been anything but nice to French Muslims (who mostly voted for a Socialist woman in the last election precisely because Sarkozy he was the alternative), and he has been accused of legitimating the racist anti-Muslim discourse of Marie LePen…………” Gallicus Sarkozicus Africanus, indeed.
Cheers
mhg


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Ali Khamenei, Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Bahrain, Syria

From Tehran to Riyadh: of Revolutions and Selective Memories………

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“Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei announced on Wednesday that “we are very worried about situation in Bahrain.” The Leader made the remarks as he addressed worshippers at prayers marking Eid ul-Fitr. The Leader called on people in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen to vigilantly guard their revolutions so that the arrogant powers would not hijack their revolutions. “Muslim nations whether in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and in the rest of countries need to be vigilant today. They should not allow the victories they have gained to be hijacked by enemies.” The Leader also pointed to NATO attacks on Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, saying those countries which consider themselves as owners of the Libyan revolution are those past colonial powers who helped suppress the Libyan nation………….”

I agree with the ayatollah about Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, and Bahrain, especially Bahrain. But he forgot all about the protests and the repression in Syria. Must have been a simple lapse; people do forget one or two countries sometimes. That is also the reason why Saudi media focus on Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Syria, and forget all about the struggle and the repression in Bahrain.
And about those parliamentary elections next March: it would be interesting to see who is allowed to run and who isn’t.
Cheers
mhg


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Economics, Iran

Iran: Softcore Criticism vs. Hardcore Criticism of the Regime……..

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““I do not care about statistics. Every day about 2000 letters and messages are received by our office in which many complain about inflation and other problems,” the grand ayatollah told worshippers at prayers marking Eid ul-Fitr in the shrine city of Qom. As a marja taqlid (a Shia cleric regarded as a source of emulation), Makarem Shirazi also referred to cultural issues and said, “If ethical issues are undermined, the system, Islam, and Quran also suffer damages.” Elsewhere in his speech he called on officials to be open to criticism. “There is constructive criticism among these criticisms.” He added it is not correct to say that everything is good and “close our eyes to realities”…………………..”

The grand ayatollah is being gracious, conceding that people have a right to ‘criticize’ mundane things like inflation, the price of bread, gas, etc. That is normal: they do that all over the Middle East. He will probably be a little less gracious if people get to criticize a bit more hardcore issues, like the unemployment that is in double digits and much higher in truth than official data would indicate. After all, without employment people won’t be able to buy these items about whose prices they complain (like bread, gas, etc). I also suspect the cleric will be even much less gracious if people start doing some hardcore criticism, about silly things like freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and elections. He would be especially pissed off if the decide to criticize the raison d’etre for the whole system. That is a definite no-no all over the region.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, Iran, Libya, Persian-American Gulf, Racism, Terrorism, US Foreign Policy

On Libyan Aid, al-Megrahi Mystery, Schumer’s Chutzpah , Iran Air 655, and Billions of Money ………….

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“Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for a halt to U.S. aid to the new Libyan government if it refuses to re-arrest Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was convicted of planning the 1998(sic) bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Schumer sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling on the State Department not to help the National Transitional Council (NTC) — which is struggling to stand up a government in the wake of the fall of Muammar al-Qaddafi — with either direct aid or by giving them access to frozen Qaddafi funds, unless it jails Megrahi. “If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States,” said Schumer. “We put American lives and money on the line to help the Libyan people secure their freedom. It’s time the Libyan government lives up to its commitment to create a free and accountable society by handing over al-Megrahi so that justice can finally be done.” Megrahi was released by the Scottish government in 2009 on compassionate grounds………….”
(Actually it was 1988 not 1998)

It is tempting to say that Chuck Schumer had chutzpah, but that would be an easy shot. He is well known for that in New York and Washington.
The Western deals were done with Qaddafi. Libya gave up its search for WMD, billions were paid to families of the victims, al-Meghrahi was released by the British government (which claimed it was the Scottish regime that released him), Qaddafi’s sons were feted at the U.S. State Department, etc, etc. That is not all: some Western, and pliant Arab, media even started a little campaign of rewriting history, reviving old reports of possible Syrian and/or Iranian and/or Hezbollah and/or al-Qaeda involvement. Woops, scratch out al-Qaeda: it did not exist in 1988.
Now, with the “compensation” blood money safely in the bank accounts, with Qaddafi on the run, with a new regime in London, there is talk of “repatriating” al-Megrahi back to his Scottish homeland. After all, the Western governments and their doctors were “duped” by the Libyan tin-horn dictator into believing that Megrahi was dying. They were promised that he would die within months! Can’t trust them Arabs, even after the billions of dollars you wheedle out of them in compensation (in Arabic it is called ‘diyya‘: blood money that the killer pays to avoid execution).

Which brings me to the curious case of Iran Air Flight 655, shot down over the Persian-American Gulf in August of 1988 by a U.S warship. It was flying from Iran to Dubai with 290 civilians on board, 66 of them children. All on board were killed. Not much compensation was paid for those civilian victims, nobody was jailed or even threatened with prison. The Iranians are not even whining nearly as much about it, or maybe they are but we don’t read about it or see in or CNN, Fox, etc. No interviews with teary relatives. Besides, they were all Middle Eastern people on Iran Air 655: mostly Iranians with a few Arabs and other expendables.
I bet nobody is willing to give back the money in exchange for sending Al Megrahi back to Britain.
Cheers
mhg


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Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Death Penalty, Human Right, Saudi Arabia, Slavery

Middle East Executions: Twenty Three Maids Waiting in a Row……….

