Hi,
I have been trying to get down to tell you about this for some time now, but the pressure of trying to survive makes it difficult just to find the time.
You see, “Operation Lightening” was a good start, but it was only a beginning and needed to be developed in the right way. Now it has rebounded. By leaving the doors poorly guarded and failing to hold the ground after the initial offensive, the enemy was allowed to regroup and launch his treacherous counter offensive of car bombings and murders. Experience in other places has shown that the fight against urban terrorism is essentially defensive. Some certain countries in the region have experience that merits study.
As I have said long time ago. Secure Baghdad and you have done most of the work of securing the whole country. Baghdad as whole should be turned into a “Green Zone”, just like the area in Baghdad housing the M.N.F command and the main governmental organs. The entrances to the capital should be treated in exactly the same way as the entrances to this area. The inhabitants and visitors to the city should be checked and vetted in exactly the same way also. The routes of supply to the city should also be protected. The essential services should be assured. There is much to talk about this idea. But for now, I am simply introducing it, without much explanation for lack of time on my part.
Regards to all.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Hi,
Long time ago I was acquainted with the work of a Jewish writer called Isaac Deutscher. That is a man who may not be very popular with some of my friends being a socialist and all that, nevertheless he was quite a great man. What reminded me of him is my anger against the Arabs which was expressed in my previous post. I mean for his “Un-Jewish Jew” am I not the “Un-Arab Arab”?
I wish, however, to apologize beforehand to any Jewish reader of mine for what I am going to say; assuring him that far from harboring any prejudice, I have the greatest respect and reverence for a people who have given human civilization so much and who were the original monotheists and the first Abrahamites; and that the recent troubles and tragedies of the twentieth century should not obscure and overshadow the thousands of years of glorious history. And you know, the real ethnic Jew and the real ethnic Arab definitely have a common ancestry; this so-called Semitic race, though this does not seem to have resulted in any particular love between the twain. And more; we know for certain from our own knowledge of ourselves, that there are certain traits of character that are quite common to both. You see, the true Semitic character is very passionate and intense and tends to be very, very obstinate. The Jews are a particular race of Semites steeled and distilled by many centuries of struggle for survival in hostile environments, who have managed by shear obstinacy to preserve their religious and cultural identity despite tremendous odds and extreme persecution, for thousands of years.
What has reminded me of this right now in the present situation is a sentence of Isaac Deutscher which I can never forget. It goes something like this: “God help those whom the Jews take it into their head to be their enemies!! “ What is so striking about this sentence is that it applies precisely to the Arabs as well. You may draw your own inferences from this which may throw some light on the madness that is going on in these days.
It has struck me suddenly, that perhaps one of the main mystic keys to defusing the whole thing is to bring about a real historic reconciliation between these two surviving branches of the Semitic race, and I don’t mean just solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem, but something far more profound than that. Is this not the real challenge for the non-Semitic western broker, for his own peace and safety, if not for anything else?
Salaam, Shalom
Long time ago I was acquainted with the work of a Jewish writer called Isaac Deutscher. That is a man who may not be very popular with some of my friends being a socialist and all that, nevertheless he was quite a great man. What reminded me of him is my anger against the Arabs which was expressed in my previous post. I mean for his “Un-Jewish Jew” am I not the “Un-Arab Arab”?
I wish, however, to apologize beforehand to any Jewish reader of mine for what I am going to say; assuring him that far from harboring any prejudice, I have the greatest respect and reverence for a people who have given human civilization so much and who were the original monotheists and the first Abrahamites; and that the recent troubles and tragedies of the twentieth century should not obscure and overshadow the thousands of years of glorious history. And you know, the real ethnic Jew and the real ethnic Arab definitely have a common ancestry; this so-called Semitic race, though this does not seem to have resulted in any particular love between the twain. And more; we know for certain from our own knowledge of ourselves, that there are certain traits of character that are quite common to both. You see, the true Semitic character is very passionate and intense and tends to be very, very obstinate. The Jews are a particular race of Semites steeled and distilled by many centuries of struggle for survival in hostile environments, who have managed by shear obstinacy to preserve their religious and cultural identity despite tremendous odds and extreme persecution, for thousands of years.
