| Editor
of Kuwaiti Daily: 'Arab Regimes Must Understand the U.S. Administration
Supports The Freedom and Rights of the Arabs'
Ahmad
Al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassah recently
wrote an editorial in support of President Bush's election victory
and what it means for the Arab world. The following is the article:(1)
The
World Has Changed, But Not the Arabs
"The
world and relations between different countries have changed beyond
recognition. In some cases even the countries have changed and a
new order is controlling the world. What's more the United Nations
is no longer able to control the relations between different countries.
All this is happening in the outside world while nothing has changed
for the Arab World. We are still living in the past steeped in our
age old traditions. Our traditions are the source of our concepts,
however old. This has always led us to conflicts with the outside
world invariably ending in defeat for us. Such defeats in turn draw
us back from the path of development. If there is anything which
we have to do urgently it is to correct and remedy this situation.
"We
had to give such a lengthy prologue because the U.S. administration
- which is responsible for the changes that are sweeping through
the world - has started criticizing the Middle East. The United
States, which is criticizing the regimes in the region and the living
conditions of their people, has succeeded in its efforts in Afghanistan
and Iraq. This U.S. administration has the strong backing of its
people, who recently re-elected President George W. Bush for four
more years.
We in the Middle East Were Moving Against Development
"Meanwhile,
we in the Middle East were moving against the laws of development
when the presidential elections in the United States were underway.
Our thinking was wrong and we were using our media in the wrong
way. We said Bush won't be able to win the elections and claimed
Americans won't renew his term in the White House. Our thought process
is still being conditioned by our old traditions...
Unfortunately,
we don't want to admit the truth and accept this fact. We thought
President Bush won't win re-election because in our opinion he has
led America to another Vietnam-like situation in Iraq. With such
an ignorant way of thinking we brought on ourselves new defeats,
proving to the whole world we are not from this planet. When Bush
won the elections, we retreated to our comfort-zone looking for
some new calculations which, we hoped, will be correct and bring
back our old glory. We hoped our new calculations would lead the
American administration to a bad defeat.
America Will Not Retreat
"We
claimed President Bush will never be able to defeat Iraq and said
the resistance will kick the U.S. forces out of that country. We
described terrorism, which is killing innocent people in Iraq, as
'jihad' and expected it to win in the end because it is supported
by God. To support our calculations, we recalled how the U.S. troops
were sent packing from Lebanon in the Eighties because of the resistance
in that country. We fondly remembered how the Americans had to retreat
from Somalia because of the resistance put up by Somalia warlords.
By this way of thinking we forgot the United States has changed
and the world has changed with it. The present circumstances in
the world are not the same as they were during the days of the Cold
War, when the U.S.S.R. was a superpower in its own right.
"All
of our thoughts have been answered by the second term of President
Bush. The mission in Iraq will continue as in Afghanistan. The American
administration has stressed it won't pull out of Iraq, unlike in
Somalia and Lebanon, until it achieves its objectives and completes
its mission in that country. Changing the world, strengthening relations
with other countries and bringing democracy and freedom to as many
countries as possible is the strategic objective of the current
American administration because from the perspective of its internal
security, especially the 9/11 attacks in Washington and New York,
this is more important for the United States.
The Culture and Way of Thinking of Arabs Became a Source
of Danger for the U.S.
"Things
were easy for the Americans until bin Laden arrived on the scene
and threatened it from inside their homeland. But now everything
has changed. The culture and way of thinking of Arabs, and [what
is happening] in the Middle East have become a source of danger
for the United States. If we fail to understand the changed situation
of the U.S. administration, what is happening in Iraq will extend
in one way or another to other countries in the region until the
desired change is imposed. The second priority for President Bush
is maintaining peace in Iraq and holding a free and fair general
elections in Iraq.
"Bush
considers the January elections very important. If one hopes the
US will withdraw from Iraq in the same way as it did from Lebanon
and Somalia, we must say it won't happen. The only thing left for
Arab regimes, which are out of tune with the rest of the world,
is to understand that standing against the United States is no longer
the right way to show their patriotism, especially since they are
the real enemies of their people and countries. They must understand
the American Administration supports their people, for their freedom
and human rights.
Endnote:
(1) Al-Siyassah (Kuwait), November 15, 2004.
*********************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of
the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well
as background information, are available on request.
MEMRI
holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used
with proper attribution.
|
