The cruel face of terrorism
‘Leftists’ were humane
“DURING the 1960s and 1970s terrorism was mostly led by leftist organizations and the stars of terrorism during that period were the German ‘Baader-Meinhof’ group, the Italian ‘Red Brigades’, the Japanese ‘Red Army’ and some Palestinian organizations,” columnist Saleh Al-Shayji wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“During that time, names such as Carlos and the Palestinian ‘Abu Nidal’ (Sabri Al-Banna) who specialized in killing only the Palestinians, emerged.
“But the observer of these organizations notes that while they engaged in terror, murder and intimidation, they had a ‘human’ sense. They tried to limit their operations to strategic objectives and to avoid, to the extent possible, innocent victims. Their operations were neither random nor simple but complex and difficult, requiring thought and planning, intelligence and accuracy, and the perpetrators of those operations had the spirit of combat and that of guerrilla warfare.
“However, by the time, we found that these leftist terrorist organizations were dismantled and completely vanished, its voices were never heard again by anybody coincided with the beginning of Al-Khomeini’s emergence and this was represented by the appearance of what can be called the Islamic terrorist organizations.
“In other words, the rifle shifted from the left wing to the Islamic fold, as if it were an organized operation, to hear the then names of organizations such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist organizations flying the flag of Islam until we reached the Islamic State (IS) or the so-called ‘DAESH’.
“However, according to a report which I have read, there was a strong relationship linking the alQaeda network leader Osama bin Laden and Iran and this is what was revealed in bin Laden’s memoirs which were written in his own handwriting found by his killers in his hideout which the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has allowed to be published recently.
“Anyway, the thing that I would like to clarify through this article is the difference in the methods of terrorism between the leftists and the Islamists where the former was more humanitarian than the latter. Moreover, the leftists had specific objectives and did not operate randomly.
“Not just that, the activities of the leftists’ terrorists required planning, study, review, and they selected the objectives accurately, while the Islamic terrorists indulge in random activities. This terrorism is inhuman and all its victims are innocent people.
“In this context, we elucidate that when a terrorist drives a vehicle through a crowd of people leaving behind mangled bodies, they are all innocent people — pedestrians, shoppers — and this type of operation does not require smartness, planning or even money.
“Such being the case, I hope the terrorism of the leftists will return because this is more merciful.”
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Al-Shayji
“It looks like the US President Donald Trump is trying to restore the Republican House through side-byside meetings to bring the views of his party closer together, but his efforts soon fail,” columnist Ali Mohammad Al-Fairouz wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“The tension between Trump and his party remains at odds with his strange behavior with his hasty style of rule every time. Thus, his internal and external policy is subjected to many severe verbal attacks, which is termed as ‘reckless behavior, shameful and disrespectful’.
“Trump had already launched some tweets on his Twitter account, which even within his Republican Party were unacceptable because the world will not be silent about the continuation of its shart threats, especially when we compare it to the policy and data of his predecessor, Barack Obama, which was characterized by the spirit of democracy and moderation in the rationalization.
“We also noticed a clear split and tension on the ‘day of unity’ allocated to the Republican Party during its meeting with Trump, where he attended the lunch of the Republicans for the first time since his inauguration as president and everyone expected this to be an opportunity to bring the views and reconciliation, but this rare meeting quickly turned into a war of words between Trump and Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on the promotion of the president’s tax cuts project, when Corker asked Trump not to interfere with taxes and leave them to specialists. Trump who did not like it, expressed his opinion in a series of tweets.
“That was the beginning of the war of words. Although Corker is a strong opponent of Iran’s nuclear deal, Trump accused him of being behind Obama’s agreement in April 2015 in the Swiss city of Lausanne with the six countries — China, Russia, the United States, Britain, France and Germany — to reach a comprehensive settlement that guarantees the peaceful nature of the nuclear program and the abolition of all sanctions imposed on Iran.
“But Corker replied saying all accusations hurled by Trump at him were lies and totally untrue and wondered how he could undermine his presidential position and take the country to such a cheap level.”
“Over a month ago, a Bedoun set himself on fire in front of Na’eem Police Station in Jahra Governorate, and I felt a great deal of anger and pain in me due to the incident,” Professor Abdullatif bin Nakhi wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“I sympathized with the 20-year old youth, his family and loved ones over their plight. On the other hand, my conscience pricked me, due to lack of adequate support on my side for the segment, in line with the principles of humanity, Islam and nation.
“Although I was filled with psychological pain, I did not vent it by writing an article about the disastrous incident until the thunderous political cloud covering its sky disappeared. I realized the major hindrance to Bedouns obtaining education and healthcare is political exploitation.
“Back to the memory lane, Bedoun file has always been a major cardinal point for electoral campaigns during National Assembly elections since 1980s. I cannot rule out the fact that the same scenario may have happened in the previous years. There is no solution to Bedoun issue for over four decades and it rather gets more complicated as the years go by, although several candidates pressing for the rights of Bedouns in their manifestoes eventually won seats in the National Assembly.”
“The stance taken by the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim in challenging the Knesset delegation at the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference held in St Petersburg, Russia, was a bold and a strong step,” Abdul-Mohsin Mohammad Al-Husseini wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“It exposed falsehood in the statements made by the Knesset delegation, which contradicted Israeli activities within the occupied Palestinian territories. He revealed to the world and international parliaments the kind of terrorist acts perpetrated against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Speaker Al-Ghanim also disclosed that some Palestinian lawmakers have been languishing in Israeli prisons for over three years.
