by Axin Arbili
Sup****t for Cruel Regimes Breeds Terrorism
January 31, 2008 01:00 PM EST
What have former Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, and Turkey in common besides being Islamic? A few adjectives will
sum it up. They are anti-democratic, intolerant, repressive, brutal,
despotic, violent, militaristic, fascist, and criminal, they are states of
terror and a real threat to world peace. The causes or the common
denominator for all that can to a very large extent also be summed up in a
few words: US/Western strategic interests in the Middle East.Claiming to
be
the civilization of reason, freedom, democracy, human rights, of justice,
the West has in fact been the key sup****ter of states of terror and crime,
and the cause of modern jihadist terrorism. During the Cold War, it
continued the divide-rule-and-exploit game of the colonial European powers
under the rhetoric of fight against communism by creating and sup****ting
so
called moderate or secular Muslim governments; following 9/11 the same
strategy is now called "war on terror". The historical evidence shows that
the West, instead of giving open, official, unconditional sup****t to
genuine
democratic movements and parties that represent the peoples of the region,
has been playing one state against another with millions of innocent lives
sacrificed.
The driving force behind US/Western strategy are two purely primitive and
selfish instincts, commonly called "interests", that are disguised under
volumes of democracy-rhetoric, diplomatic trickery, and military force:
First and foremost, to secure the supply of oil from the region and
maintain
the profitable industrial-military complex related to it; second, to
protect
itself by giving financial and military sup****t to states proclaimed as
friendly allies (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt etc.) against states
perceived
as threats to its strategy (Iran, Syria etc.). The friend or foe
categorization is not eternal though, it can change quite fast according
to
cir***stances on the ground, modifications to strategy, or simply because
a
country has changed its attitude toward the USA. The strategy itself,
however, has never changed.
Despite all the billions of dollars in military and economic aid for its
"allies", it has never worked smoothly according to the US grand scheme
for
the Middle East. In all these countries US foreign policies backfired
sooner
or later, anti-American and anti-Western hatred and aggression, as polls
in
any of these countries demonstrate, rose higher and higher. America's
long-term losses turned out larger than the immediate gains of its
short-sighted interests. But this has never caused a thorough reflection
or
a change of its policies, on the contrary. Each time things were not going
according to the great master plan, the US intervened in the Middle East
by
consistently, as if controlled by a masochistic reflex, betting on and
sup****ting the wrong horse, and the peoples of the region were left behind
to bear the consequences: war, poverty, tyranny, terrorism, genocide.
The Mujahedins were built up with billions of petrodollars from Saudi
Arabia, with US tax money and military hardware, and military training in
Pakistan to oppose the perceived threat of a communist Afghanistan. The
result was a Taleban regime, encouraged, recognized and sanctioned by the
USA and the rest, which lead Afghanistan back to the Dark Ages. Once in
power the Taleban began to destroy everything not resembling their notion
of
an Islamic society. Modern schools, universities were closed, music, TV,
cinema, radio, anything modern or Western was forbidden. Women were
excluded
from the public sphere. Destroyed were also all pre and non-Islamic art
and
architecture, including the great statues of Buddha. The only economy -
through the corridor and official participation of Pakistan-Turkey-Albania
-
was the narcotics trade. That is still the main source of income today.
Nothing of this scale had ever existed in any of the Muslim countries of
the
former Soviet Union; by comparison, these had transformed into societies
and
economies based on education, information, science and technology. There
was
only little protest or action from the West. The USA reacted only when the
Taleban and its offspring, al Qaeda, threatened Western interests
directly,
when they attacked American embassies, ****ps, cities. The military
presence
in Afghanistan today is the final option for the USA to clear up the mess
it
had created, the inevitable consequence of a bloody, misguided, criminal
and
failed strategy. The US military toppled the Taleban but it has not yet
defeated them, and standard of living, women's rights, education are far
from the high levels once enjoyed by all ethnic groups when the country
was
governed by Afghan communists.
What is euphemistically termed "relations" is in reality nothing but
selfishness. Saudi Arabia is another clear example of Western hypocrisy,
double games and double standards. It is the key sponsor of the Islamic
resurgence movement, which some call "islamo-fascism", it is behind Muslim
Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizbollah, etc. Billions of petrodollars flow into
spreading Wahabism and Sharia throughout the Islamic and non-Islamic
world.