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“And the storybook comes to a close.
Gone are the ribbons and bows.
Things to remember, places to go,
Pretty maids all in a row………..” The Eagles

Media report that twenty three Asian (Indonesian) women are awaiting the executioner’s sword on death row in Saudi Arabia. Several others, imported housemaids, already had their head chopped off. Remember Sakineh Ashtiani of Iran and all the fuss made by the Saudi-owned Arab “intellectuals” and Western media, especially the extremely righteous French media (and rightly so)? Everybody was indignant, so was I, and rightly so, until her gruesome death sentence was changed by the regime in Tehran.
Where are they now? Everybody is so silent about the plight of these numerous women, imported housemaids trapped into horrible situations in a grim society, waiting to have their heads chopped off in the Kingdom without Magic. Yet the kingdom cannot live without these millions of housemaids, and fierce bargaining goes on with the Asian government officials about their wages, work conditions, etc. They are even advertised in the newspapers for sale or “transfer” from one “owner” to another, just as they used to do in Old Virginia when a new shipment of slaves arrived from West Africa. Even Bernard Henri Levy, who was at the forefront of the Ashtiani campaign (and the Libyan campaign), is silent. Amnesty International comments but says they have “no presence” in Saudi Arabia. Of course not, Amnesty and human rights have no presence.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Libya, North Africa, WTF

Three Goals of the Libyan (Rebel) TNC, Schmucks Watching Pinocchio……….

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So far the Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC) has focused on tow main goals: (1) Securing Tripoli and the rest of Libya from the Qaddafi loyalists and cronies (although many of the TNC were Qaddafi cronies until this year) and, (2) Killing Khamis Qaddafi, if only because they have claimed killing him so many times, like every two days, then denying it. It looks like securing Libya (from the Qaddafi loyalists should be easy, there aren’t many of the left). Securing the death of Khamis Qaddafi, which the TNC rebels seem obsessed with, will be difficult.

Aljazeera quoted a TNC military leader today that over 50 thousand Libyans have been killed since the beginning of the uprising. He may be a military leader and I am not, he may be inside Libya and I am not, he is a Libyan and I am not, but I doubt very much that anywhere near that number were killed. I just KNOW it, as he should, except that he uses his emotions instead of his brain.
I suggest a third goal for the TNC: (3) Telling the truth and nothing but about what goes on inside Libya.Watching Pinocchio might help.

Oh, and make sure you add term limits in the new Libyan constitution: no more president for more than eight years. No more of the usual Arab lifetime schmucks.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Politics, Arab Revolutions, France, India, Mercenaries, US Foreign Policy, Yemen

Africa, the Arab World, the (New) New Colonialism………….

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“The African strongmen are going the way of Nkrumah, and in extreme cases Gaddafi, not Nyerere. The societies they lead are marked by growing internal divisions. In this, too, they are reminiscent of Libya under Gaddafi more than Egypt under Mubarak or Tunisia under Ben Ali. Whereas the fall of Mubarak and Ben Ali directed our attention to internal social forces, the fall of Gaddafi has brought a new equation to the forefront: the connection between internal opposition and external governments. Even if those who cheer focus on the former and those who mourn are preoccupied with the latter, none can deny that the change in Tripoli would have been unlikely without a confluence of external intervention and internal revolt. The conditions making for external intervention in Africa are growing, not diminishing. The continent is today the site of a growing contention between dominant global powers and new challengers……. The contrast with Western powers, particularly the US and France, could not be sharper. The cutting edge of Western intervention is military. France’s search for opportunities for military intervention, at first in Tunisia, then Cote d’Ivoire, and then Libya, has been above board and the subject of much discussion. Of greater significance is the growth of Africom, the institutional arm of US military intervention on the African continent………………” China and India intervene in Africa in an economic and commercial capacity. They are militarily to weak (compared to Western powers) and too ‘distant’. And they are too ‘new’ to the region, as world powers and not ethnically. The West, especially the French have always intervened militarily in Africa, except for a hiatus of a couple of decades. That hiatus was only Anglo-American: the French never stopped, as French presidents continued to send expeditions to prop up their favorite dictators. The West is back in force now, from Somalia, to Libya, to Cote D’Ivoire, to other spots overtly or covertly. Is it a new age of colonialism for the “Dark Continent”?
And speaking of Western intervention: the Arab World is not exactly free of it. From Iraq to Libya to Yemen to Lebanon to Sudan to Somalia and other places, the West is engaged against a host of foes, real or perceived. Like Africa which it overlaps, the feeble and corruptly managed Arab world can’t seem to get its (shit) act together, persistently inviting outside intervention: intervention from the West, Israel, Turkey, and Iran. The whole region is like a vacuum wittingly or unwittingly begging for intervention (prostrate and legs wide open, I’d say if I were rude and crude, which I ain’t). Some of the potentates even hire foreign mercenaries from South Asia and form foreign legions of Colombians and Australians and Blackwater denizens, among others. The Arab world is supposed to have been educating at least three generations since the wave of independence in the 1940s. Yet in the past several decades the Arabs have never been less independent than they are now and arguably never less ably led.
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Revolutions, France, Libya

Libyan Rebels Shoot Khamis Qaddafi for Tenth Time, Turns Out to be Sarkozy Dressed as Beau Geste…..

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“Hours earlier, Mahdi al-Harati — the vice chairman of the rebels’ Military Council, the military wing of the National Transitional Council — told CNN that Khamis Gadhafi died after a battle with rebel forces Sunday night in northwest Libya, between the villages of Tarunah and Bani Walid…………” CNN News

Later, as The Onion would, or should, report, the Libyan rebels of the TNC announced that they made a “normal everyday honest” mistake about having killed Khamis Qaddafi for the tenth time. They had actually shot Nicolas Sarkozy who was disguised as Beau Geste in the uniform of French special forces sergeant.

Cheers
mhg


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Multidisciplinary: Middle East, North Africa, Gulf, GCC, World, Cosmos…..