‘Arabs must protect interests’

‘Foreign schemes destabilizing region’

“TODAY what we see tangibly is the destructive policy pursued by the United States in the Middle East as well as the entire world,” columnist Mustafa Al-Sarraf wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“Take for example the conflicts currently taking place in Iraq, Libya, Syria and add to this the situation in Egypt, and in light of these conflicts we perceive the outcomes of US interventions in the internal affairs of these independent states in the region.

“In other words, the situations in these countries are far from stability and this means the Middle East countries must hasten to contain the situations that have surfaced post the American intervention.

“However, for the time being, we have observed that the Americans are currently busy giving shape to their new adventures through the so-called ‘Deal of Century’ and the current situation in the Arabian Gulf.

“In light of the above, we wonder what will happen if the dangerous confrontation happens in the Arabian Gulf. Here, we once again suggest that the countries in this part of the world, were supposed to handle this situation, and not America, because the US is striving only to destabilize the region.

“Meanwhile, we have seen how the current US administration changes its policy from time to time and this can be attributed to the fact that this administration still lacks clear cut plan and a clear strategy to deal with the affairs of the Middle East.

“Given this scenario, we find the US administration is reluctant to persistently conform with the statements issued by the president although these statements look contradictory and none of these statements focus on a specific aspect except the security of Israel and blackmailing others.

“On the other hand, we have observed how America still imposes its policy on the Arabs for the sake of its interests – the policy that only destabilizes the region.

“In Syria, for instance, America still impedes the political process to end the conflict and the evidence of this is America’s call for participation of all states to enable Syria to restore its sovereignty and stability while the US troops continue to illegally exist on the independent Syrian territories.

“Speaking of Iraq, we see how the US intervention in the internal affairs of that country still impedes any initiative that may bring political stability for Iraq.

“Given the above, we conclude that all American activities in Iraq are centered on protecting the terrorists in Iraq. This happens because it is obvious instability in the Middle East serves America and this is what America wants to see this state of affairs continuing.

“With regard to the Palestinian cause, America attempts to promote the ‘Deal of the Century’ and certainly the implementation of the economic aspect of this deal will be financed by the Arabian Gulf states, because America wants to ‘buy’ peace for Israel.

“Such being the case, I don’t know why we welcome the black fate as if it is a wedding party that should please us. Also I don’t understand why we must use our money to implement the American schemes which are aimed at enabling Israel to economically and militarily dominate the entire region and insult our dignity.

“In the meantime, I think the recent confrontation between America and Iran that resulted in the shooting down of the American espionage drone and the tension that befell the peoples in the region following this event, is a vital example of the stupid and the contradictory policy followed by the incumbent US administration.

“Consequently, all countries of the region must hasten to take the initiative to handle the affairs in a manner that shall bring stability to this part of the world and serve their own interests by building good relations among all neighboring countries and curb the ZionistAmerican extension and not succumb to their schemes.

“Apart from the above, all countries of the region must show keenness to end the conflicts among the Arabs in the Gulf and the entire Middle East region and work to end the Zionist-American occupation, because this is the wise policy that will protect our interests in developing our states.”

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Al-Sarraf

“It looks like the current escalation in the Gulf waters involving the world and Iran over the navigation rights in general and the Strait of Hormuz in particular is steadily becoming acute,” columnist Dr Nayef AlAdwani wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“The escalation has worsened following the action taken by Britain to detain the Iranian oil tanker citing violation of international embargo on Syria.

“In what is seen as tit-for-tat, Iran intercepted a British oil tanker in violation of the international law and freedom of international navigation, particularly since we know that this interception was done with the help of the armed forces.

“Not just that, this interception was followed by a war of words between the concerned parties in addition to a persistent diplomatic move led by the United States, Britain and other European nations to form an international maritime force to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz which is the main artery through which the world oil flows where as much as 20 percent of global oil passes.

“For its part, Iran is currently striving to exert every possible diplomatic effort and sending peaceful and amicable messages to assure its neighbors about the safety of the Gulf.

“In this context, we cite the statement that was issued recently by the Iranian ambassador to the State of Kuwait in addition to the visit paid by a security delegation from the United Arab Emirates to discuss joint cooperation between the two parties over securing the marine navigation in the region.

“Apart from the above, we refer to Iran’s acceptance of the Omani mediation led Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Bin Alawi Abdullah to reach a solution between Britain and the West on one hand and Iran on the other.

“This development also coincides with convulsive statements which have been issued by Iranian military leaders threatening the West, America and the countries in the region saying the region will burn if Iran is exposed to war. Given the above, we infer the region can ‘erupt in flames’ any moment whose outcomes will be catastrophic for the region and the world at large.

“All people realize this fact but the solution rests in Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) taking the initiative to hold a conference at the foreign ministers level to negotiate with Iran and sign security and economic pacts for the good of all parties concerned and link the interests of the peoples in the region with each other instead of waiting for the disaster to occur and leave others to play the role on our behalf.

“In the meantime, we must realize that the first and the direct victim of any prospective disaster will be the Arabian Gulf states and Iran.

