LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِFebeuary
07/2010
Bible Of The
Day
Paul's Letter to Titus 2/1-14: "But
say the things which fit sound doctrine, 2:2 that older men should be temperate,
sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in patience: 2:3 and that
older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to
much wine, teachers of that which is good; 2:4 that they may train the young
women to love their husbands, to love their children, 2:5 to be sober minded,
chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that
God’s word may not be blasphemed. 2:6 Likewise, exhort the younger men to be
sober minded; 2:7 in all things showing yourself an example of good works; in
your teaching showing integrity, seriousness, incorruptibility, 2:8 and
soundness of speech that can’t be condemned; that he who opposes you may be
ashamed, having no evil thing to say about us. 2:9 Exhort servants to be in
subjection to their own masters, and to be well-pleasing in all things; not
contradicting; 2:10 not stealing, but showing all good fidelity; that they may
adorn the doctrine of God, our Savior, in all things. 2:11 For the grace of God
has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 2:12 instructing us to the intent
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present world; 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ; 2:14 who gave himself
for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a
people for his own possession, zealous for good works. 2:15 Say these things and
exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no man despise you".
ُ
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood: In Their Own Words/By: Jonathan D. Halevi/February
06/11
Islam On A Collision
Course/By:
Amil Imani/February
06/11
Analysis: After Egypt, West rethinks its Arab
realpolitik/Reuters/February 06/11
Without Mubarak, U.S. power in Mideast
will diminish/By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz/January 06/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 06/11
Obama's Egyptian policy criticized in US
as missing its mark/DEBKAfile
Egyptian VP rejects call to take over
Mubarak’s powers/Now Lebanon
Hajjar: Future Movement’s relationship
with Jumblatt is cold/Now Lebanon
Qawouk: Resistance enjoys the support of
parliamentary, popular majority/Now Lebanon
Leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns in gesture to protesters/Agencies
Muslim Brotherhood Joins
Egypt Crisis Talks/Naharnet
Kuwaiti interior minister steps
down amid political tensions/Agencies
Suleiman Won't Approve New
Government Unless it Reflects National Unity/Naharnet
Lebanese
army
Investigates Blast at a Garage in Tayr Felsay/Naharnet
Ayman al Zawahiri's deputy releases statement in support of Egyptian opposition/Long
War Journal
Syria Is Not Egypt, but Might It One Day Be Tunisia?/Time
Syria weathers Mideast unrest for
now; 'Days of Rage' fail to come off/The
Canadian Press
Mikati
strives to form govt as Lebanon crisis drags on/iloubnan.info
Jouzou criticizes
Aoun
for "his transgressing all acceptable limits"/iloubnan.info
Al Anbaa : No remaining point to
negotiate with
Mikati,
March 14 says/iloubnan.info
March
14 Believes Miqati's Stand towards its Demands is Unclear/Naharnet
Hizbullah Commemorating
Iranian Revolution: With this Change, We are Standing before a New Horizon for
Lebanon/Naharnet
Bahia Hariri: Former PM
Hariri's Blood Will Only Be Means to Establish State that Harbors All its Sons/Naharnet
Miqati: Jumblat Was the
First to Nominate Me as PM … I Don't Accept Anyone Imposing Names or Portfolios
on Me/Naharnet
3 Lebanese Killed in Iraq
Plane Crash Arrive in Beirut/Naharnet
The West Advises Miqati to
Wait until After 'Shocking' Indictment is Issued to Form Cabinet/Naharnet
Nahhas: US Ship Jamming
Lebanon Internet/Naharnet
Geagea Accuses March 8 of
Seeking to Form a 'Hizbullah-Syria' Government in Lebanon/Naharnet
Christian Representation
Hinders Cabinet Formation Process Amid Conflicting Demands/Naharnet
Diplomats: International
Community Adopts Wait-and-See Approach on Miqati Cabinet/Naharnet
Arslan Rejects
Categorizing Sects as 1st Degree and 2nd Degree Confessions/Naharnet
Egyptian VP rejects
call to take over Mubarak’s powers
February 6, 2011 /Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman on Sunday turned down an
opposition demand that he assume the powers of embattled President Hosni Mubarak
during political crisis talks, an opposition participant said. "We asked him for
the president to delegate his powers to the vice president as allowed by Article
139 of the constitution, but he refused," a delegate from one of the opposition
groups that met Suleiman told AFP. For the past two weeks, Egypt has been
paralyzed by a wave of protests against Mubarak's rule, and former intelligence
chief Suleiman has been thrust into center stage as a leader who might negotiate
a deal on democratic reforms. Mubarak, who appointed Suleiman, has said he will
not run for re-election at polls in September. But this was not far enough for
some opposition groups, who prefer that Suleiman rule in his place while rapid
elections are organized.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Army Investigates Blast at a Garage in Tayr Felsay
Naharnet/The Lebanese army cordoned off a house in the southern town of Tayr
Felsay after a suspicious blast at its garage on Saturday, the National News
Agency said. In cooperation with UNIFIL, the army found two power generators and
a motorbike at the garage of the house owned by Rida Shalhoub, NNA said. Tayr
Felsay lies some 20 kilometers east of the southern coastal city of Tyre. The
army launched an investigation into the incident and conducted patrols along
with UNIFIL in the town. The blast was heard in nearby villages and towns, NNA
said. Beirut, 05 Feb 11, 15:06
Suleiman Won't Approve New Government Unless it Reflects National Unity
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman's visitors revealed that he will not approve
a new government unless it reflects national unity, reported the Saudi al-Watan
newspaper on Sunday.
Sources from the Baabda Palace told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper that Suleiman
is keen on overcoming this "critical and difficult" phase in Lebanon by
maintaining national unity, respecting the constitution, and resorting to the
national dialogue. They stressed that the president is very eager to form a new
government that would ensure the greatest possible participation of all
political powers and that would be able to seriously tackle internal and
external challenges, starting with protecting stability and security and
eliminating all issues that may endanger Lebanon on the regional scene. This
requires that a one-sided "provocative" government should not be formed, but a
new Cabinet should instead be comprised of qualified ministers whose expertise
transcends political calculations. On Saturday, Suleiman had hoped that Lebanese
officials would cooperate with Premier-designate Najib Miqati to form a cabinet
that would face administrative, economic and security challenges. The government
should be formed "based on the democratic principles that distinguish Lebanon,"
he said.