There is no major Islamic organization in the West that does not receive
Saudi dollars which are used to print and distribute more Korans, to build
more Islamic schools and mosques, and to carry out more anti-Western,
anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-freedom campaigns. Sharia means by
definition the superiority of Islam over any other religion and implies
that
the whole world must, in one way or another, adhere to it. The men behind
9/11 were Saudis who murdered and died for this goal. Saudi Arabia is key
sponsor also of the so-called Palestinians. The ultimate goal of the
Palestinian Arabs is the annihilation of Israel and creation of yet
another
Arab state to be called "Palestine" which is to replace all of ancient
Jewish territory. The PLO/Fatah and Hamas are the "Palestinian"
organizations engaged in achieving this task. They could be called the
inventors of modern terrorism. All methods of deception, destruction,
murder
are used and declared justified for the "final solution" of a "free
Palestine". The Palestinian jihadist ideology and acts of terror are
sup****ted by the Saudis, the Egyptians, and naturally by all the other
Arab
brethrens. Saudi sup****t for fellow Sunni Arabs is real and lethal.
Saudi's
hand is behind the Sunni-Baath terrorists in post-invasion Iraq, behind
the
murder of thousands of innocent people, and behind preserving the
artificial
and hated state of Iraq in favour of Sunni Arabs and to the disadvantage
of
non-Arabs.
While sponsoring terrorism worldwide, Saudi Arabia itself is managed as a
kingdom by a royal family. The king and his princes consider it, and the
oil
underneath, their personal property. There are laws which regard and treat
non-Arabs and women, who have no right to vote, as second-class citizens.
As
there is no theological and historical basis for aristocracy in Islam, the
whole Saudi system is rightfully seen as Western-sponsored and thus
corrupt
by most Muslims. Bin Laden's popularity and sup****t in the Muslim world
derives largely from his opposition to this system and its Western
backers.
Saudi Arabia, although it is not a democracy and not a NATO-member, is the
second-largest recipient of US military aid. The USA maintains military
bases there, which is another crucial justification of jihad for
Saudi-bred
al Qaeda that vowed to continue fighting the USA as long as there are
infidels on the "holy land" of Islam. The USA and the West sup****t the
Saudi
status quo, which enriches a few but enslaves most of the ordinary people.
The secure and continues flow of oil determines the West's relations with
the Arab world. The Arabs use "their" oil as an all-powerful lever with
which US/Western foreign policy can be influenced to their advantage.
Thus,
the Palestinian Arabs, as well as the Sunni Muslims of Kosovo, get
political
and financial sup****t from the West through its international
institutions,
EU, UN, IMF, World Bank etc. In the West's Middle East strategy, questions
of Palestinian and Saudi terrorism, Israel's security, questions of
morality, democracy, human rights, self-determination, in short, the lives
and fates of ordinary people are looked at and decided in light of Western
needs for Arab oil. While preaching democratic values to Russia and
criticising the Kremlin at every possible occasion, there is a consensus
in
the Western governments and media to avoid any reference to the criminal
and
fascist nature of the Saudi regime and instead to present it is as an
im****tant ally against terrorism and against Western enemies. Saudi Arabia
has been promised 20 billion dollars in military aid this year. In case of
a
shown-down with Iran, the West expects Saudi's assistance in return. As a
reminder, it came as a surprise when the Taliban did not deliver similar
expectations and turned Western calculations upside down.
The USA and the West are now worried about the Mullah theocracy in Tehran.
They should be as there is strong evidence that the regime has been doing
everything to build the bomb. But it should also be remembered how it came
to an Islamic revolution and as consequence to Ahmadinejad. Ayatollah's
revolution was the almost inevitable reaction to the Shah of Iran who was
judged a despot and squanderer of the nation's wealth by all ethnic groups
of Persia, though not by the USA and the West. He was advised by the US
government on almost every issue of how to run the country. The CIA had a
second home in Iran to make sure that the oil and gas business was firmly
under American control. The Shah eventually came to be seen a puppet of
Wa****ngton and a traitor, and the people finally had enough. Years of
cooperation suddenly came to an end with Ayatollah's return from exile and
the proclamation of the Islamic republic. To the USA, this was a serious
blow and threat to their grand strategy - control of the region, control
of
oil -, and as with Castro's Cuba, it has remained determined to fight
Iran,
to take revenge for the humiliation.
Iraq and Saddam became the new favourite. Wa****ngton suddenly discovered
the
Arab minority in the Iranian province of Khuzestan and encouraged the Arab
dictator to become their patron. It came as a further advantage to the USA
that Iraq had border issues with Iran. Saddam's Iraq was rapidly equipped
with American guns, bombs, fighter jets, chemical weapons and made ready
for
war. Saddam's relentless Hitlerian warfare could not continue for eight
long
years without the full military and political sup****t from the USA. Saddam
could also unleash a systematic campaign of genocide against the Kurds
during this time that had no consequences for him or Iraq. It was the
second
time Kurds were mass murdered with chemical weapons. The Iraqi military,
using Western technology, weapons, and gas, murdered 350,000 humans,
displacing more than 1,000,000 only because they were Kurds. Until today
there is no UN recognition of the genocide, there is no international
recognition, no apology by the Arab nation, no compensation. Saddam was
conveniently executed for the murder of 148 ****ites before he could
describe
the part of the USA in the Kurdish genocide.
