Arab View,
Saudi Arabia
U.S. Double Standards are Fueling Arab Hate
“Because of Washington's frustratingly stupid handling of events, recent developments point to a deepening of tension in the region.”
By Hassan Tahsin
December 22, 2006
Saudi Arabia -Arab View -Original
Article (English)
'We're not leaving ... We don't cut and run ... We'll stay
the course. We're even sending 30,000 more troops.'
[Al-Fajr Al-Jadeed, Libya]. (above)
'Bush Staying the Course in Iraq.' [Alittihad, Palestine]
'The fortified 'Green Zone' in Baghdad: A Safe Island
for U.S. Officials in the ocean of blood called Iraq.'
[Ad Dustour, Jordan].
'Santa takes international law into his own hands after the
International Court of Justice rules that Israel's land-grab
wall is illegal and should be dismantled.'
[Alquds, U.K.]. (below).
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Very shortly,
when the dawn of another New Year breaks around the world, the Middle East will
be groping in darkness without a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.
As bad as
the situations in Iraq and Palestine are, civil wars or near civil wars in
other Arab and Muslim countries like Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon and the Sub-Saharan
states complicate matters further.
The
Palestinian issue is a major concern of to all Arabs, while the Iraqi issue is
a challenge to Arab sovereignty. And the Iranian issue is no doubt also, by
extension, a Middle East issue.
These three
crises are time bombs that could erupt any moment.
In the
pursuit of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, a number of
summits have been held and agreements have been signed, but nothing substantial
has ever come of these.
With
their double standards in regard to the Palestinians and Israel, the Americans
and their European allies have, unfortunately, wasted many opportunities to make
peace. They never criticize and even sanction the systematic violations of
human rights of Israel, which expands and encroaches onto neighboring Arab land
with scant regard for international law.
The
people in the Middle East doubt the capacity of the neocon-dominated U.S.
administration to bring about a just Middle East peace. Only an arbiter of
unquestioned impartiality and fairness can nurture a peace deal between two
contending parties. The Arabs no longer trust the U.S. because of its blind
support for Israel and its own efforts to enforce imperialist designs on the
region.
In
addition, it is public knowledge these days that American and British leaders lied
and misled the world when they said that the Iraqi regime possessed weapons of
mass destruction. It would be naive to assume that these leaders didn't foresee
the inevitable consequences of a forced regime change in Iraq.
Since the
day he sent U.S. occupation forces to Iraq, President George W. Bush told the
world that his forces were winning and that the situation had nearly come under
control. Further, the President claimed that the democratic process had been
set in motion.
But reality and Bush's claims are poles apart. This has finally caught
up to Mr. Bush. All of his false pretensions have collapsed and Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been forced to resign.
The United
States has also singularly failed to broker peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
With Bush's apparent amnesia over past declarations about founding an
independent Palestinian state, Israel has been prompted to attack Lebanon and continue
its policy of aggression on an unprecedented scale. Israel's prime minister has
also closed all doors to peace talks with Syria.
Washington
watches the unveiling of Iran's nuclear ambitions with fingers crossed. One
shudders to imagine the plight of the people in the Gulf in the event of a
nuclear outrage in the region.
Because
of Washington's frustratingly stupid handling of events, recent developments
point to a deepening of tension in the region. America's double standards and
its lack of respect for international law only serve to deepen the hatred that Arab
people feel toward it. If the U.S. wants to improve its image in the Arab World
and win back its credibility, it will have to seriously rethink its Middle East
policies.
VIDEO FROM SAUDI ARABIA: DOES A NUCLEAR IRAN
THREATEN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE ARAB WORLD?
IQRA TV, Saudi Arabia: Excerpts from an interview with Saudi researchers discussing Iran's nuclear project, May 18, 00:03:09, MEMRI
"From a religious, pan-Arab prospective, as well as in terms of our interests, the Iranian nuclear power will deter and restrain Israel's nuclear capabilities."
Dr. Anwar Majed 'Ishqi, Director of the
Middle East Center for Strategic Studies