The Cabinet should "confront the challenges in the administrative and economic
fields," the president stated, adding it should provide security to citizens.
Beirut, 06 Feb 11, 11:03
Miqati's Mission to Form Cabinet Made Difficult by Taxing Demands
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati's mission to form a new
government is still ongoing 12 days after the start of the consultations, with
informed sources telling the Syrian al-Watan newspaper that the Cabinet is most
likely to be formed between February 16 and 18, at the latest. The pan-Arab
daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Sunday that the efforts are likely to last a
long time seeing as the sides that nominated Miqati have been raising the roof
of their demands and conditions.
Meanwhile, sources from the PM-designate stressed that contacts are ongoing with
the March 8 and 14 forces in order to reach an agreement over the formation of
the Cabinet.
They said that there are several demands, especially by the March 8 camp,
emphasizing however that the premier will form the government based on what he
sees fit, while taking into consideration the central issues proposed by the two
camps. "A calm dialogue is being held with the March 14 forces away from the
media spotlight despite the escalatory positions issued by some politicians from
the camp," they added. "Miqati is optimistic with the course he is following and
he is implementing his convictions," they continued.
"He believes that difficulties in the formation of a government are normal. He
has not set a deadline for its formation and he will keep it open-ended," the
sources stated.
An official in Miqati's team who refused to be named told AFP that contacts are
ongoing between all sides, "but nothing has been settled in the distribution of
portfolios or naming of ministers." "The nature of the government will be
determined with the March 14 camp's final decision on whether it will take part
in it or not," he said.
"Should it decide to participate in it, then a 30-minister Cabinet is likely to
be established. Should it refuse, then the government will include
representatives of the new majority or technocrats," he revealed. "We are still
stuck in this impasse as the crisis is deep, and there is no deep solution to
this crisis," said Sahar Atrache, an analyst with the International Crisis Group
think tank. "Basically the talks on forming a government are just a way to buy
time," Atrache told AFP.
"Contacts are ongoing with all parties but we are still at a preliminary stage
where nothing specific has been agreed upon," said a source close to Miqati who
requested anonymity.
"The government's shape will likely be determined by the final decision of
(Hariri's) camp."
In an interview published Sunday, Miqati said he was determined to see all
parties represented in his government, the form of which had become "clear" in
his mind. He did not elaborate.
Former MP Ghattas Khoury, an adviser to Hariri, told AFP that the outgoing prime
minister and his allies were waiting for Miqati to clearly respond to their
demands before deciding whether to join his government. "We are still waiting
for answers to our questions, which must be stated in our meetings with prime
minister Miqati ... before we make a decision on whether to participate," Khoury
said. "If what they want is to form a government, they now hold the majority and
they can do that," he added, referring to the Hizbullah-led alliance. "But if
they want our participation, we have set our conditions." Another issue Miqati
could face is the distribution of portfolios among Lebanon's many political
parties, which have a history of haggling over who gets which ministries. "When
it gets down to the division of portfolios, the fight for shares in government
will overshadow all other issues," Atrache said. Lebanon's constitution does not
set a deadline for a cabinet formation, and previous governments have sometimes
taken months to see the light. Miqati has said there was "no specific time limit
for the birth of a government." Leaders allied with Hizbullah have said Hariri's
demands virtually guaranteed he and his allies would not be part of the next
government, with Syrian-backed Christian MP Suleiman Franjieh calling the
requests "impossible."(naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 06 Feb 11, 09:03
March 14 Believes Miqati's Stand towards its Demands is Unclear
Naharnet/The March 14 camp is still awaiting Prime Minister-designate Najib
Miqati's response to its demands on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and arms
possession in Lebanon and it has therefore not yet reached a final position on
whether it will participate in the new Cabinet. Miqati's sources told the
pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat Sunday that a "calm" dialogue is underway with
the camp away from the media spotlight despite some escalatory statements being
issued by some members of the coalition. A prominent March 14 source told the
daily An Nahar Sunday that "he does not see a clear position from Miqati towards
the demands." "Its demands are clear, but so far we have not received a clear
response from Miqati over them and therefore, we cannot establish anything on
unclear positions," it added. March 14 circles told the daily that contacts with
the premier-designate are ongoing over whether he will commit to the camp's
demands and over the ministerial statement. "An Arab agreement over Lebanon
cannot be reached without Lebanese consensus," they stated hinting at a possible
renewed Saudi-Syrian agreement over Lebanon. Observers told the Syrian al-Watan
newspaper that the March 14 camp is likely to officially inform Miqati within 24
hours that it will not participate in the new government. Caretaker Prime
Minister Saad Hariri's adviser Mohammad Shatah told Asharq al-Awsat however that
the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc and the March 14 camp have not reached a
decisive stand over participating in government. "Our initial inclination is not
to participate and for us to turn into an opposition, which will be the basis of
our dispute with the other camp," he said. "If this new government will become a
tool for the March 8 camp to settle its issues with the STL and other affairs,
then Miqati would have gone down a dangerous route, which is definitely much
more dangerous than the problem of forming a government," he stressed. Close
sources to the Mustqabal movement revealed to the Saudi al-Watan newspaper that
"all ongoing consultations over the new government have not yielded any positive
results because of the other camp's insistence to control all its aspects." "The
only way to end the crisis lies in Miqati removing himself from Hizbullah and
its allies' grasp, should he fail, then he should apologize for it," they
continued. Meanwhile, a March 14 MP who was left unnamed told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa
newspaper: "It is almost certain that France and Qatar facilitated Miqati's
appointment to his current position in order to avert any development that would
have happened should Hariri have been appointed as a new premier." Beirut, 06
Feb 11, 10:18
Analysis: After Egypt, West rethinks its Arab realpolitik
By William Maclean, Security Correspondent
MUNICH (Reuters) - Astonished by the uprising in Egypt, Western countries
anxious to be on the right side of history have started to reassess ties to
army-backed Arab strongmen stubbornly opposed to democracy. On grounds of both
principle and self-interest, the West must promote more responsive and
democratic government in the region to ensure peaceful change in societies
yearning for a better life, officials at a security conference in Germany said.
