Opposition coalition

When the revolution was about to being in Iran in 1978-79, a strange thing was occuring there. While the revolution and its leader Khoemini were Islamist and quite fundemental in their leanings, they were joined by many leftist and even secular Iranians in their struggle against the Shah.
The Shah had become so hated by most Iranians that people were willing to support any other alternative in order to rid themselves of him. We must never forget that lesson, because it can happen in any other country.
Yesterday (20 July) there was a demonstration in Cairo, quite a large one by Egyptian standards, of at least 3,000 people. What was strange, i would even say scary, was that it was a joint demonstration by the Muslim Brotherhood (which needs no introduction) and the Kifaya (enough) movement, which is vehementaly opposed to the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. What is a worrying development is that Kifaya is a secular movement, or at least has no religious leanings. One of its most prominent members is even a Christian.
The demonstration did not last long, the divisions between the Brotherhood and Kifaya soon appeared. The Brotherhood chanted religious slogans, while Kifaya insisted on anti-government and anti-Mubarak chants. According to reports, Brotherhood members, who constituted the majority of demonstrators, left, not willing to forgoe their usual chants and Kifaya not willing to divert the focus of their chants away from the president.
Anyway, the fact that this demonstration took place at all is in itself worrying. That people with clearly secular ideals would be willing to get together with a group like the Brotherhood is dangerous, because if this becomes a trend then this will not only threaten the stability of the country, but the fledgling liberal groups will be overwhelmed by the more powerful and more numerous Islamist groups, most notably the Brotherhood.
Islamist groups, once in power, will not adhere to democratic principles, they will not hold elections, they will not tolerate dissent. We must not forget this.
The government must also not overlook the significance of this. When the populace is pushed into a sense of utter hopelessness, they will turn to whatever alternative that is available. If the government is scared of the threat posed by the powerful Islamist groups, especially the Brotherhood, like it constantly says, then it should give the more peaceful, tolerant and liberal opposition groups some sense that their calls for change are being heard. That is if the government is even listening.

National honor

I am still thinking about the Egyptian ambassador that was killed in Iraq, or at least that we think has been killed, by the terrorists operating there.
There has been alot in the Egyptian press about this, with many saying that he should not have been sent to Iraq. The Egyptian press is full of those that like to be loud. Alot of writers and journalists are basically opposition for the sake of opposition, they are mindless. I have even read some commentaries that basically say the ambassador deserved what happened to him. Can anyone believe this?
People have been so blinded by their hate of America that they will justify to satisfy that hate.
What was Egypt was supposed to? Not send an ambassador? Egypt is, i hope, the most important Arab country, it must have a strong presence within Iraq and there must be an ambassador there. Just because some people are against the US presence in Iraq, this does not mean that we completely abandon the country.
I personally think the invasion of Iraq was a good thing, but even if i didn't, this does not mean that i do not send messangers, envoys and representatives to that country. The Americans are there, the new Iraqi government is there, live with it, get over your paranoia, which is by the way a main characteristic of Arab thinking.
I realize that the ambassador should have had more protection, alot more protection, and the Egyptian government must be answerable to this, but we cannot criticize it for sending the guy over there.
Egypt's national honor has taken a strong slap on the face. How will Egypt respond? Will it just sit there? Egypt has withdrawn its diplomats from Iraq, is this a surrender to the terrorists? I think it is.
I am so angry i could scream. Egypt has been humiliated and no one is doing anything about it. There are some who are even still glorifiying the Iraqi terrorists, calling them insurgents and resistance or freedom fighters. Yesterday, according to the latest information, 32 Iraqi children died when a bomb went off. News reports stressed that this bomb was targeting US soldiers, as those children just happened to be in the way, just collateral damage.
What is wrong with the world? How can they justify this? This reminds me of the outcry in the Arab world when the Abu Ghraib mistreatments became public. They were angry at the Americans for what they did, not upset over how the Iraqis were treated.
Torture is torture, does it really matter who does it?

