mr mahs Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 April 11, 2003 -- Just how far will the fallout from Saddam Hussein's demise reach? Here's what an Arab affairs expert, Shefi Gabai, said Wednesday: "This is a major earthquake for the Mideast. In the eyes of the Arab masses, Saddam was the only leader who defied the West." He's right. Saddam was nothing if not drunk on power. He thrived on his military might (not inconsiderable for the region), and on using it to bully his neighbors. For this, he was admired in the Arab world as much as he was feared. That his belligerence was aimed at the West, as well, only further enhanced his stature among West-hating Arabs. No wonder Osama bin Laden loved Saddam. No wonder so many in the Arab world felt crushed by his defeat. "It is an earthquake, not just for Iraq, but for the whole region," said Qasem Jaafar, a political commentator for al- Jazeera TV, echoing Gabai's description. "We don't want to believe what happened, we don't want to believe what we saw: American tanks are creating changes in the Arab world." Best to believe it, guys. Yet what's happening is not the suppression of the Arab people and culture by the West - but, rather, the creation of a rare and wonderful new opportunity for advancement by that culture. It is people like Saddam - and Bashar Assad in Damascus, Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, the princes of Riyadh, even "moderates" in Egypt and Jordan - who suppress their Arab constituents. The more of them gone, the better the chances for self-determination and the rule of law in the Arab world. If America and Great Britain are able to coax democracy in Iraq, if they are able to strong-arm true self-determination and the end of corruption and rule-by-terror among Palestinian Arabs, maybe tides will turn, finally, in the Middle East. America did not ask for this burden. Certainly, the war was not waged to acquire land, confiscate property or subjugate populations. But most of the Arab world has been beached on an island of oppression, inequality and corruption for far too long. If it takes a Western-sparked earthquake to bring about change, so be it. The net result will be great news not just for the West, but for Arabs as well. Anyone who doubts it, can just ask the liberated Iraqis who greeted Americans in Baghdad this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr mahs Posted April 11 Author Report Share Posted April 11 The reports of AlJazeer reporters being chased out of Um qusar because of the lies and one sided reporting brought a smile to my face... Even the Iraqi's know that they were portraying the Coalition in a bad light and spreading lies... And people say our media is govermnet ran, Yeah right!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siceone Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 it's just people want to kill the messenger cause they dislike the message Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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