"The past two weeks are a wake-up call," former Republican presidential
candidate John McCain said. He said he wanted democracy in the region not out of
"some misplaced moralism" but because the resultant stability would help the
United States.
"The greatest guarantee of stability is democracy ... Our national interests
demand it (in the Middle East)." Whether those sentiments turn into reality may
hinge on the outcome of events in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous and
influential country, where an unprecedented revolt has shaken President Hosni
Mubarak's 30-year-old grip on power.
"What happens in Egypt affects all of our interests throughout the region," said
Frank Wisner, President Barack Obama's private envoy to the Egyptian crisis. "We
are aiming for an orderly transition to a democratic future.
DOUBLE STANDARD
Western democracy rhetoric tends to be greeted with cynicism in the Middle East,
because the region has been here before.
A U.S. push for democracy in the Middle East after the 2003 Iraq invasion ran
out of steam when the Islamist movement Hamas won parliamentary elections in the
Palestinian territories in 2006.
Critics of Western diplomacy in the region says this episode reflected a double
standard, namely that the West compromises on its democratic ideals when the
outcome would be unfavorable. But many speakers at the gathering said the
revolts in Tunisia and especially Egypt showed that this time it could be
different, because these were genuinely popular expressions of anger about
corruption, joblessness and poor state services. The involvement of youths,
secularists and the educated middle class gave the lie to any notion that
Islamists were at the vanguard of opposition forces in the Arab world. Arab
governments have long said the only alternatives to their repressive rule are
banned Islamist groups they say would bring an Iranian-style theocratic rule to
the region. This preoccupation with Islamist influence was echoed at the
gathering by Israeli National Security Adviser Uzi Arad, who said security
should be the top Western concern in the region. But many Western analysts said
the revolt had brought a chance for more secular, modernist and technocratic
forces to become involved in government.
"Our friends are those that want to take Egypt into the modern world," Swedish
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. Egypt was an opportunity for democracy not to
be missed.
John Chipman, Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic
Studies, saw the idea that the only alternative to Mubarak was Islamist as a
"totally out of date mantra."
EMERGENCY LAW
"There is a possibility of a technocratic government of all the talents ... if
the United States and the European Union favor it," he said.
Diplomats say a successful move to better governance in Egypt would inspire
similar changes in other Arab countries.
Arab states, from Morocco to Yemen, have much in common with Egypt: Many have
large populations of unemployed young, entrenched leaderships, rule under state
of emergency laws, and opposition groups which say it is time for democracy.
Some analysts say that whether Mubarak goes or stays, the real behind-the-scenes
power in the country will remain the army: Egypt's large armed forces have been
at the heart of power since army officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952.
Chipman said continued military influence was not necessarily a concern. "Yes
the military can hold the ring, but they would hold the ring for a very
different type of government. I think that is still there to play for." One of
the more pessimistic voices, from a democrat's point of view, is that of U.S.
academic Robert Springborg, who sees "no chance whatsoever" of Washington ending
its habit of forging alliances with military-backed autocrats.
Springborg, Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval
Postgraduate School, says the army is working quietly with the West to remove
Mubarak from power in return for keeping its behind-the-scenes dominance of the
political system. "We have missed a historic opportunity," he said, arguing that
a secular democratic Egypt would have been in Israel's interest.(Editing by Tim
Pearce)
Berri: Matters are Progressing in Right Direction, We'll Begin Discussing
Distribution of Portfolios Monday
Naharnet/House Speaker Nabih Berri announced on Sunday that the new government
will emerge in less than a week.
He told Voice of Lebanon Radio that matters are heading in the right direction,
adding that issues will become clear on Monday and talks about the distribution
of portfolios and the names of ministers will begin. Addressing the March 14
forces position towards the formation of the government, Berri said: "We will
see what they will propose, but I believe that Phalange Party leader Amin
Gemayel's statements on the matter are acceptable." "Those issuing so-called
preliminary positions without taking into consideration the others' preliminary
positions, are obstructing Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati's mission,"
Berri stressed. Beirut, 06 Feb 11, 14:44
Miqati: Jumblat Was the First to Nominate Me as PM … I Don't Accept Anyone
Naharnet/Imposing Names or Portfolios on Me
Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati said government formation is his
responsibility and stressed that he "don't accept anyone imposing names or
portfolios on me.""I don't accept in any way names or portfolios to be imposed
on me," Miqati said in an interview to the pan-Arab Al-Hayat Sunday. Miqati said
he had asked Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to give him names and
qualifications. "But I will personally choose the right person for the job," he
stressed. Miqati reiterated his commitment to the Resistance and to the National
Dialogue Conference agreement of 2006 regarding achieving justice. He described
as a "cloud" the current crisis between him and outgoing PM Saad Hariri. "Hariri
and I cannot become a cause for a Sunni-Sunni dispute," he stressed. Miqati also
uncovered that Druze leader Walid Jumblat was the first to suggest his name to
form the new government.
Beirut, 05 Feb 11, 20:49
Bahia Hariri: Former PM Hariri's Blood Will Only Be Means to Establish State
that Harbors All its Sons
Naharnet/MP Bahia al-Hariri stressed on Sunday that former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri's assassination will only be a means for the establishment of a better
life and a just state that harbors all its sons.She said during a speech
commemorating the sixth anniversary of her brother's death: "The martyr's blood
will not be a means to reach power because it belongs to the youth who rose up
against crime and oppression against them and their stability, security, and
future." "The Lebanese youth's hope for freedom, peace, and democracy, and their
keenness on their country has not waned," she stressed. "The policy of isolation
cannot build a state, it has been tried repeatedly, but to no avail, but it only
made matter worse," she said.
