Send $40 Billion for Arab Spring Friends, Not Enemies
We have reached a transformative period in the Middle East, complete with the unpredictability and instability that any tipping point brings. The Arab Spring is often framed solely as an uprising by populations challenging oppressive regimes, but the conflict within the Arab Spring is equally as important. It is absolutely critical that the G8 and other countries and institutions that have pledged $40 billion to support the Arab Spring understand this.
If the West does not strategically support the non-Islamists within the Arab Spring, the movement will befriend the Islamists. The governments that have held back the Muslim Brotherhood will collapse — or oversee reforms that give them unprecedented influence. The Islamists may not win outright majorities in future democratic parliaments, but they could still hold enough seats to exercise veto power over any decision.
Raising its expectations in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood will contest half of the seats during the September elections. The Brotherhood is becoming increasingly active in Libya, too, and now seeks to “coordinate the position of the opposition” in Syria. The Algerian government, meanwhile, is releasing 7,000 Islamist prisoners. The major opposition party in Yemen is Islah, a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate. One of its leaders is blacklisted by the U.S. for his ties to al-Qaeda. The party itself favors a morality police. The picture isn’t any prettier in Tunisia, where the leader of the largest Islamist party is predicting the destruction of Israel.
The Arab Spring is opening up decisive opportunities for the Islamists, but it also gives a platform to non-Islamists who were also silenced. Until now, the competing voices were the oppressive regimes and the Islamist opposition, both of which sought to make the secular democratic forces invisible. For the first time, political openness will permit a contest of ideas to be waged. The natural human urge to criticize, improve, and innovate will result in challenges to the Islamists as people seek new alternatives. Even theologically, the innate tendency to conform religion to one’s own needs and wants will promote a much-needed, if perilous, debate.
It is a mistake to dismiss the Islamist elements within the Arab Spring. It is also a mistake, though, to assume the Islamists are unrivaled. In Egypt, the polls show that the Muslim Brotherhood is in second place behind the secular Wafd Party, despite the Brotherhood’s huge organizational advantages. Amr Moussa, an enemy of Iran, has a wide lead for the presidency. The protests on May 27 against the military regime were boycotted by the Brotherhood, but the liberals still had a strong showing. And if all else fails, there’s hope in the declaration by the military rulers that they won’t allow “another Khomeini” or “extremist factions” to come to power.
Obama wants to give billions to these arab countries even though they have not said, let alone backed up with actions, that they will create a democratic government in their countries and that they will not attack Israel. Yet Obama wants to give them billions. Did anybody stop to ask where all of these billions of dollars are going? What exactly are they going to pay for and who really is getting the money? Is it going to be used to prop up the militaries in those countries, just so that they will have more modern weapons when they attack Israel? And who exactly in those countries is actually going to get this money? Somehow, I get the feeling that the only people who are going to benefit from all of this “foreign aid” are going to be a bunch of Swiss bankers. Remember, Yassir Arafat got a lot of money in “aid” from the United States and he died a very wealthy man, with millions stashed away in France and Switzerland. So, again I ask, who is going to actually get this money and where is it going to go? If we’re going to waste a lot of money, we may as well keep wasting it here in the United States. True, with Obama in the White House, it would probably only help a few union workers, but, hey, at least they’re Americans and not a bunch of radical Islamists who want to kill us.
Ridiculous. Repeat after me, you can’t buy friends, you can’t buy friends. Islam is incompatible with democracy, take a look at our good “friends” in Afghanistan. Add to that the point that we would actually be borrowing the money to give to the so called “friends” and the proposition is doubly ridiculous.
We need to stop ALL foreign aid, yesterday. You can’t buy friends, you can’t buy friends. . .
This is the message that has been coming from Egypt since Ubama began supporting the “Arab Spring.”
There are no Arab Spring friends.
We need to keep our tax money at home and use it to pay off the deficit.
Mr. Mauro, with all due respect, what have you been smoking and inhaling? The Arabs are awash in oil money and have not become a teeny-bit democratic; why should another $40B matter?
Amr Moussa, an enemy of Iran, has a wide lead for the presidency.
Well he certainly supports Iran’s support of Hamas and has the same agenda of removing Israel from the map.
There are some who want to change the world order and creating chaos in the Middle East and putting it under Iranian hegemony is certainly one path to that goal.
I think the point is being missed by the commentators. Lebanon is a full democracy has the west halted Iranian (i.e. Hezbollah) and Syrian interference. Iraq is a full democracy has the west attacked Iranian and Syrian terror at their source in 2004 onward. Arab dictatorships and Islamist groups or governments will do anything to derail democratic movements because they fear freedom in their midst, the same freedom Syrians are chanting in the streets today. What Mr. Mauro is saying is that our only hope are liberal and secular groups who get attacked by both the Islamists and the Arab dictators and if the G8 money goes to Islamist organizations, or people who support dictatorships, the chances then become quite dim that any Arab country will rise to the challenges of today. The people will remain hostile, backward, and so weak as to become more dangerous than ever before. Terror is about weakness. We cannot have what the west has, so we will attempt to strip them of their peace of mind. Don’t blame the Muslims, blame the conditions under which they have existed in the Arab world. Why is it that Indonesian or Malaysian Muslims flourish and co-exist with everyone, including Israel? The core problem has always been Arab dictators and Islamism, not the people or the moderate Muslims represented by liberal and secular groups in the region trying to build free societies.
farid, when these secular liberal parties seeking democracy quit chanting death to israel then maybe we can talk about giving them support.
