A source on politics, war, the Middle East, Arabic poetry, and art.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Al-Arabiyya TV has been boycotted by Israeli officials since last week. The station, which renders immeasurable services to US Empire, is very sorry. And the editor of the station said more than once that the interruption of a live interview with an Israeli official was due to a "misunderstanding"--as it happened, an Arab guest refused to speak on the same program with the Israeli propagandist in question. The station obliged, to the consternation of the Israeli government. How dare they? Perhaps to make up for it, Al-Arabiyya TV has been featuring Israel's favorite Arab, the Iraqi Mithal Al-Alusi, a huge admirer of Israel and an advocate of normalization with Israel. He accepted an invitation to a "terrorism" conference in Israel last year--what are his credentials, you may ask? No credentials, really, but as you all know, in Israel and the US, any fanatic admiration and love for Israel qualifies one to be an expert on terrorism. So if you are a fanatical Zionist you are in fact a "terrorism" expert, even if you did not know. What do you think make US terrorism experts experts? And what makes US congresspeople such "good" terrorism experts? An Al-Lusi was kicked out of the politically insignificant Iraqi National Congress. So we are talking about somebody more politically insignificant than Ahmad Chalabi, who expelled Al-Lusi after his Israeli pilgrimage. But why would Al-Arabiyya treat Al-Lusi as if he is a leader of Iraqi public opinion (have you read what Hegel had to say about public opinion?) when he heads a small party of three members--one member actually, as his two sons were assassinated last year).