Hariri called on all the Lebanese who feel oppressed to stand firm in their
convictions "because no power can marginalize them." The MP issued a word of
thanks to Saudi King Abdullah and "all who gathered in Syria" for their efforts
in helping Lebanon end its crisis. She announced that a prayer for the slain
premier will be held Friday at the Amin mosque, adding a request to Maronite
Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir to hold a prayer for peace and stability in Lebanon
next Sunday. Beirut, 06 Feb 11, 12:19
Arslan Rejects Categorizing Sects as 1st Degree and 2nd Degree Confessions
Naharnet/Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan criticized the alleged
categorization of sects as first degree or second degree confessions, calling
for unity among the Lebanese to confront challenges. "With all respect to all
confessions, there is nothing called monopoly of ministries by any sect," Arslan
told As Safir daily in remarks published Saturday.
The Druze MP also refused attempts to categorize sects as "first degree and
second degree confessions." His remark came as sources following up
consultations to form the cabinet told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that Arslan is
seeking to get the defense ministry portfolio, which is one of the four
"sovereign" ministries that are usually divided among the Maronite, Shiite,
Sunni and Orthodox sects. Following talks with Premier-designate Najib Miqati on
Friday, Arslan said: "We will support the salvation efforts of Miqati." "We hope
that all sides are aware of this dangerous and sensitive period and that they
deal with it with objectivity," he said. Major events "require united efforts …
to confront all" challenges, he said. Beirut, 05 Feb 11, 08:49
Qawouk: Resistance enjoys the support of parliamentary, popular majority
February 6, 2011 /“Today the Resistance in Lebanon enjoys the support of a
parliamentary and popular majority,” the National News Agency quoted Hezbollah
official Sheikh Nabil Qawouk as saying on Sunday. “Lebanon today is in a better
position to confront the conspiratorial project and American tutelage,” Qawouk
said at an event in Nabatiyeh.“Today all that America is doing in Lebanon [aims]
to obstruct the government’s work, but it cannot threaten the Resistance’s
project, weapons, reputation, and stature.”“This new government is an
opportunity for all the nation. We have always rejected vengeance and revenge,
and today we will deal on the same basis. We will not accept revenge,” he said.
“We want the government to have participation and effectiveness so that we can
more strongly confront the American conspiracy.”Prime Minister-designate Najib
Mikati was appointed to the premiership on January 25 with the backing of the
March 8 coalition, following the January 12 collapse of Saad Hariri’s unity
government due to a long-running controversy over the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon’s (STL) investigation of former PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 murder. Mikati
has called on all Lebanese parties to join his upcoming cabinet, but March 14
parties have said that they will not take part in a cabinet headed by a March 8
nominee and have also asked that Mikati first clarify his stance on non-state
weapons and the STL.-NOW Lebanon
Hajjar: Future Movement’s relationship with Jumblatt is cold
February 6, 2011 /The Future Movement’s relationship with Progressive Socialist
Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt is “cold, but has not reached the point of
cut-off,” Future Movement bloc MP Mohammad Hajjar said on Sunday. “The Future
Movement is not boycotting the PSP despite the new position that it has taken,”
he told Voice of Lebanon radio. Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was
appointed to the premiership on January 25 with the backing of the March 8
coalition, following the January 12 collapse of Saad Hariri’s unity government
due to a long-running controversy over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL)
investigation of former PM Rafik Hariri’s 2005 murder.Mikati won the nomination
after Jumblatt and PSP MPs left Hariri’s coalition and sided with March 8.-NOW
Lebanon
A family man
Ana Maria Luca and Nadine Elali, February 6, 2011
André Flouti swallows her tears and smiles as she sits down in her living room.
It’s her fifth year without her Nicolas, but she says she’s had a difficult time
accepting her husband’s absence. His pictures are still hanging on the walls
around the house: a blond man with blue eyes, tough looking.
“I try to make my sons happy. I let the boys feel it’s a holiday, but I know
they feel I am not well,” the widow tells NOW Lebanon. “On the inside it is not
a holiday; in my heart it isn’t.”
Nicolas Flouti was 49 when he died on December 12, 2005 in a car bomb near the
Mkalles roundabout in Beirut. He was An-Nahar newspaper manager Gebran Tueni’s
bodyguard and childhood friend. “They had known each other for 33 years. Nicolas
was there for the most important events in Gebran’s life. They were
inseparable,” André remembers.
It was love that brought and kept André and Nicolas Flouti together for 18
years, she says. “I used to work in a clinic. He watched me coming to work for
four years,” she remembers, smiling. “When we first talked he told me he wanted
to introduce me to his parents. But my parents didn’t want him. They had another
suitor for me. I didn’t want to marry him, so I eloped with Nicolas,” she says,
blushing. They got married, and then had Elie, now 21, and Dimitri, now 19.
“We were a happy family. We used to have fun. He liked to laugh, to party,” she
says, pointing to a picture of her and her late husband at a party. “His boys
were the most important for him. On Christmas he used to think about surprising
them with gifts.”
Nicolas Flouti told his wife he was afraid for his and Tueni’s lives. They were
having a Sunday afternoon barbeque in the garden when the journalist, who had
moved abroad three months earlier after receiving death threats, suddenly called
his bodyguard to announce he was landing that evening in Beirut. “I heard him
saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and I knew who it was on the phone. We finished out party, he
took a nap and then he left,” she recounts. “I asked him if he was afraid when
he came back. ‘I won’t lie to you,’ he told me. ‘I am afraid. This time I am
really afraid.’ I didn’t have any sleep that night,” she says.
It was the next morning the tragedy happened. She crossed herself after he left
and asked God to protect her husband. The last one in the family to see Nicolas
Flouti alive was his youngest son, Dimitri, who was then in the ninth grade. “He
drove me to school that morning. He told me the usual, to study well because it
was going to help me get a job in the future, to take care of myself. I said
goodbye and went inside the school. That was the last moment with him,” he says.
It was around 10 a.m. when André Flouti heard the explosion. She says she knew
it was a bomb and she knew it was her husband who was caught in it. She called a
neighbor and turned on the TV. “When I heard ‘bomb in Mkalles’ I fell to the
ground. I knew that only my husband knew Gebran had arrived,” she says.