Saddam and the USA had hoped for a victory over Ayatollah's Iraq, but the
truce did not change the status quo; destruction, murder, genocide were
the
only results. Both the Mullahs and Saddam not only survived, but the war
actually strengthened their grip on power. Saddam had received two decades
of US sup****t, and he would probably be still alive and in power today if
he
had not challenged the overall US Middle East objective by invading
Kuwait.
Oil, the lifeblood of the West, must not be outside of US control. Iran
and
Iraq, previously American allies in the Middle East, were declared
dangerous
enemies of the West who had to be dealt with. As with the Taleban, the
military method was the only option left to stop Saddam. The Kurds were
fighting allies and co-liberators of Iraq, but "Operation Iraqi Freedom"
did
not bring a condition that can be called freedom in the word's true sense:
Despite 98% of the Kurdish population voting for independence from Iraq,
pressures from the USA, neighbouring Turkey, Iran and Arab world forced
the
Kurdish leaders to accept a federal solution. They have been under
constant
pressures and threats to compromise or to give in on many essential
issues,
such as security, status of Kerkuk, Kurdish oil fields. Those concessions
and American strategy behind can be found in "The Way Forward" by the
"Iraq
Study Group" chaired by notorious former State of Secretary and Arab
lobbyist James Baker. His recommendations are being implemented
step-by-step
at the expense of the Kurds. The right for self-determination, which is
being granted to 2 million Albanians in Kosovo, is denied to 45 million
Kurds in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. When it comes to the Middle East, it is
definitely not about liberty, justice, democracy. Iraq was an artificial
creation by imperial Britain to exploit the oil, now the exploitation is
overseen by the USA. A criminal, cruel, and hated state - Iraq will always
be remembered as such - is being maintained with force and deception.
It now looks as if war will probably be the last resort also in case of
Iran. The Mullahs feel encircled by the American occupation in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and they are expecting a similar fate. The bomb seems to be
the
only deterrence and chance. It is the same apocalyptic vision of Good
fighting Evil that drives Ahmadinejad, the Ayatollah, and President Bush.
To
Teheran, the USA represents Great Satan, and Wa****ngton sees Iran acting
as
top sponsor of international terrorism. Judging from their actions and
past
records, both are quite right. Iran has been preparing for Armageddon
since
the 90s with the help of another "reliable" US-ally and
billion-dollars-recipient - Pakistan. That allied country did probably
most
to equip Iran with military hardware and provide it with nuclear know-how.
As the USA is considered by Teheran the greatest enemy of the Muslim world
and of mankind, the ****ite Mullahs have no problems cooperating with
everybody who thinks the same. They already wage a proxy war against the
West by sup****ting organizations, such as Hamas, Hizbollah, and most
probably al Qaeda. As long as US strategy remains the same, and a change
is
unlikely as long as there is oil in the region, the outcomes will be
similar, that is another war and consequently another military occupation.
Bush's recent visit to the Middle East signals to that direction, and the
new deal seems to be: In return for a Palestinian state, the Arabs will be
on the Western side. In return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinian
Arabs, the West will attack Iran and destroy its nuclear facilities. Thus,
Iran's regional power will be diminished, the oil and gas of the region
under firmer American control.
The West knows that the Mullah regime is not popular. It is rejected by
most
Persians, it is hated by the Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, who suffer from state
oppression and terror. There are many dissidents and resistance movements,
the strongest of which is the Kurdish PJAK. As with the Kurdish freedom
fighters in Turkey, the PJAK were forced to take up arms to protect the
Kurdish community against Teheran's aggression and human rights abuses.
These groups have the people's backing, they want the end of the Mullah
dictator****p; they want freedom and democracy for Iran. A change is
possible
from inside, without foreign military force. Only if carried out by the
Iranian population themselves, the change and achievement would be seen
legitimate and lasting. Although the West talks a lot about regime change,
it does not give any open and substantial sup****t for these groups.
Although
it talks about freedom and democracy all the time, it denies indigenous
peoples, with their own distinct languages and ancestral homelands, their
right for self-determination. Millions of people continue to be suppressed
by hostile majorities in the Middle East.
This schizophrenic behaviour of the West and by the so-called
"international
community" can only be explained by the objectives governing US and
Western
strategic interests. Like with Iraq, the USA is not interested in a free,
democratic Iran. Fact and truth is: the West does not want any free and
democratic country in the region. The USA wants all these countries to be
dependent on the West and under its control. Independent, sovereign powers
are a threat to the strategic, economic, neoimperial interests of the
West.
