‘Arabs must build ties with Iran’
‘You can’t beat them, join them’
“SINCE the signing of the Nuclear Deal between the P5+1 powers with Iran, concerning the latter’s nuclear program, some people had expressed fears that the US and Iran rapprochement may lead to some kind of influence-sharing between them in the Gulf region at the expense of the Gulf states,” columnist Mustafa Al-Sarraf wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“However, this viewpoint also promoted Universal Zionism in a bid to increase the tone of the Gulf enmity towards Iran, particularly since we know this would serve the interests of the West either in terms of dismantling the states in the Gulf region to prevent them from forming a unified power to encounter the Western influence on one hand and on the other to sell weaponry to the region in addition to appreciating the presence of the Western military bases in the part of the world.
“In this context, we say since the very beginning of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran, had actually closed down the Israeli embassy in Tehran, and we know that Israel had established diplomatic ties with the then government of Shah.
“Following this development Iran had handed over the Israeli embassy in Tehran to the Palestinian National Authority and America had since then declared its hostility to the Islamic Republic which to this day continues.
“However, the Iranian action in question was based on ideological basis and was within the principles of the Iranian revolution which had professed to liberate the city of Holy Jerusalem from the Zionist occupation and the Iranian support for the Palestinian resistance became a joint objective between the Palestinians and the Iranians.
“Following the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon in 1982, Iran showed its determination to support the Lebanese resistance against Israel to liberate that part of Lebanon from Israel and this is what happened in 2000.
“Meanwhile, following the US occupation of Iraq and the downfall of the regime of Saddam Hussein, Iran supported the Iraqi resistance to force the Americans to leave Iraq, because their existence constituted a threat to the Iranian security.
“Given the above, Iran unlike its relationship with Saddam Hussein regime, had established a good rapport with the new Iraqi regime to throw a cordon around Israel and in order to stop the overwhelming danger against Israeli entity, America had exerted many attempts to stop the same and this was evident by encouraging Israel to wage a war and reoccupy South Lebanon.
“But this Israeli aggression on South Lebanon failed due to the support that was extended by both Iran and Syria to the Lebanese resistance.
“However, in the wake of this failure, America seemingly decided to wage a war on Syria in an attempt to achieve some success amid the circumstances that were prevalent in the region in the wake of the so called ‘Arab Spring’, but it also failed because Iran remained biased to Syria which is still in a state of hostility against Israel and as such still strives to liberate its lands which are still under the Israeli occupation.
“As a matter of fact, Israel supported by Universal Zionism and America is still in a state of war with Iran to defend its existence as it claims. For its part, Iran considers itself an enemy of Israel and its allies and this enmity is a principled ideology for the Islamic Republic and this means rapprochement between Tehran and Tel Aviv remains a distant possibility.
“For its part, America will not relinquish Israel, but it looks like America has realized that Iran is a big country with a big influence in the region as such ignoring Iran seems is impossible, because as the saying goes, ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ and this is exactly what is done by America and its Western allies to protect their interests in the region.
“But this prospective action will not lead to shedding the skin of hostility between them and Iran – the relations between America on one hand and Russia and China on the other. In other words, establishing political and diplomatic ties between America and its Western allies with Iran doesn’t mean the state of hostility between the two parties will end.
“Such being the case, we suggest that the Arabian Gulf countries, must hasten in building good relations with Iran and eventually create a positive atmosphere, particularly since we know Iran doesn’t harbor aggressive policies against the Gulf states and the latter are in a position to find a balanced relationship between the West and East without showing any bias to any camp at the expense of the other.
“In the meantime, we suggest it looks absurd to see doctrinal differences translating into political enmity, particularly since we know that the interests of the states and their peoples shall remain bigger than these differences, given the fact the latter in my own opinion, shall remain just some kind of justification to misguide the peoples to achieve some other purposes.”
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“I had earlier said that Iran is a bogie of the region and shall hold the keys to all the games if it left alone in the region without any deterring action or move to curb its schemes,” columnist Muhammad Al-Ruwaihel wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“Because we gave Tehran the room to boost its influence in Arab countries and buy the loyalty of some Arabs by supporting the currents and parties affiliated to Iraq to exploit the same for establishing and financing armed militias in addition to training them and providing them with weapons to help implementing its (Iranian) agendas without any deterring action from the relevant Arab countries or any support to the pro Iran currents to gain the allegiance of the latter.
“Such being the case, and as long as we contributed in some or the other way to increase the might of Iran, we should not hesitate to appeal to the US President Donald Trump and the West to stop the Iranian interventions in the affairs of the states in the region.
“It is needless to say that Iran at the moment suffers from internal problems and the ruling regime does not have the support of most Iranians. Add to this the problems Tehran has accumulated over the past 40 years in addition to squandering the funds and the potentials of the Iranian nation for the sake of its revolution and exporting it to other countries.
“Given the above, this regime has created a lot of regional problems and thrust itself in a state of permanent war motivated by its conviction that the latter will enable it rule longer, given the fact that most of the states in the region have contributed to the creation of this state by nor showing their daring to curb this regime by keeping it busy with the Iranian depth.
“In other words, these states have failed to exploit the Ahwazi, Baluchi and the Persian opposition but rather have remained busy dealing with its (Iranian) Arab militias.
“All of us know that America and the West are ‘allies of interest’, and not sincere friends as some of us think and promote. In other words, America and the West will follow only their own interests, as such they found in Iran and its actions against us as a free of charge interest. “In this context, we cite the situation that prevailed prior to the downfall of Baghdad and Kabul where America and the West, paid an exorbitant price following which they decided to keep them as bogies against us because of their interests because this bogie shall serve their agenda without spending a penny.
“In other words, we have built the Iranian bogie against ourselves by allowing it to expand its influence inside our countries and threatening our interests, because we were under the impression that the Americans and the West will not allow this bogie to hurt us.
“But for the time being, the Americans and the Westerners find in this bogie the best servant for their own interests with no loss incurred or efforts exerted but this situation has encouraged them to request us impudently and shamelessly to pay for the maintenance of this bogie – the bogie that we built with their assistance.”
“We are in a new and fast-paced era of renewable applications and smart phones which affect various aspects of life. We are also in the era of artificial intelligence, which has started to be applied, especially in advanced and developing countries,” columnist Ahmad Al Sadhan wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“It is also the era of the Internet and robots, some of which look like real human beings.
“Locally, we are still stuck in the old fashioned bureaucracy which does not match the economic and commercial developments the world is witnessing.
“Among the dangerous and most advanced technology is the drone – a type of remote-controlled plane. We need to get ready to deal with such strange invention that intruded our life. This type of aircraft has various applications in different fields such as monitoring oil pipelines and fire out operations.
“The drone is used for carrying out dangerous tasks where man cannot reach easily, as well as for military and spying purposes. It is preferred because the one who controls it is quite away from any danger, unlike the traditional aircraft which requires taking into consideration the safety and security of the pilot.
“The advantage of the drone is that it does not require air pressure and enough oxygen. It does not need a cabin for the pilot. All this resulted in reducing the weight of the drone compared to the traditional aircraft.
“Drone has changed the nature of air force where the controller is not exposed to any danger, unlike the pilot. We need to recognize this technology and know well how to deal with it professionally. We have to come up with advanced sciences and acquire technical experience to be able to confront aggressive attacks.”
“People who do not read missed opportunities as many did not have luck in the acquisition of knowledge and Science. They did not fly in the sky of the imagination of poets and authors, more so they did not even realize why God created this universe and enjoin us to meditate on it,” Abdul-Rahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“The issue of culture at the Arab level needs to be reconsidered. It urgently needs the intervention of governments and public interest associations keen on adopting large projects aimed at educating and protecting people intellectually. This is the way for them to know what harms and benefits them.
“In Kuwait, we are not far from the Arab world so we must be sincere in calling all State institutions to conduct awareness campaigns and community education to show the importance of reading, as well as to benefit from it. Communicating the correct information to the public that reading is the fortress and cornerstone in the development of any society is necessary, while protecting it from plunder of rumors and poisoned ideas.
“When you travel to Europe, America or Japan, for example, you are amazed when you take the metro or any other means of mass transportation. You find everyone is busy reading educational books or fictional novels, while you can easily notice in our societies how much people are busy with smart phones, networking sites or electronic games.
“We now urgently need to channel a large part of our energies and money into the cultural sphere if we are to become a developed nation catching up with civilization.
“Is the time up...?”
“Recently, Kuwait handed over to the Egyptian authorities another wanted person, a member of Muslim Brotherhood Group. At the same time, the result of investigation of one of its leaders who was previously handed over to the Egyptian authorities revealed that the group is active in Kuwait, but very low profile,” columnist Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“In short, Kuwait is feeling the heat of this group but its authority continues to hesitate in declaring it as a terrorist organization similar to what happened in Saudi Arabia where it persists in fighting this group by all means. We are all aware of the danger posed by this group as its elements occupy various State domains, especially ‘education’, ‘Awqaf’ and charity organizations to name a few.
“In Kuwait, the group is divided into two – the section of expatriates mostly Egyptians, and the other section of citizens fascinated by the group’s ideology and benefiting from millions of dinars. Currently, the group does not have an active plan but it is ready to jump whenever circumstances allow its members to do so. Therefore, it is imperative for our concerned authorities to move before it is too late.”
“For the Ministry of Health to succeed in its mission for the society and the people, it needs to provide suitable working conditions which encourage its personnel to give everything they have gained in terms of experience – whether the medical team, technical or even support staff. These three are the formulas for success,” columnist Waleed Abdullah Al-Ghanim wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“The ministry needs to set up a clear and known national strategy for developing medical work which does not depend on buildings and facilities without actual operations as we witness in the new facilities such as Jahra and Jaber hospitals, in addition to several empty health buildings. The ministry’s success lies on its ability to focus on providing quality primary healthcare and quick response in specialized health centers and emergency clinics. This is in addition to choosing the best expatriate doctors, guarantee dispensation of medicines, medical equipment and pioneering social awareness.
“Minister of Health Dr Basel Al-Sabah has a huge burden on his shoulder. He is responsible for millions of people in this country. He can never carry that burden if his ministry does not stand behind him with trustworthy leaders and doctors on his side. The minister is in the service of the nation and cares for mankind – not a football match or university’s election.
“Hence, he should listen to advice and remember that positions are not everlasting. May Almighty Allah help him.”