The grief is something Nicolas Flouti’s widow says she doesn’t talk about with
many people. “It’s the first time I say these things to anybody. I kept the
grief to myself; I couldn’t let the boys see me cry. But I used to wake up in
the middle of the night and hear them sobbing,” she says. But five years after
the tragedy she admits how difficult it was for her to accept his death. “They
had his coffin sealed with red wax at the funeral. They told me he was the only
one who had remained whole, but they wouldn’t let me see him. I used to think
they were liars, the he was still alive. I kept calling his phone when I came
back home. I wanted to see him. Why should everybody get the chance to say
goodbye to their dead family, and I can’t say goodbye to my husband? I kept
lying to myself,” she says.
She looks up to the ceiling with an ironic smile when asked if she wants
justice. “Only God can bring real justice,” she says. But her sons do not agree.
Elie, who looks very much like his father, follows the news and says he wants to
know the truth about who was behind his father’s death. “I want to know who
killed my father. Why is everyone making a fuss that they don’t want the
tribunal?”
Obama's Egyptian policy criticized in US as missing its mark
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 6, 2011, Western and Middle East observers
were astonished to hear US President Barak Obama's special envoy Frank Wisner
insisting that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stay after all to steer changes
after twelve days of Washington-backed protests failed to unseat him.
He spoke Saturday, Feb. 5, by video to the Munich Security Conference, at which
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the opposite view. debkafile's
Washington sources report that just as divisions between the anti- and
pro-Mubarak camps deepen in Cairo, so too is criticism mounting in Washington
over the US president's tactics on the turbulence in Egypt.
Whereas Obama and Clinton have been pushing hard for the Egyptian president to
quit and the transition of power begin without him, Wisner, a former ambassador
to Egypt, asserted: "Mubarak had give 60 years of his life to the service of his
country, this is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward."
He stressed: "We need to get a national consensus around the pre-conditions for
the next step forward. The president must stay in office to steer those
changes." Obama's special envoy insisted: "Mr. Mubarak's role remains critical
in the days ahead,"
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley responded: "We have great respect for
Frank Wisner … but his views are his own and not coordinated with the US
government.
Wisner was sent by President Obama to Cairo last Monday, Jan. 31, at a climactic
moment of the wave of protests against Mubarak, to urge the embattled Egyptian
president to make haste and resign. This Mubarak has declined to do to this day,
consenting only to leave after his current term is up in September.
In Munich, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered a wry comment on Wisner's
words: "One thing is clear. No transition is taking place in Egypt," she said,
implying that Obama's policy of foisting change on the regime in Cairo was not
working.
Some of the conference participants had in fact received the impression that the
harder Washington pushed for the Egyptian president to leave, the more
stubbornly he clung to office. His last word to was that his departure now would
plunge Egypt into chaos.
Vice President Omar Suleiman, shortly after he was sworn into office by Mubarak,
went on state TV Thursday, Feb. 3, with strong criticism of "foreign elements"
who, he said, when they fail to make us obey their orders, "incite the people
against us." Egypt would not permit even friendly powers to interfere in its
domestic affairs, he said – a view shared by much of the people. Some sources in
Washington are of the opinion that the continuing standoff in Egypt and its
potential for exploding into civil strife, or sliding into a long and bloody war
of attrition between the opponents of Mubarak's regime and its supporters, is
partly the fault of the system of pressures the White House has being applying
for a quick resolution.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, appeared to
agree on this but in an interview Saturday she blamed US intelligence agencies
for failing to give the policymakers "timely intelligence analysis." In the
senator's view, “The president, the secretary of state and the Congress are
making policy decisions on Egypt" for which they lack the appropriate
intelligence tools. Some Washington sources suggested that Wisner's words were a
pointer to a White House flip flop in its policy on Egypt in view of the clear
impression that it had missed its mark and the rising criticism in Washington.
Mubarak, who remains in the saddle, has begun instituting what Wisner called
"the fragile glimmerings" of change in Egypt. Sunday, Feb. 5, after the Muslim
Brotherhood changed its mind and joined the dialogue on change to which the
regime had invited opposition parties, agreement was achieved to form a
constitutional reform panel with opposition participation
Without Mubarak, U.S. power in Mideast will diminish
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz
Alas, the stampede has begun. The planes of U.S. President Barack Obama, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu will soon land in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where they will pull
improvised banners out of their backpacks and shake their fists in the air -
shouting alongside the demonstrators: "The world wants Mubarak gone."
For a moment, though, let's put the hypocrisy aside. After all, these are not
the righteous gentiles, but the world leaders who have said nothing about the
Saudi king, the sultan of Oman, Libya's Muammar Gadhafi or the Algerian regime,
and who a moment ago considered Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak a pro-Western
island of sanity and as providing a major obstacle against Iran's spreading
influence.
Suddenly citizens' rights top their priority list. Freedom of expression and
freedom to demonstrate are now the guiding light for those who staunchly opposed
the results of the Palestinian Authority elections that gave Hamas power, and
who are now witness to how Iraq's wonderful "democracy" is handing the country
over to Iranian control - dreading the moment the masses overthrow the king.
Revolution is romantic. It is exciting to watch women in hijabs protesting
alongside men with yuppie beards, homeless people celebrating near the sons of
the middle class, religious next to secular. This is indeed a civil revolution,
in terms of the public manifesting its power; and academic studies are finally
finding legitimacy on the Internet as a space for resistance.
But let's not forget about the day after. One can shove Mubarak in the same tent
as Gadhafi, Sudan's Omar el-Bashir and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad;
redefine the axis of evil; and decide that a country that does not respect human
rights or occupies another amounts to a terrorist state. But what is happening
in Egypt should raise concerns for anyone assessing the regional political map.
Mubarak's Egypt failed to solve regional conflicts. It did not solve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the crisis in Lebanon. It also failed to prevent
the war in Iraq. The power of Mubarak's Egypt - the leader who lacked ideology
and always sought to achieve a balance - lay in granting legitimacy to
political/diplomatic moves or in rejecting them: The auspices under which Egypt
brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; its struggle in favor of the Arab
Initiative, which became an inseparable part of the Arab peace agenda; its
support of the Sudanese referendum, which created a new reality in Africa; the
backing it gave Jordan against the Israeli proposal of an "alternative
homeland"; and mostly its uncompromising fight against Iranian influence, which
set the borderline of Arab consensus.
