Blogging for Al-Akhbar

My first blog post for Al-Akhbar:  "Mubarak in a Cage."

FLASH: ENGLISH AL-AKHBAR is up and running

Here you go.  Yalla.

US works against BDS

"The local Amercian Chamber of Commerce is working quietly to

ensure that opinion-makers in the media and elsewhere are 
aware of the potential costs of a boycott to Jordan.  The GOJ 
fully recognizes the potential negative consequences an 
anti-American boycott could have and will do what it can to 
ensure that one does not materialize.  The Jordanians are 
hoping for progress on the political front that would defuse 
the calls for a boycott and other steps promoted by 
anti-normalizers. 

" (Thanks Samm)

8th grade cliches about "freedom"

"We took everything for granted and forgot that freedom is not a given, but needs to be earned."

When Thomas Friedman gives foreign policy advice

Is there anything more profound than those words??  "Meanwhile, Mr. President, on a rainy day, rent the movie “Tin Cup.” There is a great scene where Dr. Molly Griswold is trying to help Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy, the golf pro, rediscover his swing — and himself. She finally tells him: “Roy ... don’t try to be cool or smooth or whatever; just be honest and take a risk. And you know what, whatever happens, if you act from the heart, you can’t make a mistake.”"

Mini-Hariri meets with Saudi king

Hariri media are thrilled: they are reporting that after months in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi King "met" with Mini-Hariri.  But the accompanying picture (proudly posted on Now Hariri website) shows that Hariri stood in line with other people and shook hands with the King.  And look how attentive the King is to Mr. Hariri.

Saudi Arabia set up a tool to speak on behalf of the Syrian opposition

Meet the Unified National Syrian Council.  It is headed by a reactionary Syrian who worked for the House of Saud for decades.

Egyptian people's power

"Israel appears to have backed away from an even more massive assault on Gaza – for now – largely because of protests in Egypt and the broader sense that Israel “lacks legitimacy” to carry out more aggression despite assured diplomatic cover from the United States. This is an enormous victory for people power, and as a result lives have undoubtedly been saved."

racism against Arabs in the New York Times

On the front page of the New York Times today, there is this main headline:  "Swarm of Rebels Seize Compound but not Qaddafi".  This is from my main paper copy.  Swarm is usually reserved to large number of insects.  Ironically, this is about rebels that the paper is ostensibly sympathetic to.  Then the article says this:  "rebel fighters crashed through the gates of Col.Muammar el-Qaddafi’s fortresslike compound Tuesday, running madly across its sprawling lawns..."  So were US occupation troops "running madly" when they invaded the capital in 2003?

Why the White Man was impressed with Sayf Al-Islam

""The more important question is why so many Westerners were ready to fall for Seif. He was intelligent, often surprising, wore well-cut suits and chewed his food with his mouth shut," says Bret Stephens in The Wall Street Journal.  The New Yorker's Andrew Solomon writes, "Westerners often mistook his elegant words and his well-cut suits for an adherence to democratic values."" (thanks Mouin)

Against Tantawi rule

A civil organization in Egypt sues the Military Council and calls for severing ties with Israel. (thanks Joseph)

Here you have the Arab Mind version of analysis of the Libyan people

""In Libya, as with authoritarian governments generally, leaders are accustomed to dictating how people should think; no matter how outrageous the lie or how obviously bizarre (as was often the case in Libya), it is often received as reality by a public numbed by isolation and oppression. So it may not be surprising that the rebels now challenging Colonel Qaddafi sometimes sound like him, because he is the only leader they ever knew. "" (thanks Jean-Baptiste)

90 lashes and 4 months of jail for fleeing home

There is more to this story in the Saudi press.  A woman receives 90 lashes and 4 months in jail for fleeing home. (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

Meet the NATO rebel leaders and their lies

"Still, the rebels have offered their own far-fetched claims, like mass rapes by loyalist troops issued tablets of Viagra. Although the rebels have not offered credible proof, that claim is nonetheless the basis of an investigation by the International Criminal Court.  And there is the mantra, with racist overtones, that the Qaddafi government is using African mercenaries, which rebels repeat as fact over and over. There have been no confirmed cases of that; supposedly there are many African prisoners of war being held in Benghazi, but conveniently journalists are not allowed to see them. There are, however, African guest workers, poorly paid migrant labor, many of whom, unarmed, have been labeled mercenaries."