What has reminded me of this right now in the present situation is a sentence of Isaac Deutscher which I can never forget. It goes something like this: “God help those whom the Jews take it into their head to be their enemies!! “ What is so striking about this sentence is that it applies precisely to the Arabs as well. You may draw your own inferences from this which may throw some light on the madness that is going on in these days.
It has struck me suddenly, that perhaps one of the main mystic keys to defusing the whole thing is to bring about a real historic reconciliation between these two surviving branches of the Semitic race, and I don’t mean just solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem, but something far more profound than that. Is this not the real challenge for the non-Semitic western broker, for his own peace and safety, if not for anything else?
Salaam, Shalom
Friday, July 08, 2005
والاعراب أشد كفرا ونفاقا
Friends,
Translation of the above words from the holy Koran, may come as a surprise to you : “And the A’arab are the worst in Kufr [ faithlessness ] and hypocrisy”. The A’arab are the nomadic Arabs. This is the judgment of the Koran of the Muslims itself concerning the Bedouin nomadic mentality. Let us use the name Al-Qaeda to symbolize this murderous frame of mind which is plaguing the world right now. It is the living embodiment of the worst of all that is evil in the Arab Bedouin genetic subconscious. As I survey the reaction in the Arab media and those of some of my non-Iraqi Arab acquaintances, and alas, some of their Sunni Iraqi kin, to the latest outrage in London and also to the murder of the Egyptian ambassador in Baghdad, I am strongly reminded of these particular words in the holy Koran. Just now as I was driving to work, I was listening to an interview on BBC Arabic with an Egyptian expert. And who do you think the Arab staff of the BBC selects to talk to regarding the murder of the Egyptian ambassador? It is a character well known as a fanatic and sectarian and an arch enemy of the new Iraq. Is this a coincidence? Is it an innocent random choice by the Egyptian member of the staff of the B.B.C.? Why is it that, always, and at critical moments like these, the choice of “experts” and spokesmen is done in this way? Well, this individual laid the blame squarely on the Egyptian government for having relations with a Government lacking legitimacy, and installed by the occupation, etc. etc. This is by the way the position of many Arabs outside Iraq, who obstinate at calling the Multi National Forces as Occupation, and who deny the legitimacy of the Iraqi Government, which was elected by 8 million Iraqis, representing 60% of the electorate, defying death and intimidation in the only fair elections in our history; a government which is the only fairly elected one in the Arab world, and thus the only truly legitimate one in the region. This individual brushes aside all this and gives mouth to his hatred and prejudice regardless of the facts and regardless of the truth. This is the typical trait of the A’arab: This mentality steeped in contempt for the truth and the culture of hatred and hypocrisy.
Yesterday, the Arab T.V. network “Al Arabiya”, made a poll in one of its regular programs asking the question: “If you know of a terrorist, would you inform the authorities about him?”, and you know, the final results were about half and half. Nearly half of the voters said they would not. That means they sympathized with the terrorists. The votes were quite different depending on country. For instance, most voters from Iraq and Saudi Arabia said they would, whereas those from Syria (and Canada!!) overwhelmingly voted in the negative. A very frequent argument that was made by many callers, suggests that they would in their own country, but the Iraq situation was different and that it is somewhat O.K. to kill Iraqis, and commit all the other well known atrocities, in the name of resistance: Resistance against what? - A fairly elected government and International Forces that are requested by this government to assist it in resisting terrorism aiming at restoring despotism and genocide. Frequently when these Arabs are confronted with a particularly heinous and indefensible atrocity of the resistance, claim that it is the Americans or the Zionists etc. who are behind it for some far fetched reasons which they themselves cannot state with any coherence or conviction; despite the fact that these atrocities are often proudly proclaimed by the perpetrators without the slightest hint of denial.
