Arabs for Democracy

22/07/2020

How many deaths? Are we even counting?

While COVID-19 has affected people in different ways, rehabilitation centers across Oklahoma said they’ve seen an increase in opioid and alcohol abuse.

19/10/2019

It has been a very long time since I posted anything on this page...not because I had nothing to say but because everything I had to say would be obsolete the next day...My friends have asked me the past few days what I feel about what is going on in Syria. All I could say is: Syria? what Syria? The Syria we have known for decades is gone, just as the Arab Spring is gone. Egypt is gone, Iraq is gone and whatever is left of Arab pride is gone. We, arabs only know how to fight amongst ourselves. Until we stop oppressing our people, we shall be enslaved by all nations.
Pessimist? maybe, but my pessimism is based on reality. That is a reality check.

18/10/2015

Need we say anything?

18/10/2015

We are all familiar with the "Black Lives Matter" movement. It started when many african americans started making headlines the past two years. They have been shot in the front, in the back and physically tortured by some bad elements of police departments everywhere.
We heard the presidential candidates last Tuesday say that black lives matter during the presidential debate. My question to the world is simple: Do Palestinian lives matter? The glaring difference here is that the Palestinian massacre began in 1948. How many more decades of slaughter will take for the world to finally say: "Palestinian Lives Matter", "All Lives Matter"?
I watch cable news channels commentators talk about how israel is fighting terrorism and extremism caused by bunch of teenagers stabbing Israelis randomly and yet the videos playing in the back show heavily equipped Israeli soldiers advancing against rock throwing children. I shake my head in disbelief and I remind myself that I am watching cable news TV, a censored industry in a so called democratic society.
I do not want anyone to misinterpret any of my comments as calls for violence against anyone. They are totally opposite of that. We can achieve almost anything by peaceful means. All lives matter, including Palestinian lives, period.

14/06/2014

I.S.I.S (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) as it is called lately by CNN and other news organization is on the move. Their aim according to western analysts is the creation of a new islamic republic stretching from east of Iraq to the west of Syria. Although the analysts are right, they are only partially correct as the aim of I.S.I.S stretches far beyond the boundaries of Iraq and Syria. This is not a ragtag army of extremists wanting to die for their religion. This is an army of well-disciplined soldiers not wanting to die but rather fight and live in order to win the ultimate prize, the re-creation of a the islamic empire of centuries ago.

True to their nature, our leaders in Washington find it necessary to play the blame game again. Obama, according to his detractors and haters is to blame for everything that is not only wrong in the country but in the world as well. I know our memory has a life span of a fly but I do not think the politicians believe we are that stupid. Well, at least not those of us who lived through both Bushes presidencies. If we must blame what is happening in the middle east on anyone then let's blame the real creator of the problem, G. W. Bush. In one fit of machismo and bravado, he single-handedly eliminated the one regime, as brutal as it might have been, that kept the extremists in the middle east from having a re-birth. Yes, I am talking about the Saddam's regime. Bush senior understood the value of keeping a balance of power and the need to reign in the brutal dictator without removing him from power. His son on the other hand, in a rush to prove to the world that he is a bigger and better man than his father, achieved, for the extremists, what the extremists themselves tried and failed to accomplish in decades.

NO, I am not sympathetic to the old regime in Iraq, I am simply saying that our bright politicians could have found a way to punish it without the bloodshed, the billions of dollars in unnecessary spendings and without creating a vacuum of power in a region that thrives on religious fervor and idealism. What should our leaders tell the mothers, fathers, sons, wives, husbands, neighbors and friends of the fallen soldiers who were sent to fight in Iraq? your fallen hero's blood was shed to defend our country?. Does this last line still work?
Make no mistake that Syria and Iraq are not the only countries the I.S.I.S is targeting. The entire islamic map is the target and that is a fact not fiction. The army in Iraq that did not put up a fight, the fighters in Afghanistan that fled the initial battles after 9-11 and the new recruits, well-trained, are back with a vengeance. This time, they have weapons, bases from which to launch their attacks and leaders that learned the art of war from the best, from our military. Here is why we should all be afraid of this new army in the middle east more that the world was afraid of Na**sm: Na**sm was a political ideology that managed to alienate all non A***n races. Islamism (note that I purposely said Islamism not Islam) is a doctrine based on religion at its roots and hunger for power at its heart. The only thing this movement and Na**sm have is the need for VENGEANCE.

In conclusion, I hope our leaders in Washington realize that just as it was in the mid 20th century, the tasks ahead of them will determine the faith of not only our country but the faith of the world as well. I pray for my children and my grand-children and so should you.

10/09/2013

We now have a Russian plan in place and we must wonder why all of the sudden such plan to get rid of Chemical Weapons came to life. Was the threat of military action behind it or is it Assad’s way to save face? Those are good questions but one must wonder if Bashar actually fired the chemical weapons that killed over a thousand innocent men, women and children? Who can we trust anymore in this conflict that is about to drag the entire region into more chaos? Personally, I trust no one. What seems like a fight for freedom is slowly shaping up to be a fight for power. There are no clear lines between the guilty and the innocent anymore. Civilians are the only victims in this whole mess.
I listened to the President’s interview on CNN earlier today and quite frankly I was dumbfounded by his statements. On one hand he stated that Syria does not pose any military threat to the might of the United States and on the other hand he said that Chemical Weapons in the hands of Bashar pose a serious threat to America. Which is it Mr. President? You can not have it both ways. Furthermore, the president said that chemical weapons do not discern between a soldier in uniform and an innocent civilian. Mr. President; neither does a Tomahawk missile in a populated area. Remember Iraq? Remember Afghanistan? How many civilians did the administration categorized as collateral damage? The figure is in the tens of thousands….. I remember then hearing how the coward insurgents used civilians as human shields.
The truth is, we can no longer believe anyone and yet we are asked to take one side over the other. As for me, I will always remember the teaching of Ghandi: “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

08/09/2013

Over a year ago, the president drew a so called "Red Line" over the Syrian conflict. Really? Are we the self appointed policeman, prosecutor and Judge in the world? Have we become to big brother to all? Have we appointed ourselves the keepers of peace? And whose peace are we keeping? What we see as our moral duty, the world sees as acts of a bully and what we see as a responsibility towards the "weak" the "impoverished" and the "defenseless" the world sees as acts of a power hungry full of ego and self serving big brother. We should simply let people of other nations decide their destinies.
Why are not the Arab countries intruding in the Syrian conflict? The answer is simpler than you might think. Arab countries are ruled by spineless rulers who like to hold on to their power by letting someone else fight their fights for them. Those rulers aligned themselves with the biggest bully in the neighborhood and used that to protect their statures. A little examination of history will show you exactly what I am saying. Mubarak of Egypt was financially supported by American dollars; the Saudi dynasty was funded by the American thirst for oil. Saddam Hussein's military was build by American, French and British money, expertise and weapons in order to contain the “Evil Iran".
In late 80s Rumsfeld was shown in pictures embracing Saddam and calling him America's Friend in the Middle East. in the 80s also, the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan were labeled in America "Freedom Fighters". a couple of decades later they were labeled, just like Saddam, "Terrorists" and "Enemies of America". in the 80s, Egypt was America's friend seeking peace with Israel. A couple of decades later, Mubarak all of the sudden was labeled and "Autocrat" that needed to go. The pattern shows that our alliances and our enemies change to suit our current political view. And that my friends, is what makes the world leery about our intentions.
"Red Line"? Come on Mr. President. be real. Let the Syrian's decide where and what the "Red Line" is to be drawn. Call on America's so called "allies" to draw the line themselves and do what you think is morally acceptable. There is no doubt that what the Syrian regime is doing is nothing short of war crimes, but should American be the only voice of human conscience? I am sure Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen and other rich oil countries can and should be the neighborhood bullies. America, take a break. Let other nations build or destroy their own way of life.