igloo Posted December 18 Report Share Posted December 18 December 18, 2003, 9:10 a.m.Ceaucescu of the ArabsA wedge widens in the Middle East.By Walid Phares What happened Saturday in Iraq? Coalition forces captured Saddam Hussein, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. The historic moment is, in fact, broader, more significant, and more comprehensive. The capture's details were astonishing: For example, the commander of the one-million-soldier army did not fire a shot. Saddam's lack of resistance is intriguing to many in the West, and embarrassing to the many rabid America-haters in the Middle East. "He should have killed himself," shouted Arab nationalists and jihadists on al-Jazeera. But the man who dodged assassination conspiracies for three decades, hiding behind lies and brutality, did not design himself for a heroic end. He condemned about a million human beings to death, but surrendered rather than confront it himself.Another interesting detail was the reaction to the media images: The series of pictures showing Saddam at his lowest sent different chills from country to country. The victims of his horror screamed for revenge, while the supporters of pan-Arabism and Islamism cried for the loss of his honor and dignity. The tableau was picturesque. By the hour, the credibility of the region's so-called revolutionaries was crumbling fast. The Arab satellite networks aired live messages by concerned citizens, which showed a collapse of coherence. Furious callers from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Gaza raged against the humiliation of Saddam's Uruba, or "Arabness." They all felt aggrieved by the intrusiveness of the former dictator's dental check-up. "You don't do this to leaders, even if you don't like them." shouted the angry men. To whom angrier Arabs from Iraq, Kuwait, and overseas responded harshly: "Did you forget how Saddam treated his people?" "When Arab mouths were opened under Saddam," argued the victims, "it wasn't to check their medical records. It was to place a bullet inside." A wedge is now widening in the Middle East. Arabs are either holding onto the past and to the Saddams of the region, or they're tearing down the walls of silence and grabbing the future with their hands.Another noteworthy trend: Many of the old regime's detractors are beginning to openly voice their criticisms. Emerging from the Arab underground, many men and a few more women are getting bolder, more willing to take on their regimes. The capture of Saddam has captivated and inspired them. "So it is possible to see a dictator being arrested like this, and brought to justice," wrote human-rights activists on the leading dissident Arab website. The Kuwaiti daily al-Siyassa said "No one is shielded from justice anymore." While American media pundits rush to fit the successful Saddam hunt into the framework of presidential elections, the people of the Middle East have more serious challenges to face. When I received the call on Sunday morning about Saddam's capture, I was in Montreal, a city immersed in Francophone culture. Before I found a flight back to New York, I was graciously invited to do a live half-hour interview on the French CBC. When asked to describe my first impression of the arrest, I used one term almost subconsciously: "This is the Ceaucescu of the Arabs." A moment of silence followed the magic comparison before the anchors nodded their heads. The images of the 1979 execution of the Romanian dictator remain a powerful comparative reference. With some minor points of difference, Saddam's fall is Ceaucescian, in essence.But the comparison carries grave consequences. Iraq is no isolated Romania. It is surrounded by equally brutal regimes with wide-reaching extensions. Beyond the frustration of shocked pan-Arabists and Islamist following Saddam's capture, the most violent aftershocks rocked high places outside of Iraq's borders. Saddam fled his palaces and hid in a hole, but he was still found by the Coalition of the Willing. But in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli, and Khartoum, the masters of the palaces know very well that the next time dictators are extracted from holes, it won't necessarily be by infidel soldiers. There's no matching the power of the example. Last Sunday, the Ceaucescu of the Arabs was caught. The victims of abuse have seen those pictures; the rest will be history in progress.— Walid Phares is a professor of Middle East Studies and an MSNBC Middle East and Terrorism analyst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr mahs Posted December 18 Report Share Posted December 18 Originally posted by igloo December 18, 2003, 9:10 a.m.Ceaucescu of the ArabsA wedge widens in the Middle East.By Walid Phares What happened Saturday in Iraq? Coalition forces captured Saddam Hussein, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. The historic moment is, in fact, broader, more significant, and more comprehensive. The capture's details were astonishing: For example, the commander of the one-million-soldier army did not fire a shot. Saddam's lack of resistance is intriguing to many in the West, and embarrassing to the many rabid America-haters in the Middle East. "He should have killed himself," shouted Arab nationalists and jihadists on al-Jazeera. But the man who dodged assassination conspiracies for three decades, hiding behind lies and brutality, did not design himself for a heroic end. He condemned about a million human beings to death, but surrendered rather than confront it himself.Another interesting detail was the reaction to the