NATO rebel leaders=Qadhdhafi's henchmen

"Many of the rebels’ leaders were in Colonel Qaddafi’s top echelons, helping defend and promote his vision, and version, of reality."

massacres in South Sudan

This is the newest creation of Western colonial powers.  The massacres in South Sudan don't cause an uproar in Western countries.  The prosecutor of ICC does not move to investigate the murder of some 600 people.  

Humane NATO warriors

"Rebel leaders struggled to explain how their leaders in the eastern city of Benghazi misled the world two days ago when they falsely reported the capture of Colonel Qaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam, one of the most powerful figures in his father’s government. He embarrassed the rebels early Tuesday by walking freely into the Rixos Hotel and boasting that his father was still in control and inside the city.
The rebels’ reversal about the Qaddafi son’s capture led to some finger-pointing among the rebels. “I learned not to trust the people from Benghazi who are telling me these stories,” said Anwar Fekini, a rebel leader from the western mountains who had repeated the news Monday.    At a news conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, Mr. Jibril, the rebel prime minister, said it was essentially a misunderstanding, suggesting that Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, had mistaken an early notification of an unconfirmed rumor for an official report of Seif al-Islam’s capture. There was no explanation why the misunderstanding went uncorrected for two days.   As for the reported capture of another Qaddafi son, Mohammed, Mr. Fekini confirmed reports that he had escaped and acknowledged some responsibility. Mohammed had played little role in the Qaddafi political machine, so Mr. Fekini said he and others agreed to place him under house arrest.  Unfortunately it was naïve,” he said. “We are too humane to be warriors.”"

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: what if he was Arab?

Just think about this case.  Imagine if an Arab man was accused of raping a European white woman in an Arab hotel.  And imagine if the details were exactly like this case.  If an Arab judge dismissed the case, can you imagine the international uproar?  Can you imagine the indignation of Western governments?  Can you imagine the Security Council staying silent?  I mean, NATO planes would have started their bombing sorties within minutes.  More than that, what if he was an Arab minister of finance?? Do you think that the case would have been dismissed too?

PS I don't get this. Why is the wife of Strauss-Kahn smiling?? I mean, the case of rape was dismissed, and the legal defense claimed that "sex" was consensual.  

DFLP and the Syrian regime

The DFLP's mouthpiece, Al-Hurriyyah (which is freedom in Arabic) is published from Damascus.  I have a free subscription.  I was reading recent issues and there is not one word about the repression in Syria.  And if the regime falls, Nayif Hawatimah will make speeches about the greatness of the Syrian uprising.  He did the same in Egypt: the DFLP was very close to the Syrian regime, and to `Umar Sulaymna in particular (in his lousy book on the Arab Left, Hawatimah even published pictures of him with Sulayman).  And when the regime fell, Hawatimah went to Cairo and spoke about the greatness of the Egyptian "revolution".

Sinking an aircraft carrier?

Comrade Amer answers the pressing question in the Arab world: "how to sink an aircraft carrier"?

Can you imagine if an Arab paper had this headline against Israel?

"Hit Gaza Strip hard, now:  Self-declared leftist Yakir Elkariv says Israel must pound Gaza terrorists, without apologies".

Colonial arguments

Here is Richard Haas, who has as many insights on the Middle East as Sa`d Hariri has insights on nuclear physics:  "What is also likely is that the Libyans will not be able to manage the situation about to emerge on their own."" (thanks Khelil)

This is hilarious: Saudi propagandists try to appease Israelis, and Israels mock them

""The world would be a better place without Gadhafi, and our region is beginning to rid itself of those leaders who brought their citizens nothing but destruction," Tariq Alhomayed, the editor of the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat, wrote on Monday. Alhomayed, whose boss is one of the princes of the Saudi royal family, surely does not mean to get rid of the Saudi king, whose regime symbolizes the exemplary model of autocratic rule in the Middle East."" (thanks "Ibn Rushd")

Let the scramble for Libya's oil begin

""Even before Libyan rebels could take full control of Tripoli, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy said on state television Monday that the Italian oil company Eni “will have a No. 1 role in the future” in the North African country. Mr. Frattini even reported that Eni technicians were already on their way to eastern Libya to restart production. But Eni quickly denied that it had sent any personnel to the still-unsettled region, which is Italy’s largest source of imported oil. The awkward exchange suggested that the scramble to secure access to Libya’s oil wealth is already on. Libyan production has been largely shut down during the long conflict between rebel forces and troops loyal to Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. "" (thanks Raed)

Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism

"The conflation of criticism of Israel, or Zionism, with anti-Semitism is the first refuge of the defenders of Israel right or wrong, and is belied by the active involvement of Jews in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement."