Well, all the above has made us forget to extend our condolences to the victims of the atrocity in dear old London, a city which I have known so well. It is something that we have expected, though, and a terrible rebuke to all those who think that they can cut and run in the War against Terror. I was most impressed by the comments of President Bush. The way to combat this is to spread “and ideology of hope and compassion in the face of this ideology of hatred and murder”, or words to this effect.
Regards
Translation of the above words from the holy Koran, may come as a surprise to you : “And the A’arab are the worst in Kufr [ faithlessness ] and hypocrisy”. The A’arab are the nomadic Arabs. This is the judgment of the Koran of the Muslims itself concerning the Bedouin nomadic mentality. Let us use the name Al-Qaeda to symbolize this murderous frame of mind which is plaguing the world right now. It is the living embodiment of the worst of all that is evil in the Arab Bedouin genetic subconscious. As I survey the reaction in the Arab media and those of some of my non-Iraqi Arab acquaintances, and alas, some of their Sunni Iraqi kin, to the latest outrage in London and also to the murder of the Egyptian ambassador in Baghdad, I am strongly reminded of these particular words in the holy Koran. Just now as I was driving to work, I was listening to an interview on BBC Arabic with an Egyptian expert. And who do you think the Arab staff of the BBC selects to talk to regarding the murder of the Egyptian ambassador? It is a character well known as a fanatic and sectarian and an arch enemy of the new Iraq. Is this a coincidence? Is it an innocent random choice by the Egyptian member of the staff of the B.B.C.? Why is it that, always, and at critical moments like these, the choice of “experts” and spokesmen is done in this way? Well, this individual laid the blame squarely on the Egyptian government for having relations with a Government lacking legitimacy, and installed by the occupation, etc. etc. This is by the way the position of many Arabs outside Iraq, who obstinate at calling the Multi National Forces as Occupation, and who deny the legitimacy of the Iraqi Government, which was elected by 8 million Iraqis, representing 60% of the electorate, defying death and intimidation in the only fair elections in our history; a government which is the only fairly elected one in the Arab world, and thus the only truly legitimate one in the region. This individual brushes aside all this and gives mouth to his hatred and prejudice regardless of the facts and regardless of the truth. This is the typical trait of the A’arab: This mentality steeped in contempt for the truth and the culture of hatred and hypocrisy.
Yesterday, the Arab T.V. network “Al Arabiya”, made a poll in one of its regular programs asking the question: “If you know of a terrorist, would you inform the authorities about him?”, and you know, the final results were about half and half. Nearly half of the voters said they would not. That means they sympathized with the terrorists. The votes were quite different depending on country. For instance, most voters from Iraq and Saudi Arabia said they would, whereas those from Syria (and Canada!!) overwhelmingly voted in the negative. A very frequent argument that was made by many callers, suggests that they would in their own country, but the Iraq situation was different and that it is somewhat O.K. to kill Iraqis, and commit all the other well known atrocities, in the name of resistance: Resistance against what? - A fairly elected government and International Forces that are requested by this government to assist it in resisting terrorism aiming at restoring despotism and genocide. Frequently when these Arabs are confronted with a particularly heinous and indefensible atrocity of the resistance, claim that it is the Americans or the Zionists etc. who are behind it for some far fetched reasons which they themselves cannot state with any coherence or conviction; despite the fact that these atrocities are often proudly proclaimed by the perpetrators without the slightest hint of denial.
Well, all the above has made us forget to extend our condolences to the victims of the atrocity in dear old London, a city which I have known so well. It is something that we have expected, though, and a terrible rebuke to all those who think that they can cut and run in the War against Terror. I was most impressed by the comments of President Bush. The way to combat this is to spread “and ideology of hope and compassion in the face of this ideology of hatred and murder”, or words to this effect.
Regards
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
INDEPENDENCE DAY
BELATED CONGRADULATIONS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF INDEPENDENCE DAY. MAY THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE BETWEEN OUR PEOPLES LAST AND BECOME STRONGER AND STRONGER TO BRING THE FINAL DEFEAT AND EXTERMINATION OF ALL THE VERMIN AND TERRORIST SCUM IN THE WORLD.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Hi Friends,
I shall try to translate some excerpts of the Arabic piece that I posted. It is difficult to translate, though, due to the flamboyant and florid style so typical of traditional Arabic prose. So, I must admit that the translation is going to try to convey meaning rather than literal equivalents of the Arabic words. The importance of this article is that it offers a glimpse into the frame of mind of many, especially amongst the religious Shiaa people.
