America and the Arab Spring

Many thinkers and observers believe the Arab Spring is an American operation, the goal of which is to divide the Arab world along lines similar to Sykes-Picot through ‘creative chaos,’ extolled by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. These people support their position by citing the role that America played in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Despite the significance of this assertion, it first of all ignores the role of the Arab people and their will and power to topple regimes of oppression, tyranny and corruption.

Secondly, this assertion reeks of the conspiracy theories that dominate the analyses of many commentators who consider Washington an inescapable power, despite events of the past two decades that have underlined a decline in America’s status, especially after the utter defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq and the financial catastrophe on Wall Street that had worldwide ramifications.

To set the record straight, it should be noted that this wave of democracy that has struck the Arab world is an extension of three previous waves beginning first in Western Europe in Greece, Portugal and Spain. The second wave occurred in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the third appeared in South America. Thus this wave of democracy is a historical movement that will not stop and will continue to expand, encompassing all Arab nations, because it represents the will of the people and the inevitability of change.

On the other hand, the events in Tunisia and Egypt have shown just how surprised Washington was by the revolutions and the speed with which the regimes of its two most important allies in the region, Mubarak and Bin Ali, fell.

The confusion that followed in Washington’s policies was reflected in the statements of officials who praised Mubarak's policies and ability to stay in power a week before the toppling of his regime. From there Washington, with the assistance of the 'filul’ and the rich Arab nations, exploited all possible means to upset the revolutions by establishing civil organizations working to fan the flames of sectarian strife and unrest, adopting the ‘filul’ candidate Shafiq and withdrawing its investments.

The reluctance to present financial aid to the revolutions so they might overcome the difficult economic conditions facing them shows these revolutions were not designed by Washington. They were national revolutions brought forth by two peoples who showed unparalleled genius when they insisted upon the peaceful nature of revolutions, democracy, fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power in order to establish a modern civil state. After the revolutions the Arab world, for the first time in history, witnessed fair elections that resulted in victories for Morsi and Marzouki, both of whom were imprisoned under the previous regimes.

These facts pushed Washington to joining the wave of other revolutions after they were surprised by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. Here it is necessary to differentiate between two facts so as to avoid confusion.

First, we stand strongly with all Arab revolutions and the right of the Arab people to freedom, democracy and the transfer of power to establish a modern civil state.

Secondly, we are against any form of foreign intervention whatsoever, especially from America. Washington, which sides with the Zionist enemy and refuses to recognize the legal rights of the Palestinian people in their land, does not want to protect human rights but rather their interests in the region.

In short, the Arab Spring grew as a distinctly Arab movement and any American or Western intervention would bring the cold winds that turn this Spring into a fall.