Self-determined, democratic and open societies with transparent
administrations would challenge the Western hegemony over the region and
over the oil. Democracy and open societies are naturally feared and
prevented by the ruling elites as well. It would eliminate their power and
wealth, most of which has been ac***ulated through cooperation with the
West. Thus the West and the ruling local elites have a common interest in
maintaining the status quo from which both sides profit immensely.
The existence of the pseudo-democratic, pseudo-secular state of Turkey,
too,
is based on this understanding and cooperation. The Turkish case is an
open
and empirical textbook of the murderous double-standards and hypocrisy of
the West. It is the only Islamic country in the NATO and the only Islamic
candidate for member****p in the EU. While negotiating member****p, its
military has been occupying the territory of an EU-member, Cyprus. It
receives billions of dollars in economic and military aid from the West.
That money and military hardware have been used to maintain occupation of
North Kurdistan, oppress and terrorize the Kurdish population, launch
raids
against South Kurdistan, to crush the Kurdish freedom movement. The Turks
are sup****ted by the USA, EU, and UN. They call the slaughter of a
defenceless people as "fight against terrorism". Thus Western governments
and their media outlets dehumanize and demonize the struggle of 25 million
people for freedom. The Turkish tyranny and fascism, a continuation of
Ottoman imperialism, is rewarded while the natural, legitimate and
honourable resistance of the Kurds is declared a crime. Goebbels would
have
envied such a masterful global deception, such a perversion of truth and
justice.
But Western realpolitik is not bothered about what is right or wrong, it
is
concerned with securing resources and maintaining control. The present
deal
with the Turks is about Iran. The West has given green light to the
Turkish
army to attack the Kurdish resistance in South Kurdistan. As a further
treat, America might have offered Ankara some rights over Kurdish oil
fields. A full-scale invasion in spring is now becoming a "legal"
possibility for the Turks and would not come as a surprise. For the
fascist
Turks, any form of free, self-governing and successful Kurdish entity,
which
is South Kurdistan, is unacceptable. The West knows that and thus can use
the Kurds to manipulate the Turks. It is not the first time that the Kurds
have been betrayed by the West. The Americans have told Ankara many times
that they will not interfere as long as the Turks are on board against
Iran.
On his recent visit to Wa****ngton, the Turkish president Abdullah Gul made
the Turkish-American deal public by stating that Turkey was opposed to a
"nuclear neighbour". Big Brother believes the Turkish military can be
lead,
but he is playing with fire. Turkey has learnt the art of doublespeak and
double games long time ago.
It presents itself to the world as a secular and democratic country, but
under that media-controlled surface and deception a brutal military rules
all aspects of social and political life. It wants the West to see it as
part of the Western world, and wants the East to regard it as a fellow
Muslim country when cooperating with Syria, Iran, Sudan, and other Islamic
states of terror. It can host an international children's feast every year
and be co-initiator of the "Alliance of Civilisations" while at the same
time deny that there are Kurdish children and a Kurdish culture. The
Turkish
regime can sign a military agreement with Israel but invite the Hamas
leader****p to Ankara for official talks, and allow its Muslim population,
political parties and media to spread anti-Israel and anti-Jewish
propaganda. There is nothing "modern" about "modern Turkey". It is a
republic of denials since its foundation. It denies the genocide of the
Armenian people, it denies the existence and rights of the Kurdish people.
The Kemalist ideology, a mix of rootless nationalism and megalomania, is
used by the ruling elites as an all-justifying tool to suppress any
dissent,
any attempt to liberate Anatolia from the joke of military fascism and
Islamic backwardness. Millions of people fell victim to the Kemalist
Weltanschauung, but the USA and the West see and promote it as "modern
Turkey" in their grand strategic conception.
It is clear that he peoples of the Middle East and elsewhere cannot expect
any sup****t from the West in liberating their countries from fascist and
self-serving elites. The West and these elites form a partner****p, an
alliance of evil, against freedom. The sticking glue of this partner****p
is
oil, and as long as there is some left their cooperation will continue.
These forces prevent a real change, a real progress in the region. As the
West has betrayed its ideals of democracy, liberty, justice, the
indigenous
democratic movements of the region should cease to look westward but
instead
trust and believe in their own power only. Together they should seek to
obtain and implement their natural and God-given rights for
self-determination, which is the foundation of freedom and peace. No
alliance or force in the world can be stronger than the liberating force
of
truth and justice. And the West and their local clients should know that
there will be no peace for anyone without justice for everyone!
Axin Arbili - a Kurdish freelance writer
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/30514.html
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