If Mubarak leaves now, as a result of the revolution and not as part of an
orderly transfer of power - even if it occurs at a later date than the
demonstrators demand - the country will be a different Egypt, wild and self
absorbed. As it will be busy with internal battles, with begging for donations
to rebuild the enormous losses incurred over the last two weeks, and with
assessing relations with the United States, another country will take its
leading place in the region.
In the best-case scenario, this will be Saudi Arabia - a model democracy which
relies on the United States for its protection, but who can also turn to China
and Russia if the need arises. In the worst-case scenario, this country will be
Syria - which will leverage the Turkish-Iraqi-Iranian axis that, to date,
encountered difficultly in setting the Middle Eastern agenda because it was
blocked by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with the help of the Gulf states (with the
exception of Qatar ).
Without Mubarak's Egypt, the West's ability to conduct an "Arab policy" will be
seriously diminished. And while it's true that such policy was always a bit
fictitious, political theory has shown that if you succeeded in convincing
Egypt, most of the remaining Arab states would follow.
Mubarak is not gone just yet, despite the stones being thrown at him from
Washington. One can only imagine what he feels toward Obama, that same American
leader with whom Mubarak resumed ties after boycotting George W. Bush for five
years. But that is less important at this very moment. The question at hand now
is how any potential Egyptian leader feels, or for that matter, every reigning
Arab leader, toward Washington. What is the lesson learned by the Saudi king or
the Qatari ruler? What are Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei celebrating?
Even though the Americans have suddenly taken note of the will of the Egyptian
people, and even if they had no other political interest in the region, they
must still push for a process in which power will be transferred gradually, as
Mubarak is proposing. From his perspective it may be a matter of honor, but from
Washington's point of view - and that of the Mideast region - it is of strategic
importance.
Peres: Mubarak's contribution to peace will never be forgotten
By The Associated Press
Israel's president said Saturday that Egypt's embattled leader, Hosni Mubarak,
will always be remembered for preserving three decades of peace between the two
nations.
Israel is deeply worried about the prospect that Mubarak could be forced to step
down by the unprecedented street protests in Egypt and that a less friendly
government will emerge. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that any
new government must maintain their 1979 peace deal - Israel's first with an Arab
nation.
On Saturday, President Shimon Peres delivered an impassioned defense of Mubarak,
crediting him with saving both Arab and Israeli lives by preventing war in the
Middle East.
"His contribution to peace, as far as I'm concerned, will never be forgotten,"
Peres said in an address to hundreds of visiting members of the European
Parliament.
During the three decades Mubarak has been in power, he has consistently enforced
the peace treaty signed by his predecessor, and he has mediated between Israel
and the Palestinians.
Peres warned against the possibility that Mubarak's ouster would bring the
Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best organized opposition movement, to power, saying
the fundamentalist group won't bring peace. "We're very worried about having a
change in government or a change in the system of elections without introducing
a change in the reasons that brought this explosion, this bitterness," Peres
said. He appealed for foreign investment to bring technology, development and
openness to Egypt.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: In Their Own Words
Jonathan D. Halevi
•The Muslim Brotherhood has taken a greater role in organizing the protest
against the Egyptian regime as it unfolds its independent political agenda.
Rashad al-Bayumi, the Brotherhood's second-in-command, announced in an interview
with Japanese TV that the group would join a transitional government in order to
cancel the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, as it "offends the Arabs'
dignity and destroys the interests of Egypt and other Arab states." He further
stressed that Egypt does not need American aid.
•The Muslim Brotherhood does indeed participate in political activity and defend
the democratic process. That is not, however, because it has accepted the
principles of Western democracy, but rather because the democratic process can
be exploited to establish an Islamic regime which will then render democracy
unnecessary.
•Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Mahdi ‘Akef told the Egyptian daily
Al-Karama in 2007 that only Islam was the expression of true democracy. "Islam
and its values antedated the West by founding true democracy, exemplified by the
Shura [the advisory council under the Caliphs]."
•The Brotherhood's official website notes that jihad is Islam's most important
tool in effecting a gradual takeover, beginning with the Muslim countries,
moving on to reestablishing the Caliphate over three continents in preparation
for a conquest of the West, and finally instituting a global Islamic state.
•The Muslim Brotherhood's step-by-step plan dictates its supposed "moderation,"
which will gradually vanish as its achievements increase and its acceptance of
the existing situation is replaced by a strict, orthodox Muslim rule whose
foreign policy is based on jihad.
Muslim Brotherhood to Join a Transitional Government
The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for
President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a
transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support
of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats told the
New York Times on February 3. According to the American proposal, the
transitional government will include members from a broad range of opposition
groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood, a global movement with Hamas as its Palestinian branch,
has taken a greater role in organizing the protest against the Egyptian regime
as it unfolds its independent political agenda, defying both the American
administration and Israel. Rashad al-Bayumi, the Muslim Brotherhood's
second-in-command, announced in an interview with Japanese TV (and cited by al-Hayat)
that the group would join a transitional government in order to cancel the peace
treaty between Egypt and Israel, as it "offends the Arabs' dignity and destroys
the interests of Egypt and other Arab states." He further explained that his
animosity to the American administration stems from its support for Israel,
stressing that Egypt does not need American aid.
Democracy Is Islam's Entryway to Power
The Muslim Brotherhood does indeed participate in political activity and defend
the democratic process. That is not, however, because it has accepted the
principles of Western democracy, but rather because the democratic process can
be exploited to establish an Islamic regime which will then render democracy
unnecessary, as was made evident by its platform in the 2007 Egyptian
parliamentary elections. The organization claimed to be participating in the
elections because "the Muslim Brotherhood preaches the path of Allah...[and
therefore it is participating] to fulfill Allah's commands in peaceful ways,
using existing constitutional institutions and a decision determined by the
ballot box." That is, democracy is Islam's entryway to power.