“Undoubtedly, the action of Speaker Al-Ghanim is an extension of Kuwait’s role within the Arab world. Kuwait has always stood firm in support of Palestinians as regards their legitimate right to return and establish a full-fledged nation.”
“Rumors, the biggest promotional campaigns for false news, gain access to people from unknown sources to carry false news in a bid to instigate chaos in society,” columnist Faihan Al-Azmi wrote for Al-Nahar daily.
“Spreading rumors is one of the types of corruption, which include malicious targets to create sedition, problems and strife in any society. Only a few people have realized the seriousness of having no knowledge about the security damages caused by rumors to the individual and the society.
“I say the above to demonstrate the impact and seriousness of rumors, because of the spreading rumors about the government formation along with the names although HH the Amir did not instruct the prime minister to form the new government and no official statement in this regard has been released. So, who is behind the spread of these rumors on social networking websites? Who is benefiting from this?”
“A conversation I wish with all my heart to be heard by those who are concerned with the Gulf dispute that saddens us, since we are all people of the Gulf,” columnist and former Deputy Director-General of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Iqbal Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“I was waiting for my turn to pay for what I had bought in a shop in Kuwait, while a lady apologized to those waiting behind her for their turn to pay because she had a problem with her ATM card and everyone would be delayed.
“The woman who was next in line said she doesn’t mind waiting. In the meantime the woman asked her nationality and came to know she was Bahraini and the other one with all love, respect and affection said she was Qatari. She went on to say how she does not miss visiting Bahrain from time to time to see her friends and loved ones.
“On hearing the Qatari woman lavishing praise on Bahrainis, the latter expressed her love and affection for the Qataris. She said, ‘We are all people and we love each other, whatever happens, this love and affection does not change that we have for each other.”
“I watched the scene from afar and listened to the wonderful conversation exchanging warm feelings insisting that what binds the Gulf states will not break in any circumstances, no matter how negative.
“I joined the conversation after excusing myself and told them how happy I was to overhear their conversation, and that we all know that our Gulf is one and our fate is one.
“I wished everyone heard what was happening in those moments, to realize that the relations between some of the GCC countries have reached an unacceptable level because what was built between them over the past years, since the establishment of the GCC, is love. The cohesion is not easy to erase from the heart and turn it into a language other than the language of love.”
“It seems that some lawmakers are pressed for time in ensuring quick formation or reshuffling of the Cabinet so as to begin parliamentary sessions,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“It looks like they are planning to pursue a certain agenda or they have some orders to execute. Some of them want to do execute the agenda by hitting the iron while it’s still hot — due to a long list, while others want to use the situation to settle scores. On the contrary, His Highness the Prime Minister does not have to rush into making a decision at all. He should take his time as much as the Constitution permits before executing any amendment, reshuffle or formation of new Cabinet.
“The lawmakers who have an agenda to execute for one reason or the other are in a rush, so they should not force their principle on the Prime Minister. He should be allowed to prepare adequately for a new beginning, because there will definitely be challenges.”
“The social media were presented with a paper bearing the official state emblem, in the name of a member of the ruling family, proposing the establishment of a tribal council in Kuwait in the light of the second annual forum of the sheikhs and tribal dignitaries in Kuwait on Oct 31, 2017,” columnist, Professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department and former MP Dr Hassan Jowhar wrote for Al-Jaridah daily Tuesday.
“Without any official permission or from the concerned party or forum, it is important to comment on it.
“The wording of the statement was superficial and modest, but it contradicted the most basic constitutional rules, legal texts and principles of national interest. In the case of the validity of this document, it is a blatant interference by a member of the family in the affairs of an important segment of the Kuwaiti people, and the imposition of trusteeship.
“One of the aims of the paper is to include His Highness the Amir by supporting him, despite the prestige and powers invested in His Highness the Amir by the Constitution and its self-protection and loyalty through popular allegiance.
“The paper also carried out illegal targets, even insulting the tribes, such as addressing the problems and dangers facing them and developing the services provided to the tribesmen, and establishing a fund from all the tribes to support their children.
“This clearly means striking the elements of civil society and violating the law that protects the rights of all citizens without distinction, including security protection.
“This invitation includes boldly dedicated factionalism and social disintegration and the announcement of the institutionalization of tribalism at the expense of the abandonment of national identity and the marginalization of the concept of citizenship, as if in the face of many problems and imbalances and alignments ‘this was deficient’ to unite the cycle of tragedies in this country.
“Yes, we have suffered since the attempts of constitutional era to satisfy narrow affiliations in all its forms at the expense of Kuwaiti identity and the promotion of citizenship by legal and civil dimensions, and the failure was clear in instilling the fundamentals of the state, and the efforts of the sincere sons of Kuwait in various aspects of steadfastness as a national class for the long dissolution of society.
“The sons of the noble tribes, like many other Kuwaitis, have been stripped of their rights and discriminated against and marginalized from politics for special favors. The tribesmen suffer from poor public services, like all citizens, because of administrative corruption and government confusion.”
— Compiled by Zaki Taleb