media images: The series of pictures showing Saddam at his lowest sent different chills from country to country. The victims of his horror screamed for revenge, while the supporters of pan-Arabism and Islamism cried for the loss of his honor and dignity. The tableau was picturesque. By the hour, the credibility of the region's so-called revolutionaries was crumbling fast. The Arab satellite networks aired live messages by concerned citizens, which showed a collapse of coherence. Furious callers from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Gaza raged against the humiliation of Saddam's Uruba, or "Arabness." They all felt aggrieved by the intrusiveness of the former dictator's dental check-up. "You don't do this to leaders, even if you don't like them." shouted the angry men. To whom angrier Arabs from Iraq, Kuwait, and overseas responded harshly: "Did you forget how Saddam treated his people?" "When Arab mouths were opened under Saddam," argued the victims, "it wasn't to check their medical records. It was to place a bullet inside." A wedge is now widening in the Middle East. Arabs are either holding onto the past and to the Saddams of the region, or they're tearing down the walls of silence and grabbing the future with their hands.Another noteworthy trend: Many of the old regime's detractors are beginning to openly voice their criticisms. Emerging from the Arab underground, many men and a few more women are getting bolder, more willing to take on their regimes. The capture of Saddam has captivated and inspired them. "So it is possible to see a dictator being arrested like this, and brought to justice," wrote human-rights activists on the leading dissident Arab website. The Kuwaiti daily al-Siyassa said "No one is shielded from justice anymore." While American media pundits rush to fit the successful Saddam hunt into the framework of presidential elections, the people of the Middle East have more serious challenges to face. When I received the call on Sunday morning about Saddam's capture, I was in Montreal, a city immersed in Francophone culture. Before I found a flight back to New York, I was graciously invited to do a live half-hour interview on the French CBC. When asked to describe my first impression of the arrest, I used one term almost subconsciously: "This is the Ceaucescu of the Arabs." A moment of silence followed the magic comparison before the anchors nodded their heads. The images of the 1979 execution of the Romanian dictator remain a powerful comparative reference. With some minor points of difference, Saddam's fall is Ceaucescian, in essence.But the comparison carries grave consequences. Iraq is no isolated Romania. It is surrounded by equally brutal regimes with wide-reaching extensions. Beyond the frustration of shocked pan-Arabists and Islamist following Saddam's capture, the most violent aftershocks rocked high places outside of Iraq's borders. Saddam fled his palaces and hid in a hole, but he was still found by the Coalition of the Willing. But in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli, and Khartoum, the masters of the palaces know very well that the next time dictators are extracted from holes, it won't necessarily be by infidel soldiers. There's no matching the power of the example. Last Sunday, the Ceaucescu of the Arabs was caught. The victims of abuse have seen those pictures; the rest will be history in progress.— Walid Phares is a professor of Middle East Studies and an MSNBC Middle East and Terrorism analyst Good article to prove yet another reason we went to Iraq...Geopolitical repositioning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksimons Posted December 18 Report Share Posted December 18 but I'm pretty sure that geo-political repositioning wasn't high on the list when we were told we were going to war... in fact I'm pretty sure it was put way down, perhaps even off the list...the capture of saddam should make us all think about how and why people like saddam get to where they do.in the west, in the east, in africa.we need to stop, look, think and work out why we let this happen, why we can't stop it and what we need to do to stop it.arabs need to think deeply about loyalties, religion, state and leaders. we need to think about the price we're willing to pay to have leaders that are 'favourable' to our political establishments, and think long term about the consiquences of having 'our' dictators...but, well, that's just me being wildly optimistic again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igloo Posted December 18 Author Report Share Posted December 18 Originally posted by marksimons but I'm pretty sure that geo-political repositioning wasn't high on the list when we were told we were going to war... in fact I'm pretty sure it was put way down, perhaps even off the list...... I beg to differ...if you do not think geo-political repositioning was a main criteria for this war...you are as clueless as I already think you are......and as usual, guilty of blatant hypocrisy and contradictions in your criticisms of why his war happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siceone Posted December 18 Report Share Posted December 18 I think shifting the geo-politcal paradigm was the FIRST reason we went Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igloo Posted December 19 Author Report Share Posted December 19 I think this is an important article, and it certainly is significant if we are starting to see the infancy of change.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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