The Muslim Brotherhood platform also noted that "the rule in [Egypt] must be
republican, parliamentary, constitutional and democratic in accordance with the
Islamic Sharia," and that "the Sharia ensures liberty for all." The organization
does not accept the principle of the separation of church and state, and the
Islamic rule they aspire to is, for them, a realization of democracy.
Interviewed on September 17, 2007, by the Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Karama,
Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Mahdi ‘Akef said that the
organization's campaign slogan would be: "Sharia is the Solution" and that human
rights and democracy would be included under Sharia rule. He devoted his May 12,
2007, weekly missive to an exposition of democracy as seen through Muslim
Brotherhood eyes. He said that only Islam, which was given to men by Allah, was
the expression of true democracy. He wrote that
Islam preceded...doctrines and ideologies devised by men. The final, absolute
message from heaven contains all the values which the secular world claims to
have invented....Islam and its values antedated the West by founding true
democracy, exemplified by the Shura [the advisory council under the Caliphs] and
Islam's respect for the equality of other religions....With regard to liberty,
Islam reached a goal which secular preachers have not, for the liberty promised
by Islam is genuine in every way, even in faith and religion....As to the claim
that Islam does not recognize civil authority, the authority of Islam is
democratic...it is genuine liberty, it provides equality in practice and is
transparent, it neither oppresses nor robs any man of his rights....It is on
that foundation and with those values that the Muslim Brotherhood calls for
justice, equality, and liberty. ‘Akef has never equivocated regarding his views
on Western democracy. On April 30, 2005, he told the Egyptian daily newspaper
Al-Ahram that the Muslim Brotherhood opposed American democracy because it was
"corrupt and serves the American agenda....The Muslim Brotherhood has held
demonstrations against foreign intervention and against any democracy that
serves the Americans....[American] democracy is corrupt because it wants to
destroy the [Islamic] nation, its faith and tradition." He told the BBC that
Western democracy was "unrealistic" and "false."
One of ‘Akef's examples of America's "corrupt values" is the attempt to stop
female circumcision in Africa. On July 12, 2007, he wrote that "[the Americans]
spend billions of dollars and endlessly plot to change the Muslim way of life,
they wage war on Muslim leaders, the traditions of its faith and its ideas. They
even wage war against female circumcision, a practice current in 36 countries,
which has been prevalent since the time of the Pharaohs."
The Importance of Jihad
According to the Muslim Brotherhood, jihad, that is, holy war against the
infidels, is one of the fundamental elements spread by the Muslim Brotherhood.
The organization's ideology, as it appears on its official website, regards "the
Prophet Muhammad as its leader and ruler, and jihad as its path." Jihad has a
global strategy beyond self-defense; it is the unceasing attack on every infidel
rule, intended to widen the borders of the Islamic state until all mankind lives
under the Islamic flag.
Clicking the links "The Goals of the Muslim Brotherhood" and "Muslim Brotherhood
Measures" leads to explanations of jihad based on the writings of Muslim
Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna. Jihad, it is noted, is Islam's most
important tool in effecting a gradual takeover, beginning with the Muslim
countries, moving on to re-establishing the Caliphate over three continents in
preparation for a conquest of the West, and finally instituting a global Islamic
state. The organization's website states:
We want a Muslim individual, a Muslim home, a Muslim people, a Muslim government
and state that will lead the Islamic countries and bring into the fold the
Muslim diaspora and the lands robbed from Islam and will then bear the standard
of jihad and the call [da'wah] to Allah. [Then the] world will happily accept
the precepts of Islam....The problems of conquering the world will only end when
the flag of Islam waves and jihad has been proclaimed.
The goal is to establish one Islamic state of united Islamic countries, one
nation under one leadership whose mission will be to reinforce adherence to the
law of Allah...and the strengthening of the Islamic presence in the world
arena....The goal...is the establishment of a world Islamic state.
And if prayer is a pillar of the faith, then jihad is its summit...and death in
the path of Allah is the summit of aspiration. The Muslim Brotherhood does not
hide its global aspirations and the violent path it intends to follow to achieve
them. The Brotherhood is meticulous in its step-by-step plan, first to take over
the soul of the individual and then the family, people, nation and union of
Islamic nations, until the global Islamic state has been realized. The principle
of stages dictates the Muslim Brotherhood's supposed "moderation." However, that
"moderation" will gradually vanish as Muslim Brotherhood achievements increase
and its acceptance of the existing situation is replaced by a strict, orthodox
Muslim rule whose foreign policy is based on jihad.
For the Muslim Brotherhood, jihad is at the center of the struggle against the
United States, the West, Israel, and other infidel regimes. The supreme leader
of the Muslim Brotherhood regards Islam as waging "a battle of values and
identity" against the forces of "imperialism" and the "Anglo-Saxons" attacking
the Arab-Muslim world "on the pretext of spreading democracy, defending minority
rights, and opposing what they call terrorism." He advises Muslims to adopt "the
culture of resistance against the invasion," explaining that Allah gave "the
occupied, oppressed nations jihad and resistance as a means of achieving
freedom." He added that "the culture of resistance to invasion and occupation
have intellectual, military, and economic aspects. Experience in Palestine,
Iraq, and Afghanistan have proved that resistance is not imaginary or fictitious
or impossible, but rather it is possible when the [Islamic] nation presents a
united front and uses its weapons and faith to face an imperialist, whether he
comes with arms or inundates us with his ideas, values, or obsolete morality."
Akef's successor, Mohammad Badi', maintains the same platform.
Note
A comprehensive analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood's agenda may be found in
Jonathan D. Halevi, "The Muslim Brotherhood: A Moderate Islamic Alternative to
al-Qaeda or a Partner in Global Jihad?"