Anti-Semites for Israel

"But critics say Beck's track record of controversial statements makes him an inappropriate ally. Last month he likened Norwegian youths gunned down at a political camp by an anti-Islamic extremist to "Hitler Youth." Twice in the last year Beck has been denounced by the Anti-Defamation League for "bigoted" and "horrific" comments on his show, one likening Reform Judaism to "radicalized Islam" and another in which he said Holocaust survivor and billionaire George Soros betrayed fellow Jews to Nazis.  Under pressure from Jewish groups in the U.S., Beck apologized for the remark about Reform Judaism."

Bahrain: not forgotten

Angry Arab chief Bahrain correspondent wrote me this: "I thought I'd give you a few updates on Bahrain. Its been really depressing to be honest. The february days seem like a distant memory and I feel like everyone I know that's Bahraini is in some deep depression and is just going through the motions. But here's the latest on what's happening:

- The good news is that two female prisoners - Rolla AlSaffar head of the Bahraini Nursing Society and Jaleela AlSalman were finally released. Both had been on a hunger strike. Bahrain is obviously very obsessed with PR and these two became very high profile so they released them. Bassiouni apparently intervened too. He's been playing an active role these days trying to release prisoners instead of doing his job which is to investigate what happened. The bad news is that they will still be tried in military court:.

- The amnesty link of course brings up another development. A month or so ago (I believe it was more) the King stated that all the trials will now be transferred to civilian courts. This never happened. Apparently the Minister of Justice refused to transfer the cases. Now people are being tried in military court again. See here also: So of course you can read this is two ways: The King isn't in control of the country - the Prime Minister is or the King is in control and he was just making some statements for PR purposes. Apparently all the doctors and medical staff will be facing military trials on August 28.

- All of the opposition societies will be boycotting the elections. The government obviously isn't too happy with this and has been threatening any society that boycotts saying it amounts to treason etc. Half of the districts have no one running (elections are not taking place everywhere, just is districts where MPs resigned) 

- I had emailed you about the entire fiasco with Bassiouni. A member of the commission had told activists that the entire team was resigning. This was after an interview Bassiouni had with pro-government newspaper Alayam where they quoted him as saying that there were no human rights violations in Bahrain. That didn't happen so there are a lot of rumors as to what happened behind the scenes. Bassiouni has now stopped giving interviews. The Commission issued the following two statements on their website:  They say his statements have been misinterpreted by the media. My question is, why talk to the media in the first place? People of course are really cynical and skeptical about Bassiouni. See this article on Bahrain Mirror: By the way Bassiouni has been making surprise visits to protests to see how the protestors are acting. Apparently the protestors have to behave. I can already see the report before it is published: King is great, security forces made mistakes, but protestors made mistakes too. You know, kind of like the goldstone report. Bassiouni is of course becoming the mediator between the King and the opposition - you know, trying to release prisoners here and there, making visits, trying to get some workers reinstated. It is all very interesting. Maybe Bassiouni should be running the country.

- The Washington Times had a very interesting interview with the head of the national unity gathering Shaikh Abdul Latif Al Mahmood where he says that the Prime Minister should step down after he handles the crisis and after the crisis is over.  Straight after the article was published the National Unity Gathering issued a statement denying that he said that:  But then the journalist who interviewed him released the audio so they are kind of stuck. What's funny is that from the interview, Shaikh Abdul Latif seemed to still admire the PM but just believed that he should retire and the King should appoint a fresh face after the crisis is over. But even him saying that is controversial - apparently saying that a 75 year old (I believe thats his age) should retire is a red line that no one can cross.

- The past three days are el tharba of imam Ali so there have been Azaa processions. Two processions were attacked by pro-regime thugs chanting the people want Khalifa Bin Salman. One of the processions was in the village of Bani Jamra and the other in the city of Muharraq.