Shoot the messenger

It just keeps getting worse and worse. All signs of logic, humanity and life have been extinguished.
What am i talking about? Well, i am talking about fundamentalist Islam and its use by Iraqi terrorist groups. It is very clear now that all they want is to throw everyone out of Iraq and create their own Taliban style regime there. That it all they want.
So how can they achieve that?
First of all, they have to get those "evil, infidel" foreigners out of Iraq. Why? Because a foreign presence not only gives the Iraqi government international legitimacy, but it also aids in Iraqi reconstruction and stability. The way to do that is to continously attack, abduct and kill foreigners (it doesn't matter what nationality or what they are doing there) and preferably show their killing on video. That way most of those even thinking of going to Iraq will be scared away. This also works for foreign diplomats, who play an even larger role in granting legitimacy to the new Iraqi government. Killing the Egyptian ambassador was just part of this.
Egypt's responce to this should have been alot stronger. I will get into that in a bit.
Secondly, keep killing as many Iraqis as possible, especially those who "dare" try to do anything to help stabalize Iraq, such as joining the police and army. This should keep the country unstable for a while, which is exactly what those "medievalists" want. People first and foremost want security and when it gets bad enough, then the Iraqi people wil turn to any alternative, even if it is an extrimist regime.
Thirdly, keep killing foreign troops. Those terrorists think that there will come a time when US casualties will just get so high that the US will withdraw, no matter what the situation on the ground is. This, sadly, might be true, i do not sense an overwhelming popular support for the Iraqi war anymore. The US people will eventually demand the return of their troops. When that happens, the terrorists will no doubt claim victory.
The US and its allies must not leave Iraq before the situation is put under control. This will be a mistake that will have grave consequences for the future. The terrorists must not be given even the smallest impression that their tactics can work.
As to the killing of the Egyptian ambassador, here is what i think Egypt should have done. Egypt should have declared its intention, publicly, to send a large number of security forces to Iraq, with the intention to find the ambassador's killers. So you terrorists have killed one Egyptian? well, we'll send you 50,000 more.
That should be the response, that is what should be done. An overwhelming response that will make those terrorists think twice about committing such a crime again.
This is national honor we are talking about.
As to the ambassador himself, what he was doing there, how the hell he went about Baghdad without any protection, i will get into that later.

Shot the messenger

It just keeps getting worse and worse. All signs of logic, humanity and life have been extinguished.
What am i talking about? Well, i am talking about fundamentalist Islam and its use by Iraqi terrorist groups. It is very clear now that all they want is to throw everyone out of Iraq and create their own Taliban style regime there. That it all they want.
So how can they achieve that?
First of all, they have to get those "evil, infidel" foreigners out of Iraq. Why? Because a foreign presence not only gives the Iraqi government international legitimacy, but it also aids in Iraqi reconstruction and stability. The way to do that is to continously attack, abduct and kill foreigners (it doesn't matter what nationality or what they are doing there) and preferably show their killing on video. That way most of those even thinking of going to Iraq will be scared away. This also works for foreign diplomats, who play an even larger role in granting legitimacy to the new Iraqi government. Killing the Egyptian ambassador was just part of this.
Egypt's responce to this should have been alot stronger. I will get into that in a bit.
Secondly, keep killing as many Iraqis as possible, especially those who "dare" try to do anything to help stabalize Iraq, such as joining the police and army. This should keep the country unstable for a while, which is exactly what those "medievalists" want. People first and foremost want security and when it gets bad enough, then the Iraqi people wil turn to any alternative, even if it is an extrimist regime.
Thirdly, keep killing foreign troops. Those terrorists think that there will come a time when US casualties will just get so high that the US will withdraw, no matter what the situation on the ground is. This, sadly, might be true, i do not sense an overwhelming popular support for the Iraqi war anymore. The US people will eventually demand the return of their troops. When that happens, the terrorists will no doubt claim victory.
The US and its allies must not leave Iraq before the situation is put under control. This will be a mistake that will have grave consequences for the future. The terrorists must not be given even the smallest impression that their tactics can work.
As to the killing of the Egyptian ambassador, here is what i think Egypt should have done. Egypt should have declared its intention, publicly, to send a large number of security forces to Iraq, with the intention to find the ambassador's killers. So you terrorists have killed one Egyptian? well, we'll send you 50,000 more.
That should be the response, that is what should be done. An overwhelming response that will make those terrorists think twice about committing such a crime again.
This is national honor we are talking about.
As to the ambassador himself, what he was doing there, how the hell he went about Baghdad without any protection, i will get into that later.