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The Gulf Today, January 22, 2011 The second Arab Economic meeting in Sharm El Sheikh could not avoid the high shadow of the Tunisian situation. The Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, warned the leaders: “The Arab citizen has entered a stage of anger that is unprecedented. The Tunisian revolution is not far from us.” The declaration was on the first page of The New York Times. This made me wonder: didn’t they know? Of course they knew it. The overall crisis in the Arab world has made the unanimity of the Arab experts who drafted and produced the PNUD Human Development Report in 2004. This unanimity was even made official during the Arab summit of May 2004, which recognised that “the political field, specifically the structure of the Arab state, is the very place of the impairment and its axis, and it is here therefore that reform must begin.” Continue reading High shadow of Tunisia The Gulf Today, January 17, 2011 January 14 will go in history as the Day of the Tunisian People. The Day of its Revolution. The Day of its victory on the dictator who usurped power and kept it during 23 years. There will be henceforth a time before and a time after January 14. This revolution has a purpose: freedom. The Tunisians said: they did not want bread, but dignity. Still, this will be the case now until a democratic government is elected. A government representing the people of Tunisia, not imposed on them. Without such a solution there will be no end to the conflict. The Revolution is in its very beginning. It might change the political and social landscape for the years to come. This Revolution has nothing similar in the region. It is really a genuine making of a suffering people that happens to be one of the most educated, the most modernised in the region. The Gulf Today, January 09, 2011 Who could imagine some years ago that a US ambassador in Tunisia w ould write in a cable: “Tunisia is not an ally today, but we still share important history and values”? This is indeed the same cable I cited in the first part of this story. About 24 years ago, when Mr Ben Ali took power in Tunisia, he invoked the old age of Bourguiba, the corruption of his entourage and pledged to give his compatriots the democracy they deserve. Many observers then described him as the “man of Washington”! But over time, he might have changed his mind for if we trust the reports from international respected institutions he never delivered on democracy and on fighting corruption. Today, even his American allies have grown weary of his rule to the point that they are waiting for his departure. Ambassador Godec said in his cable: “in the end, serious change here will have to await Ben Ali’s departure.” Why? Because there is no trust any more: “the Government of Tunisia” says the ambassador “relies on vague promises of friendship and empty slogans.” Continue reading Armed governance The Gulf Today, January 08, 2011 Against all expectations, the military is gaining scope and influence in the Arab world not in the Gulf but in North Africa. After over half a century of independence, claims to democracy are retreating while a tough military grip is tightening around the neck of the civil society. In Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya and Egypt, the military is either in power or watching behind the curtains. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published recent trends in military expenditure showing that its most rapid growth over the 10-year period 2000-2009 was Eastern Europe. However, the bulk of this growth (88 per cent) is accounted for by the Russian federation. The other sub-regions with the largest increases since 2000 are North Africa (107 per cent), North America (75 per cent), East Asia (71 per cent), and South Asia (57 per cent). One cannot but wonder: what on earth North Africa is spending all that money for? None of the Northern African states is presently at war, while all of them have been affected by the global financial crisis and the economic recession. None of them is facing a direct threat from Israel or Iran. So can you believe that they are spending on the military much more than North America, East Asia, or South Asia? Continue reading Military in Arab politics The Gulf Today, January 01, 2011 I tried to answer the question: who marked the year in the Middle East? And I did not find better answer than Turkey. As you know, 2010 has revealed a new face of Turkey as a key-actor and Prime Minister Erdogan as a rising leader in the Muslim world. Turkey used to be suspect in the Arab world, though for other reasons than its unilateral abolition of the Caliphate institution in 1924. The distrust goes back to the period preceding World War One and the 19th century, and was explained in historiographic accounts by the repressive behaviour of the Ottoman rulers and their continual crackdown on Arab nationalists and Arab civil society organisations. Continue reading Turkey’s year
As 2010 draws to a close some of us have already drafted our resolutions for the coming year, others like myself, cannot help but take one last glance over our shoulders for it is only by doing so that we are truly able to move forward. When we look back we see that in 2010 Mother Nature demanded our attention with earthquakes that shook us to the core, floods that drowned our homes and volcanic ash that halted our very movement. We proved our ignorance with an oil spill, which after months of stubbornness desecrated everything in its path. She in turn swallowed 33 miners and kept them hostage. Continue reading 2010 One Last Time The Gulf Today, December 25, 2010 The Obama administration has clearly stated its incapacity to make Israelis and Palestinians resume direct negotiations and promised to try indirect talks. Nevertheless, some signs indicate that the Israeli government from the beginning did not hold the resumption of the negotiations with the Palestinians as a primary priority, which may explain the current stalemate. That is what a confidential cable from the US embassy in Tel Aviv revealed. The cable was issued a year ago (December 23, 2009). It covered the meeting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a delegation of the American Congress led by Ike Skelton (D-Missouri) following immediately Netanyahu’s meeting with President Obama a week ago. Reading this piece on WikiLeaks with hindsight is very enlightening indeed. Continue reading Hidden agenda |
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Passivity and commitment
Hichem Karoui
The Gulf Today, January 15, 2011
The Obama administration faces serious challenges inside and outside. It is accused of “weakness,” want of a coherent strategic view and “sheepish following” by conservative hard-liners and a few angry liberal and left-wing critics as well, though for different reasons. In trying to meet the challenges in the Middle East, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Obama administration has two recent precedents to meditate, though. The Clinton and the Bush performances definitely opposed to each other: complete commitment to the peace process (Clinton) and “wait and see” passive approach (Bush). Both were marred with wrong presumptions, hence their failure.
Continue reading Passivity and commitment