Note that my comments as translator are enclosed in square bracket []. Dots (….. ) denote parts that I omitted to translate.
Under the title “Thank you Mr. President; at last Al Jaafari said it”, Mr. Mussawi wrote:
“ In the Hadith Al Qudsi [ reported Sacred Words of Gods, but not contained in the Quraan]: ‘ He who thanks the Created has thanked the Creator’. And thus Allah has addressed men [ in the Quraan ]: ‘ Give your thanks to me and to your parents’; although He (sublime be his status ), is not in need of thanks, as He is neither harmed by the insubordination of the insubordinate nor benefitted from the obedience of the obedient ……………..
And it is one of the most elementary rules of good taste to thank the creature when is kind to us, in acknowledgement of the goodness of his deed the beauty of his behavior. Apropos to this the Lord says: ‘What is the reward of charity but charity?” [the holy Quraan ] ……………….
The occasion for this discourse is the “theological problem” raised by some of the 21st century pious against Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, the Head of the Government, The gist of this problem is this: ‘ It is not permissible for the believer to humiliate himself to the Kafir [the unbeliever in Isalm]; and the thanks that Jaafari has given to President bush is demeaning oneself to the Kafirs, as they believe ‘ ….”
The writer then goes on to refute this position:
“I don’t think that we need to refute this viewpoint, because very simply, it is a naïve opinion and does not deserve reply ……… What has drawn my attention is not so much the “problem” raised by these, but the way of thinking of these people and their mentality that deserve studying, sounding the depths of, and understanding it. The least that can be said about it is that it is a closed mentality, a toraboratian [coining a new word] mentality that comes from the caves of Tora Bora where the extremist Taliban hide, and where the leader of the terrorists Bin Laden spends his last days waiting for the “Martyrdom” that the land of Afgansistan seems to be too weary to give him that he has to export it to us in the person of his disciple Al Zarqawi, the Jordanian of Palestinian origin …..”
The writer then goes on to classify religious people to three types, using a highly untranslatable style and punning on words in Arabic as Shakespeare used to do. The first type are the genuinely pious whose religiousness is rational, realistic and reasonable. The second are hypocrites who cover themselves with T’een [i.e. mud, punning on the word Deen which means religion in Arabic], in order to deceive others and for ulterior motives. The third type are the Mutti-Deen [punning again, since the word Mutti, in the Iraqi slang means Ass or Donkey, the compound word sounds very similar to Muta-dayinin which means religious in Arabic ] – “ …… We may imagine, God spare you, what will be the state of a donkey when he becomes pious? “
“ ……. It is these religious donkeys, that object to the pious Jaafari thanking Bush the Kafir …….. It has not occurred to these, owing to their chronic stupidity, that Al Jaafari, thanked Bush as Head of the Government of Iraq that has the duty of procuring benefit and gain to the country and keeping away harm from it; and not as a guide for one of the pilgrimage parties, as he used to do before the liberation of Baghdad….. “
Then: “ It seems to me that this kind of thinking …….. has made many of the genuinely pious ( of the first kind) afraid of making public their thanks and gratitude, for fear of the tongues of the ignoramuses of the third kind. “
“ ….. Thus I was rejoiced and my sad heart filled with happiness when the head of our government pronounced the words of thanks and gratitude towards the noble American people and the magnificent president Bush. I do not reaveal a secret when I say that I was mesmerized in front of the TV screen during the press conference of President Bush and Dr. Jaafari, despite the fact that I knew beforehand the prepared words that Mr. Al Jaafari was to say …… that he has shown to some members of his cabinet before the trip, …….. I was afraid that our man might hesitate to pronounce what has been agreed ….. and that he might improvise something else in the last moment as he has been known to do often …….. Doubt began to creep on me and I feared that he was not going to do it. And I began to ask myself: what if Al Jaafari behaved as a pious islamist, and not as Head of Government, and did not thank those who saved our people and liberated us from the Baathists? What if he deliberately, omitted the mentions of the “Bush Plan” which was meant to emphasize the idea of the strategic partnership between the new Iraq and America?”