“Likewise, we must keep in mind that the conclusion of the security and economic pacts between the Arabian Gulf states and Iran, should entail that the latter must undertake not to intervene in the internal affairs of the countries in the Middle East in general and Arab Gulf states in particular and eventually show its goodwill to the boost ties with its neighbors.

“Apart from the above, Iran must keep in mind that both the international military and political balances are not in its favor and this means that the tension in the region, shall make Iran the big loser and the Gulf states will be hurt.

“This is because the cost of peace will be less than that of the war and destruction caused by it, as such we hope the wisdom of the leaders will prevail and push them to realize the above and give priority to the interests of their peoples at the expense of their personal interests. We hope to see reason prevailing.”

“About 29 years ago, Kuwait and its people suffered from bitter pain because of the Iraqi invasion. The then Iraqi regime had claimed that Kuwait is a part of Iraq but the entire world supported the Kuwaiti right,” Khalid Al-Hamad wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“Talking about the Kuwaiti right, we say so because of the fact that there are some who still believe in the fake claims of the then Iraqi regime. There are many examples of states that obtained independence after separation from other countries such as East Timor, which is as big as Hawally Governorate. It became an independent state after separating from Singapore. Also, Lebanon and South Sudan are independent states. If we conduct a survey, we will discover that most of the countries around the world attained independence and became independent states.

“Is it reasonable for Malaysia to launch a war against Singapore because the latter was part of Malaysia in the past? If so, Indonesia has the right to launch a war against Malaysia and Australia since they were historically part of it. Syria then has the right to claim that Iraq was part of its Syriac and Aramaic history. Turkey then would have the right to start a war with Syria under the pretext that Syria was part of the Byzantine and Ottoman history. Then it will be the right of Italy to launch a war against Turkey since the latter was part of the Roman Empire.

“The world is currently controlled by international laws that uphold the rights of states and peoples including the right of Iraqi people. We do not accept being attacked by any countries such as Iraq under a pretext of having a joint history in the region. On this occasion, we remember with gratitude the role played by Saudi Arabia and the sisterly countries as well as the United States of America in liberating Kuwait from the invasion. We remember the exceptional leader His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who conducted Kuwaiti diplomacy for over thirty years, and his important role in that crisis.

“Today, we are very happy about the wonderful relations between Kuwait and Iraq as sisterly neighboring countries. The two countries are open for both people to visit and work. Iraqis have realized Kuwait’s role in the reconstruction of Iraq. We look forward to a flourishing future for both Kuwait and Iraq.”

“In 1977, The Economist published a report saying The Netherlands was sick and called it the Dutch disease, a kind of disease that affects the economy. The report stated that The Netherlands suffered from the decline of industry in the country,” columnist Bader Al-Failakawi wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“Its currency rose significantly, which led to the decline of industrial exports because it became expensive to manufacture and export, and even the domestic product could not compete with the foreign product at the price, so factory owners closed their shops, increased the rate of unemployment, produced many job seekers, employment became dependent on (wasta), people depended on government assistance and because the country exported gas, it survived from that export of natural resources.

“The disease was not limited to only The Netherlands. History shows the disease hit Spain at the height of its development, in the seventeenth century after the discovery of gold and copper mines in its colonies in South America and the same symptoms that hit the Netherlands was seen in Spain. The disease also infected Norway, Azerbaijan and Mexico because of the discovery of oil in those countries.

“Before the discovery of oil, the Gulf economy was not heavily dependent on industry, and the greatest reliance was on re-exports by sailing ships, especially in the regions and countries bordering the Arabian Gulf.

“The men sailed to India and Africa, carrying products in their small vessels to re-export to other countries and had accumulated great experiences in re-exporting, but with the discovery of oil, we (citizens of the Gulf region) became ill with the symptoms of the Dutch disease, and we were unable to accomplish what the countries had accomplished in just a few months. We have material prosperity but we did not benefit from it by establishing factories because the production cost is huge compared to other countries.

“Unfortunately, we did not benefit from the experience of our forefathers in the area of re-export. We fail to understand the advantages of the re-export link between our interests and the interests of neighboring countries which increases our regional influence because it does not require highly trained professional labor.”

“A few days ago, newspapers reported that the State Audit Bureau discovered the existence of a committee and a team in the Ministry of Health matching the terms of competence and members are paid for membership to the committee and team at the same time,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Annahar daily,

“According to the news, the ministry formed an inspection committee to ensure the regular attendance of employees and follow up their commitment to the official work timings. At the same time, a team was formed with the same task and members. Incentives were paid to the members of the committee and the team, taking advantage of a legal loophole that led to loss of public funds.

“The bureau called for an investigation, especially since the committee and team members are heads of departments and directors of legal departments within the ministry. It also called for referring the auditors and accountants who audited the work of the committee and the team for investigation because of their leniency towards such a big disaster.

“This incident requires a serious look into the work of some ministries and the rampant corruption. We had earlier pointed out that some officials and influential persons in ministries buy loyalty through the formation of committees and teams and appointment of relatives.

“The government, which demands for stoppage of financial wastage, must do so by investigating the work of committees, changing mechanisms and rewards granted to ministers and managers, and linking the financial reward with the work done.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb