‘Infighting keeps Arabs busy’
“THE leader of Iranian opposition in exile ‘Mujahedeen-e-Khalq’ Maryam Rajavi was recently quoted as saying that the ‘Operation Decisive Storm’ on Yemen has forced the rulers of Tehran to ‘administer the nuclear poison’ and called on Iran to adopt a non-nuclear democracy,” columnist and former Director of Culture Department and the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters Waleed Al-Rujaib wrote for Al-Rai daily Monday.
“Speaking of the just concluded nuclear deal between Iran and the United States of America and the West or the so called P5+1 and Iran, it is needless to say this deal is met with various contradictory reactions in Iran and the West.
“In Iran, we found a lot of Iranians appreciating the success of negotiations between Iran and P5+1 States that has peaked with the concluding of nuclear deal in question between these parties, the deal which Iran considers as a triumph for Tehran in the belief it shall pave the way for lifting of economic sanctions that were imposed on Iran in 2006.
“In spite of the above, the Iranian conservatives have cast some doubts on the essence of the deal in question as well as on the pertinent Iranian compromises to such an extent they have called for comparing the draft of the agreement that was written by the Iranian experts in Persian and the English text to appease the Iranians that there is no cheating in this regard.
“Speaking of the Israeli attitude to the deal in question, we would like to say although the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his opposition to this deal, he has called on the West to put more pressures on Iran in order to conclude a better agreement over the latter’s nuclear program that should eventually lead to forcing Iran to recognize Israel.
“However, we found that some circles have ruled out that Tehran will change its policy towards some Arab countries which currently enjoy its influence in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen, moreover, the Tehran dreams to revive the Persian Empire and its attempts to dominate the international maritime passages in the Arabian Gulf, Bab el-Mandeb and the Mediterranean Sea.
“Apart from the above, some circles keep wondering about the price that has been paid by the West and Iran prior to the conclusion of the nuclear deal in question and whether or not the latter will reflect on the Syrian crisis or on the Lebanese Hezbollah or the latter’s branches in some Arab countries.
“But in reality there are no signs so far that the deal will reflect on the relevant countries, namely Iraq, Syria and Yemen. In this context, we say some groups and organizations which are currently supported by Iran are not in ‘doctrinal agreement’ with Tehran.
“Take for example, the Houthis of Yemen, they actually don’t belong to the religious doctrine (the doctrine of Twelve Imams) which currently prevails in Iran.
“In this context, we elucidate that the Houthis represent just a political group which looks like the Sunni political groups which are practicing politics under a religious cloak.
“Furthermore, some others raise questions over the US ambiguous role towards some organizations such as the Islamic State (IS) or the so-called ‘DAESH’, the al-Qaeda network and so on.
“In this connection, let us presume that the ‘Operation Decisive Storm’ peaks with the defeat of the Houthis and the tribes and militias particularly those who support the deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh within the next few days.
“But this means the relevant vacuum will be eventually filled by Al-Islah (Reform) Party which is affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood Group. Moreover, the al-Qaeda network militias are currently dominating some areas which were under the Al-Houthis.
“Such being the case, we expect the Yemeni crisis with the concerned Arab countries will prolong because these countries shall witness the appearance of extremist groups either the Sunnis or Shiites and this means the sectarian discord which aims to tear apart our Arab countries will continue.
“However, some political analysts agree at the moment that the nuclear deal that has been concluded recently between Iran and P5+1 and Iran will not help change the situations which currently prevail in the Middle East region as long as the international community closes an eye to the Israeli nuclear weapons and this shall enable the Hebrew State to exercise its dominance in the regional equation.
“We say this because we know that all Arab countries are currently busy solving their sectarian discords and containing terrorist organizations and as such these countries are not in a position to pay any attention to the Israeli danger which currently lurks over the entire region.”
Also: “Following the end of hostilities between Iraq and Iran or rather the end of the Iraq-Iran war in 1988, Iran actually devoted and used most of its resources to rebuild its military might and as such it paid significant amount of attention to the military industrialization covering various types of sophisticated weapons,” columnist and Police Major-General (ret) Hamad Al-Sraeaa wrote for Al-Anba daily Monday.
“In this context, we say the Iranian efforts in this respect concentrated on building nuclear reactors or ‘piles’ in a prelude to possess nuclear weapons.
“Hence, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) based on the resolution issued by the UN Security Council inspected the Iranian nuclear reactors but came across many difficulties during the inspection process and this can be mostly attributed to the absence of cooperation from the Iranian side to such an extent the former had prevented the latter from having access to the so-called ‘Natanz Nuclear Reactor’ which lies hidden beneath the Iranian mountains.
“Following this the US and some Western countries had slapped economic sanctions on Tehran to force it to cooperate with the IAEA inspectors over its nuclear program.
“This happened although we in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member States were largely idle as if we are least concerned about the Iranian nuclear reactors and prospective nuclear weapons to be produced by the latter and directed at us.
“In other words, the GCC states have dealt with such an issue as if Iran bodes well for us and is not a source of devilish thoughts.
“However, following the election of Barack Obama as the president of the United States of America, his administration was seemingly determined to contain the Iranian regime without confronting it. This happened although Israel, for instance, had vehemently objected Obama’s policy in this regard, while the GCC States had preferred to remain silent without expressing any opinion.
“For its part, the Iranian regime played freely in the region and this was due to the US administration’s hesitation in dealing with the situations in this part of the world. But Tehran was eventually involved in negotiations with the P5+1 States over its nuclear program and this development can be deemed as a victory for the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, but not for the Iranian regime led by the country’s spiritual leader Ali Khamenei and this may cast doubts over the success of the agreement or deal between the P5+1 and Iran.
“In this context, we say Iran has deemed the international deal in question over its nuclear program as a significant gain while the US sees the conclusion of this deal as a historical victory for Washington and its friendly States.
“But the question is, was this deal dictated by the weakness of Washington or by the might of Iran? And who has imposed its conditions on whom? Anyway, we have to wait and watch as the events unfold over the next ‘few’ days.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran sealed a deal with the G 5+1 consisting of America, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany, after giving assurance which allayed global fear that its peaceful nuclear program will not be diverted towards production of nuclear weapons,” Basel Al-Jasser wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“Major aspects of the agreement include a decision to destroy three quarters of the enriched uranium and most of the centrifugal equipment that cost Iranian treasury a fortune due to the sanctions. Some of the equipment, which should have been bought for around $1,000, were acquired for almost $100,000.
“All the compromises were in return for lifting the economic sanctions on Iran after several years the Iranian economy suffered huge losses. The sanctions prevented Iran from upgrading oil and gas wells, in addition to the production of oil derivatives such as petrol and diesel which it has been importing since the beginning of sanctions. This is after being a major exporter of the same products prior to the sanctions!”
“I read a statement by Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman AlSabah who has said the Ministry of Information will adopt a new slogan under the title Humanitarian Media,” columnist Nasser Khamees Al-Mutairi wrote for Annahar daily.
“The plan includes production of programs on radio and the Kuwait Television and news media and will be marketed through other media highlighting the role of the State of Kuwait and its humanitarian work in the world.
“There is no doubt that the role played by the Ministry of Information is a national duty, but we have to realize that humanitarian work can neither be integral nor seasonal at because humanity is based on high principles and principles cannot be divided.
“We hope the media men will be aware of this fact and send the message across to other parts of the world.
“Flinging ‘garbage’ and cigarette butts from the window of a moving car is an old-new subject. I think we all of us are suffering from this phenomenon which needs to be tackled immediately,” columnist Abdulrahman AlAwwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“In order to tackle this phenomenon in our society we need to do two things — first, implant the culture of cleanliness in public by stressing on our children and our youth that cleaning is not restricted to people cleaning the roads and pavements but it extends to the house we live in, the street and government institutions.
“The second part is for the government to enact laws to deter people dumping rubbish onto the roads. The time has come to eliminate this uncivilized phenomenon from our midst and from the Kuwaiti society.”
“After about six months since the inception of the international coalition to fight against the ISIL, the group still continues to prowl between Iraq and Syria. As expected, they have now reached Yemen,” columnist Mustafa Al-Sarraf wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“In my article published by the daily on Oct 1, 2014 entitled, ‘Satiric Air Strikes on ISIL’, I explained how flippant the whole coalition issue is. It consists of 60 countries which give political cover to the endeavor, but it is far from the United Nations Security Council oversight to eliminate the ISIL before it realizes its objectives.
“Here we are with the outcome that the coalition was designed for. Actually, there is nothing to the fight against ISIL but US and Israel spy planes, in cooperation with Turkey’s spy agency. The supposed beneficiaries of the move to eliminate the ISIL — Syria and Iraq — have no idea about the targets of the coalition.
“Worst of all, the so-called coalition air strikes against ISIL are hampering the advancement of Syrian and Iraqi forces. Due to the fact that these forces have no idea about the coalition targets, they are forced to pursue ISIL on their own.
“Undoubtedly, this affirms the Zionists’ desire for war to continue in order to tire out the Arab military force and to prevent the foreign jihadists from returning to their countries, especially to Europe. Once this scheme becomes successful, the region will be left under the control of two major powers in the region — Israel and Turkey.”
“Why do we engage in catastrophic wars when we understand very well that our enemies, colonialists and Jews, are the ultimate beneficiaries?” Dr Ahmad Al-Khateeb wrote for Al-Jaridah daily.
“Arabs should be neutral in dealing with sectarian wars whose slogan is: ‘Oh Lord, the disaster is on me and my enemies.’ Did the disaster fall from the sky by coincidence or it took root from our age-long history? Who are the active players in the crisis and what are their motives?
“The problem is about the majority oppressing the minority, while the minority takes revenge when they get hold of power and the majority pays back with the same coin whenever they retrieve the power of governance. This is how we move around the disastrous empty circle that is devoid of logic and magnanimity of the great teacher — Nelson Mandela. We are now witnessing a war and another will surely follow once it ends.
“The best solution for us is to take a cue from countries like Switzerland, Germany, Britain and America. Their governments gave the minority full right of self rule within a federal democratic system that respects human beings and their rights. This is the best civilized solution to overcome the colonial Jewish plans based on the divide and rule system to control the region.”
“One day, I was asked why the US leaders don’t like us. This judgment is not applicable to all of them, because since the period following the World War II, our way of dealing with America and its leaders has taken different shapes,” columnist Dr Najem Abdul Kareem wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“For example, by the time they were dealing with democratic countries such as Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, something that contributed to the development of those countries, our leaders were also dealing with the Americans and as a matter of fact dealing with them until now, but each one is treated according to its own agenda, and definitely, the Arabs been treated in a manner that is beneficial to US interests.
“According to what has been scientifically proven among Americans through intense studies, Arabs have a rich civilized history. Moreover, their land is the source of all religions, not to mention the big wealth that can guarantee this region, once it is united, to be the leading civilized place in the world.
“In order to prevent this, Israel has been created as a gateway for them to demolish the ambitions of Arabs and this is what has happened for more than 70 years that has exposed the Arab world to the toughest circumstances, more than any other on earth.
“If we go back in history and study the position taken by US leaders while handling humanitarian principles, we will find it full of facts showing their respect to freedom and democracy and also the right of nations to have a decent life, but at the same time, they are concerned more with their personal interests before anything else in order to stay in power.
“Here it is shown how they put democracy aside to extend their hands to the insolent dictatorship in the world to hold on to power.”