“But it was only a few moments before I heard him say it: ‘Thank you Mr. President, thanks to you and to the American people’. It was only then that I breathed in relief and was filled with great happiness. But why all this happiness for a mere few words? It is because they spelt the end of the Iraq of ideological Antarism [ referring to the Legend of Antar, the ancient Arab folk hero with incredible exploits – meaning vain and jingoist posturing ], and abstract ideas, and the beginning of the Iraq of political realism. ]
The writer then promises a sequel which I am looking forward too.
What is significant about this article and the Jaafari visit, is that this man represents the leadership of one of the main stream conservative religious parties in Iraq, the Da’awa party. To pronounce the words of thanks is a formal declaration of alliance and negation of the notion of Occupation and affirmation of the Liberation by one of the recognized leaders of the main current of the Shiaa movement in Iraq. You don’t thank an occupier, but you can thank a liberator. Also the donkeys that he is talking about are not in the extremist enemy camp, but some in the Shiaa camp. The hypocrites are the likes of the followers of Muqtada Al Sadr. The enemy is boiling with spite which explains the murder of one of Sistani's agents and the attack on a house of the Prime Minister today.
Politically, the U.S. has made an important conquest so far: That of the hearts and strategic alliance of both the majority of the Shiaa and certainly the Kurds; that accounts for at least 75% of the Iraqi people. And I am sure a sizable part of the Iraqi Sunnis can be won over eventually. The undercurrent of largely unspoken popular support and gratitude remains despite all the hardships, mistakes and even harshness in the relationship between the troops and the population due to the mistrust created by the terrorists. This is something that no amount of Media bias and enemy propaganda can shake off. This is the decisive factor, and this is what is going to prevail in the end of the day.
I shall try to translate some excerpts of the Arabic piece that I posted. It is difficult to translate, though, due to the flamboyant and florid style so typical of traditional Arabic prose. So, I must admit that the translation is going to try to convey meaning rather than literal equivalents of the Arabic words. The importance of this article is that it offers a glimpse into the frame of mind of many, especially amongst the religious Shiaa people.
Note that my comments as translator are enclosed in square bracket []. Dots (….. ) denote parts that I omitted to translate.
Under the title “Thank you Mr. President; at last Al Jaafari said it”, Mr. Mussawi wrote:
“ In the Hadith Al Qudsi [ reported Sacred Words of Gods, but not contained in the Quraan]: ‘ He who thanks the Created has thanked the Creator’. And thus Allah has addressed men [ in the Quraan ]: ‘ Give your thanks to me and to your parents’; although He (sublime be his status ), is not in need of thanks, as He is neither harmed by the insubordination of the insubordinate nor benefitted from the obedience of the obedient ……………..
And it is one of the most elementary rules of good taste to thank the creature when is kind to us, in acknowledgement of the goodness of his deed the beauty of his behavior. Apropos to this the Lord says: ‘What is the reward of charity but charity?” [the holy Quraan ] ……………….
The occasion for this discourse is the “theological problem” raised by some of the 21st century pious against Dr. Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, the Head of the Government, The gist of this problem is this: ‘ It is not permissible for the believer to humiliate himself to the Kafir [the unbeliever in Isalm]; and the thanks that Jaafari has given to President bush is demeaning oneself to the Kafirs, as they believe ‘ ….”
The writer then goes on to refute this position:
“I don’t think that we need to refute this viewpoint, because very simply, it is a naïve opinion and does not deserve reply ……… What has drawn my attention is not so much the “problem” raised by these, but the way of thinking of these people and their mentality that deserve studying, sounding the depths of, and understanding it. The least that can be said about it is that it is a closed mentality, a toraboratian [coining a new word] mentality that comes from the caves of Tora Bora where the extremist Taliban hide, and where the leader of the terrorists Bin Laden spends his last days waiting for the “Martyrdom” that the land of Afgansistan seems to be too weary to give him that he has to export it to us in the person of his disciple Al Zarqawi, the Jordanian of Palestinian origin …..”