- The Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs wrote a threatening letter to Shaikh Isa Qasim (who I can't stand by the way - don't like religious figures who talk in really low voices and act as if there is some halo on their head - but thats besides the point) telling him that his speeches are sectarian, that they encourage people to break the law, that he is inciting hatred, dividing the country etc. This is hilarious. He never said anything of that sort and in fact keeps telling people not to use the slogan "Al mawt li AlKhalifa). Of course the people who are actually inciting hatred are ignored because they are pro regime.The only reason I am telling you about this entire fiasco is because a lot of the protestors from the villages respect and revere Sh. Isa Qasim so this has made a lot of them very angry.

- The crown prince is back. He's been visiting a couple of ramadhan majlis's talking about peace and unity and love etc etc. On a recent visit to a majlis in the village of Buri, the villagers of Buri starting protesting and chanting slogans for the release of the prisoners. This pissed a lot of crown prince lovers off saying that the crown prince is their red line. Now where were these people when the village of Buri was attacked?

So my summary is as follows: Small protests continue. Attacks on villages continue. People are still angry. Bassiouni is acting like some mediator. Bahraini government is acting schizophrenic - saying one thing, doing another, changing its minds. They seem to have no plan. Each ministry is like its own country. King issues an order. No one follows which makes you wonder what the King is really up to.

Thanks for mentioning Bahrain on Al Jazeera. I wasn't able to see the interview but please post it on your blog when you can! If you have any insights on what is happening please do share. Its getting really depressing." 

That lousy Field Marshal Tantawi

The story of how the lousy Tantawi protected Israel.  (thanks Joseph)

A British revolution in Libya?

""These small detachments of Caucasian males, equipped with sunglasses, 4x4 vehicles and locally acquired weaponry, do not welcome prying eyes, not least because their presence threatened to give credence to the Gaddafi regime's claims that the rebel assault was being directed by Western fifth-columnists......The Independent understands that the contracts for the security companies, often signed in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have involved funds provided by Western countries to the NTC, although much of the money has come from previously frozen regime bank accounts and assets....
...But it is arguably in the arena of post-conflict planning that the British have been most active...Diplomats have been engaged in drawing up a blueprint for a post-Gaddafi Libya, including humanitarian aid, help with policing, governance and reform of the military. The prize of being seen as a "friend" in a stable, oil-rich Libya is considerable..."" (thanks Nu`man)

repugnant

It is repugnant when I hear from anyone belonging or supporting March 14 in Lebanon pontificate on repression in Syria.  Those people don't give a damn about the Syrian people and many have been part of a rabid, racist campaign against the Syrian people in Lebanon which resulted in the murder of more than 700 Syrian workers in Lebanon.

Palestinians are not stateless?

A well-known Western correspondent in the Middle East sent me this:  "Reuters runs a series of stories on stateless, but it doesn't mention Palestinians once. Statelessness, it seems, is defined as people who are not a threat to anyone, so media can give them 'a voice'."

Hafidh Al-Asad and the fall of Qunaytrah

Muhammad Zughbi was Minister of Information in Syria in 1967.  He has been a fierce opponent of the Ba`th regime for years and decades.  He never forgave Hafidh Al-Asad for his shameful role in the 1967 war.  I have heard from him in private communication about the story of the suspicious role of Hafidh Al-Asad in the fall of Qunatyrah in 1967.  Here, he tells the story publicly for the first time.

New York Times dismisses anti-Israel protesters in Cairo

"Other analysts pointed out that the presence of a few thousand protesters outside one embassy hardly represented irresistible pressure to rip up a 30-year-old peace treaty."  But who are the other analysts?  I am sure that they belong to the region.  I am sure that one of them is Theodore Herzl.

The Libyan Transitional Council

I hereby recognize the Libyan Transitional Council as the sole legitimate representative of...NATO.

Egyptian slogans on Israel

This is a new slogan:  "Zinqa, Zinqa, house, house.  Israel will be set on fire."

PS A note to Zionist hoodlums.  Don't panic.  Thomas Friedman who watched Egyptian uprising from his hotel assures you all that the Egyptian people don't care about foreign policy.

Qadhdhafi's worse punishment

I suggest that Qadhdhafi and his sons be made to read the Green Book around the clock.  No punishment can be more severe.

The true US record on democracy in the Middle East

"To date, the U.S. has played into the hands of oppressive regimes trying to cling to power. Vice President Joe Biden insisted that Mubarak was not a dictator, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton characterized Syrian President Bashar Assad as a reformer, undercutting and demoralizing brave Egyptians and Syrians as they risked their lives for democracy.    The Arab media have mocked the Obama administration's self-described policy of "leading from behind." Coming from the world's only superpower, this lacks credibility. Democracy advocates found bitter irony in how Obama pushed Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) to resign after Weiner tweeted suggestive pictures of himself, but then waited so long to call on Assad to step down even after he had killed hundreds of his own people. Media in the region have also noted our eerie silence as the Bahraini monarchy, which hosts a large American naval base, brought in Saudi troops to savagely crush peaceful democracy demonstrations.  This month's brutal crackdown in Tahrir Square came on the heels of a visit to Washington by a high-level delegation of Egyptian generals to discuss the future of U.S. military aid. In the past, assurances of continued U.S. funding also have led quickly to brutal crackdowns on dissent. For example, in 2005 and again in 2006, the regime arrested thousands of activists from the democracy movement in the weeks after House appropriators overrode concerns about Egypt's human rights record."

Bahrain royal commission

Angry Arab chief correspondent on Bahrain sent me this (her name can't be revealed for her protection):  "I am starting to think that Bahrainis made a HUGE mistake by cooperating with the royal commission and bassiouni. We should have refused to cooperate from the beginning and insisted on an independent commission. Royalists who just met with Bassiouni are claiming that he said that the shia in Bahrain have a victimization complex and he noticed the tendancy to exagerrate claims. This commission is yet another of the Kings attempts to bring a cosmetic change without doing anything substantive. He did in in 2002 when he unilaterally imposed a new constitution with a parliament with no legislative powers and he is doing it again. This time Bahrainis are not buying it. But still people are urging others to go to the commission to document what happened to them so that at least the crimes are documented. But I'm starting to think that if noone cooperated in the first place then the govt would have no choice and would have to bring in Navai Pillay of the UN. Another problem I am having is the Bahrain Mirror published an article in which they state that the commission headquarters is guarded by people from the ministry of interior. And every day the commission gives the names of the people who have appointments to the guard so that they can be let in. What happens to these people if their names reach the ministry of interior? I'm really worried about this report that they will come out with."

PS Nicholas Blanford has not interviewed this correspondent.  

Future of the Middle East

If you want to get a sense of how changed the Middle East has become, read about the details of the sophisticated operation against Israeli terrorist targets a few days ago.  There is so much about what happened that reveals the changes.  

March 14 is the authority on Syria in the New York Times

It seems that Anthony Shadid now relies on March 14 supporters (like Nadim Shehadi) to offer dispassionate and objective assessment on Syrian developments.  This is akin to interviewing...March 14 supporters to comment on the intellectual abilities of Sa`d Hariri.

Mustafa `Abdul-NATO

I saw him give a speech.  He reminded me of Arafat when he would offer concessions to US and Israel: in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Arafat was keen on appeasing Zionists, so he would receive faxes from the US government and be ordered to read them in English or in Arabic to please his handlers.  Yesterday, when `Abdul-NATO was giving a speech in Libya, it was clear to me that it was written in English and was translated into Arabic.  The Libyan people who suffered under a most bizarre tyrant deserves better--much better.

Musa As-Sadr's family

I can't believe it.  The family of Musa As-Sadr is calling on Libyan rebels to free the Imam and to preserve his life.  Does the family really believe that Qadhdhafi kept him alive all those years? Really?

Nicholas Blanford and the hoax

So the latest in the Nicholas Blanford media's scandal is that he has said that he knows nothing about the interview with one of the four Hizbullah members accused of assassination of Rafiq Hariri.  So Blanford, according to his own account, agreed to write an analysis and shares his byline with someone that he does not know and that even used language that left the impression that he was there during the interview (he commented that the guy appeared relaxed).  OK: so Blanford agreed to receive an interview with the guy sent to him from New York City.  To defend the magazine, he has said in Beirut that he does not doubt the interview because the magazine is "respectable".  I mean, it does not get sillier and more unprofessional than this.  But there is another angle: Blanford is writing a book on Hizbullah, so he sees himself as Hizbullah expert.  To me any Hizbullah expert should have seen that interview and dismissed it as an intelligence hoax without finishing the whole interview.  This really discredits Blanford's claim of expertise on the party.  

PA corruption

The Agriculture Minister in Salam Fayyad's government is accused of corruption.  I will give you a blender if he is punished.  

Kamal Ash-Shinnawi

Egyptian actor, Kamal Ash-Shinnawi, has died.  I liked him in his later roles (from 1970s onward) than the earlier roles, where he was a bit stiff.