The Illegitimate Americans
Published in Akhbar Al Khakeej
(Bahrain) on 19 June 2011
by Ibrahim Al Sheikh (link to original)
(Bahrain) on 19 June 2011
by Ibrahim Al Sheikh (link to original)
Translated from
by Mouhsine Abdellaoui.
Edited by Jennifer Pietropaoli.
Do you think that U.S. officials’ repeated visits to Bahrain over the past few weeks came arbitrarily? I certainly do not think so!
Do you think that American officials meeting with leaders from the association Waad (Promise) in a cafe in Manama occurred arbitrarily? I certainly do not think so, either!
America today thinks that it is the spiritual father of those who claim to be “the opposition” in Bahrain and other Arab countries. That is why America has stood by them and provided them all the support they could to help achieve the objective of overthrowing the regime, a goal among many items on an agenda that targets countries in the region in collaboration with internal and external parties. And yet it shattered on the Bahrain rocks?
On the other side, the al-Wifaq (the Accord) movement and other new supporters of political hypocrisy implore divine intervention during all of their demonstrations to cause the collapse of America, which they call “the Great Satan.” Despite this, they use them as a cover and protector vis-a-vis the state in return for all their excesses and violations of political, national, ethical, and religious rules. Need I say more?
It is very clear that America convinced Waad first, of the need to divorce themselves from al-Wifaq, and second, to take part in the dialogues to ensure its return to political action in coordination with the state!
America itself has placed al-Wifaq in the difficult situation of engaging in dialogue and accepting the opposition within the country, even on pretense. It is a difficult issue for al-Wifaq leaders to accept for two dangerous reasons. First, the recognition of the other major party in the country would cause al-Wifaq to lose its title, which it is still fighting for, as the largest political group in the country. If they do accept the opposition, the Assembly of National Unity will be the first in ranking and al-Wifaq will fall behind it.
The second issue, which is more dangerous, is that al-Wifaq’s refusal of dialogue prior to the escalation of events — despite the fact that all guarantees had been provided to them through private meetings between Ali Salman, leader of al-Wifaq, and higher parties in the country — proves that there are negative interests and intentions latent in their souls, and that whenever a negotiation is raised and succeeds, it will turn the tables on all those subtleties and interests!
However, in my humble opinion, al-Wifaq will participate in the dialogue based on its obligation to America. It is America that will dictate its participation in the discussion, as an association or as individuals (although the recent crisis has demonstrated the failure of all the existing public figures).
Al-Wifaq will participate in the dialogue because if they do not, they will appear before the whole world as the party that failed and that refrained from participation before the opposition. So they will take part. However, it is highly likely that they will exercise extortion or withdraw from the talks in order to portray the message that the state is not giving serious consideration to the discussion.
Today the state has to exercise absolute transparency of the smallest details of any discussions and background, provided that it is cautious of any transactions occurring outside the scope of the dialogue table, therefore proving that neither al-Wifaq nor the others are innocent or to be trusted.
In the event that al-Wifaq does not participate or attempts some kind of aggravation, the dialogue must continue as it was planned, and the state must respond to the media in a correct and transparent method to show any active efforts on the part of al-Wifaq and others to derail, abort or aggravate the dialogue.
The U.S. intervention in Bahrain has been a thorn in the opposition’s side; it is inconceivable that a sovereign state leaves the opportunity for others to tamper with its affairs while it stands by idly!
Do you think that American officials meeting with leaders from the association Waad (Promise) in a cafe in Manama occurred arbitrarily? I certainly do not think so, either!
America today thinks that it is the spiritual father of those who claim to be “the opposition” in Bahrain and other Arab countries. That is why America has stood by them and provided them all the support they could to help achieve the objective of overthrowing the regime, a goal among many items on an agenda that targets countries in the region in collaboration with internal and external parties. And yet it shattered on the Bahrain rocks?
On the other side, the al-Wifaq (the Accord) movement and other new supporters of political hypocrisy implore divine intervention during all of their demonstrations to cause the collapse of America, which they call “the Great Satan.” Despite this, they use them as a cover and protector vis-a-vis the state in return for all their excesses and violations of political, national, ethical, and religious rules. Need I say more?
It is very clear that America convinced Waad first, of the need to divorce themselves from al-Wifaq, and second, to take part in the dialogues to ensure its return to political action in coordination with the state!
America itself has placed al-Wifaq in the difficult situation of engaging in dialogue and accepting the opposition within the country, even on pretense. It is a difficult issue for al-Wifaq leaders to accept for two dangerous reasons. First, the recognition of the other major party in the country would cause al-Wifaq to lose its title, which it is still fighting for, as the largest political group in the country. If they do accept the opposition, the Assembly of National Unity will be the first in ranking and al-Wifaq will fall behind it.
The second issue, which is more dangerous, is that al-Wifaq’s refusal of dialogue prior to the escalation of events — despite the fact that all guarantees had been provided to them through private meetings between Ali Salman, leader of al-Wifaq, and higher parties in the country — proves that there are negative interests and intentions latent in their souls, and that whenever a negotiation is raised and succeeds, it will turn the tables on all those subtleties and interests!
However, in my humble opinion, al-Wifaq will participate in the dialogue based on its obligation to America. It is America that will dictate its participation in the discussion, as an association or as individuals (although the recent crisis has demonstrated the failure of all the existing public figures).
Al-Wifaq will participate in the dialogue because if they do not, they will appear before the whole world as the party that failed and that refrained from participation before the opposition. So they will take part. However, it is highly likely that they will exercise extortion or withdraw from the talks in order to portray the message that the state is not giving serious consideration to the discussion.
Today the state has to exercise absolute transparency of the smallest details of any discussions and background, provided that it is cautious of any transactions occurring outside the scope of the dialogue table, therefore proving that neither al-Wifaq nor the others are innocent or to be trusted.
In the event that al-Wifaq does not participate or attempts some kind of aggravation, the dialogue must continue as it was planned, and the state must respond to the media in a correct and transparent method to show any active efforts on the part of al-Wifaq and others to derail, abort or aggravate the dialogue.
The U.S. intervention in Bahrain has been a thorn in the opposition’s side; it is inconceivable that a sovereign state leaves the opportunity for others to tamper with its affairs while it stands by idly!