The writer then goes on to classify religious people to three types, using a highly untranslatable style and punning on words in Arabic as Shakespeare used to do. The first type are the genuinely pious whose religiousness is rational, realistic and reasonable. The second are hypocrites who cover themselves with T’een [i.e. mud, punning on the word Deen which means religion in Arabic], in order to deceive others and for ulterior motives. The third type are the Mutti-Deen [punning again, since the word Mutti, in the Iraqi slang means Ass or Donkey, the compound word sounds very similar to Muta-dayinin which means religious in Arabic ] – “ …… We may imagine, God spare you, what will be the state of a donkey when he becomes pious? “
“ ……. It is these religious donkeys, that object to the pious Jaafari thanking Bush the Kafir …….. It has not occurred to these, owing to their chronic stupidity, that Al Jaafari, thanked Bush as Head of the Government of Iraq that has the duty of procuring benefit and gain to the country and keeping away harm from it; and not as a guide for one of the pilgrimage parties, as he used to do before the liberation of Baghdad….. “
Then: “ It seems to me that this kind of thinking …….. has made many of the genuinely pious ( of the first kind) afraid of making public their thanks and gratitude, for fear of the tongues of the ignoramuses of the third kind. “
“ ….. Thus I was rejoiced and my sad heart filled with happiness when the head of our government pronounced the words of thanks and gratitude towards the noble American people and the magnificent president Bush. I do not reaveal a secret when I say that I was mesmerized in front of the TV screen during the press conference of President Bush and Dr. Jaafari, despite the fact that I knew beforehand the prepared words that Mr. Al Jaafari was to say …… that he has shown to some members of his cabinet before the trip, …….. I was afraid that our man might hesitate to pronounce what has been agreed ….. and that he might improvise something else in the last moment as he has been known to do often …….. Doubt began to creep on me and I feared that he was not going to do it. And I began to ask myself: what if Al Jaafari behaved as a pious islamist, and not as Head of Government, and did not thank those who saved our people and liberated us from the Baathists? What if he deliberately, omitted the mentions of the “Bush Plan” which was meant to emphasize the idea of the strategic partnership between the new Iraq and America?”
“But it was only a few moments before I heard him say it: ‘Thank you Mr. President, thanks to you and to the American people’. It was only then that I breathed in relief and was filled with great happiness. But why all this happiness for a mere few words? It is because they spelt the end of the Iraq of ideological Antarism [ referring to the Legend of Antar, the ancient Arab folk hero with incredible exploits – meaning vain and jingoist posturing ], and abstract ideas, and the beginning of the Iraq of political realism. ]
The writer then promises a sequel which I am looking forward too.
What is significant about this article and the Jaafari visit, is that this man represents the leadership of one of the main stream conservative religious parties in Iraq, the Da’awa party. To pronounce the words of thanks is a formal declaration of alliance and negation of the notion of Occupation and affirmation of the Liberation by one of the recognized leaders of the main current of the Shiaa movement in Iraq. You don’t thank an occupier, but you can thank a liberator. Also the donkeys that he is talking about are not in the extremist enemy camp, but some in the Shiaa camp. The hypocrites are the likes of the followers of Muqtada Al Sadr. The enemy is boiling with spite which explains the murder of one of Sistani's agents and the attack on a house of the Prime Minister today.
Politically, the U.S. has made an important conquest so far: That of the hearts and strategic alliance of both the majority of the Shiaa and certainly the Kurds; that accounts for at least 75% of the Iraqi people. And I am sure a sizable part of the Iraqi Sunnis can be won over eventually. The undercurrent of largely unspoken popular support and gratitude remains despite all the hardships, mistakes and even harshness in the relationship between the troops and the population due to the mistrust created by the terrorists. This is something that no amount of Media bias and enemy propaganda can shake off. This is the decisive factor, and this is what is going to prevail in the end of the day.
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