* * *
Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi is a senior researcher of the Middle East and
radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He is a co-founder of
the Orient Research Group Ltd. and is a former advisor to the Policy Planning
Division of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Islam On A Collision Course
By: Amil Imani
05 Feb 2011
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=3727
When he was asked why the vast majority of Egyptians, the heirs to a great
pre-Islamic civilization, speak Arabic rather than Coptic, a leading Egyptian
historian replied, "Because we had no Ferdowsi." That would be the tenth-century
Persian poet and the author of the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) who revived not
only the Persian language, but also Persian identity. Ferdowsi is known for his
efforts to save the Persian language, and the history, from oblivion. It has
been suggested that Ferdowsi is Iran's Homer:
Twice as long as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey taken together, the Shahnameh blends
Iran's ancient myths and legends with accounts of major events in its past. Its
55,000 rhyming couplets chart the history of the Iranian world from its creation
to the fall of the Persian Empire in the seventh century.
The cruel, successful subjugation of the Persian people by the Arab invaders
whetted the latter's appetite for further conquests. They ventured elsewhere
into the civilized world -- to Egypt, Syria, the Levant, Spain, and eventually
to the gates of Vienna. Cruelty and terror were their instruments of policy.
Out of all the peoples conquered by the Arab invasion in the seventh century,
the Persians are the only one who can boast of a major body of literature in the
indigenous language that they were using before the conquest. The Persian
language, culture, and traditions have been Iranians' shields against the Muslim
hordes and their barbaric Islamic ideology for the past 1,400 years.
In English, this language is historically known as "Persian," though some
Persian-speakers migrating to the West continue to use inaccurately and
inappropriately the word "Farsi" to identify their language in English. Farsi is
encountered in some linguistic literature as a name for the language, used both
by Iranians and by foreign authors. But in fact, Farsi is the Arabized form of
the native word Parsi. Due to a lack of the p phoneme in standard Arabic, the
word Farsi was born. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature has declared
that the name "Persian" is more appropriate, as it has the longer tradition in
the Western languages and better expresses the role of the language as a mark of
cultural and national continuity.
The enumeration of the influences of Iranian civilization on world cultures is
not the primary objective of this author and is out of the scope of the present
article. It is important, however, to demonstrate the salient point of how Islam
has been on a collision course with great ancient civilizations such as Egypt,
Persia, and many more from its inception up to now. Just as it brutally
conquered and bitterly stifled one of the fountainheads of progress in ancient
times, Islam remains a very real threat to Western civilization and to any
progressive civil society in the 21st century. It is virulently capable of great
destruction and retardation of minds, as we have seen in the past three decades
in Iran and elsewhere. Any and all enlightened citizens of this planet who care
about freedom, human rights, and progress should take this clear and present
danger very seriously.
Egypt is one of the crown jewels of the ancient world, rich in culture and
filled with illustrious antiquities. Unlike the Persians, the Egyptians became
completely Arabized and have little or no nostalgia for their ancient past.
Islam has dominated the Egyptians' lives. Pew's Global Attitude Project poll
shows that the Egyptians want more Islam in politics.
At the time of the Muslim conquest, the population of Egypt was made up of
Christian Copts and estimated to have been about nine million at the time of the
invasion of 641 AD. Today, Copts form 15% to 18% of Egypt's population. The Arab
conquerors imposed a special tax, known as jizya, on the Christians, who
acquired the status of dhimmis. Egyptian converts to Islam, in turn, were
relegated to the status of mawali.
Early on, the Prophet Muhammad explicitly said, "There is no compulsion in
religion." He further confirmed that admonition: "For you, your religion; and
for me, my religion." But as soon as he gathered enough power, Muhammad violated
those exhortations and set out to force his belief and way of life on others at
the point of the sword. Further, he conveniently ignored his own teaching by
unsheathing his sword upon "the people of the book" -- Jews and Christians. He
spared them death only if they converted or consented to pay the backbreaking
religious taxes of jizya.
I believe that people in the West and in America are beginning to see the real
face of Islam and the danger it poses to secular democratic societies. In the
past, Islam succeeded in largely displacing the magnificent Persian civilization
with a primitive, myopic, discriminatory system of belief. Presently, once again
and with renewed vigor, Islam is aiming to destroy another civilization -- the
Judeo-Christian civilization, a civilization that constitutes a living
falsification of the primitive and backward Islamic creed. Islamofascism
presents a clear and present danger -- not only to Western civilization, but to
the entire civilized world, as is evidenced by the ruling Islamists in places
such as Iran, the Sudan, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia.
With the current Egyptian uprising, the very notion of rapidly advancing 1.5
billion human beings from illiteracy and barbaric 7th-century mentality up to
21st-century Western standards of democracy is an utter impossibility. Over 60%
of the "Muslim world" (excluding Iran) is illiterate and only Quran-trained. The
task is insurmountable, in my opinion. I believe first and foremost that we must
free the Iranian people, draw them back into our Western civilization, and
declare Islam a defunct ideology that has simply failed in Iran.
While the Egyptian demonstrators are as much against Hosni Mubarak as they are
against his tyrannical regime, they don't mind having sharia law injected into
their day-to-day lives. On the contrary, the 2009 Iranian protests were just as
much against the Islamic Republic as they were against Shi'a Islam. In fact,
much of the protesting was against Islam itself. People have experienced what a
primitive and defective system of belief Islam is, and they aim to abandon it
for good. In fact, millions of Iranians representing the entire spectrum of
society are demanding change from the repressive Islamic theocracy to an open
secular democracy.
Young Iranians, particularly the urban educated Iranians, are among the most
ardent believers in democracy in the world. Many view America as the country
that holds the best hope for spreading and protecting the high ideals of
democracy. In a sense, many Iranians feel a closer affinity with a democratic
Israel than with all the neighboring Arab Muslim dictatorships. Although Islam
was imposed on Iran some 1,400 years ago, Iranians deeply value their own
ancient non-Arab identity and have never fully surrendered to the Arab culture.
During the bloodletting war initiated by the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein
against Iran, all Arab states sided with the "Butcher of Baghdad" against Iran.
Israel was the only Middle Eastern country that remained neutral and in fact
helped Iran in the struggle. We Iranians don't forget our friends, and we also
remember our enemies.
While I'm worried that the Muslim Brotherhood will take over this quasi-popular
revolt in Egypt, I am also hopeful that the Iranian patriots will see the
Egyptian demonstrations and be inspired to make yet another try at toppling the
loathed mullahcracy in Iran.