Yes indeed, things have been “missed”.
“Woman’s position is less advantageous than that of man. Today I will outline for you a number of cultural and legal challenges that women in Iraq are currently facing.In Iraq, personal status law comes from the Hanafi and Jaafari schools of sharia. Article 102 of the personal status law comes from this tradition. It states that the guardian of a minor is first the father, and then a relative of the father.
Article 17 states that a Muslim male may marry a Christian or Jew, as People of the Book, but a Muslim female is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim. Article 111 of the penal code permits a husband to discipline his wife, meaning the husband is permitted to beat his wife. The Islamic context for this last provision is described in the Quran in Surah 4, verse 34.”
And then there’s this:
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/homosexuals-burned-alive-in-iraq-video/
The above from a simple google of the words “Iraq Sharia” I’m sure there’s more.
Hell, massive welfare has been sent into Detroit and Minneapolis yet in the story directly above this one a suicide bomber from one of these locations attacked innocents abroad.
The people will remain “hostile and backward as long as they are ruled by a death cult, preferably substituting a belief in logic and reality for it rather than another cult. If mankind doesn’t outgrow the religious fairy tales of our collective youth soon, we will kill each other off.
I get tired of people hitting at the broad blanket of “religion,” because of islam’s brutality. I’d like to remind the anti-religionists that the godless (communists) killed more people in a shorter period of time than all the religions combined!
I get tired of people responding to what they wish I’d posted instead of what I posted.
My preference for reality over mythology isn’t based on the relative differences between mythologies.
I’m sure if the communists had worshiped an imaginary being, maybe put something like “Gott Mit Uns” on their belt buckles they’d have been much nicer.
You really should ignore him — his “reality god” is drugs and alcohol.
” Terror is about weakness. ” I disagree. Terror is about education.
Funding governments , democratically elected or not, whose educational systems teach hatred and support violence, is counterproductive to American interests. On the other hand monarchies can sometimes be more natural for a country than other systems of governments. I know of no case of a single terrorist from Monaco.
American tax dollars should be spent on Americans, not on people who celebrated on 9-11.
People, people…get a grip on all the taxpayers money. Don’t give money to any of these groups. At Saudi supported maddrassas in the U.S. the children are indoctrinated to grow up, become martyrs, and infect and destroy the U.S. with terror. The ‘arab spring’ is a merchandising ploy to the put lipstick on a pig-just like the American economy is recovering: a big lie. The big picture is this; first bring down Israel(the little Satan) then concentrate on the U.S. (the great Satan)
No amount of money will change the situation, open yours eyes-
WE ARE AT WAR WITH ISLAMISM! Just like we were at war with naziism and communism. It’s time to get our heads on straight, and fight this scourge; not help it fester and poison us all the quicker.
fascism is facism whether or not it’s cloaked in a phoney reigion is beside the point. Fascism is good-bye to freedom and they’re coming to fight us. It’s time to fight back and bust a lot of heads because they respect getting the living s*&t beat out of them.
The Arab spring will end with more extreme regime. Gaza is a good example of what will happen in Arab countries. Following “free election” Hammas took power and eliminate the Fathah, killing hundreds of them.
The Arab tradition is much stronger than the “Arab spring”. They see it in a different way. They see it as opportunity to take power with election rather than with violence. A similar process was in Germany when Hitler took power back in 1933, with free election.
So I am very suspicion about the future of this “Arab spring”.
“Nations do not have friends, only interests.”
I don’t believe a friend that has to be bought is really a friend, and I don’t think a sane person can use arab and friend in the same sentence. If my tax money has to be wasted, just burn it in a garbage can to keep some inner-city gang banger warm. Don’t give it to the arabs.
Wake up all you supporters of spreading democracy to the middle east..it AIN’T gonna happen. If money meant for the “good guys” could be accurately tracked, I’d bet my life that well over 75% of it finds it’s way to the “bad guys”. One of the major problems being that no one can tell who is who or what is what in that part of the world. Administrations from all over the free world continue to throw money at a fire, makes a lot of sense, eh? Obviously, it’s all about oil & the routes the oil takes to get to the free world. Why else would we commit the lives of so many young men & women to such an impossible & worthless task that has not a damn thing to do with the security of America? Although I support those men & women, it sickens me that what they are fighting & dying for is 100% blood money for big oil. The only good thing to come out of the sewer we call the mid-east is the occasional piece of information that is gotten via a well devised system of torture which has & will save a plethora of innocent lives, but is it worth it? If this country would throw out all the political correctness crap & start following common sense by profiling those who want to enter our country & securing our borders, most of our young soldiers that are now in the middle east could be trained & used for real national security. Just to play the devil’s advocate for a minute…Imagine the dollar being worthless (which is well on that path already) & gold is the only method of trading for what we want & there is the largest amount of gold in the world discovered in North Korea, would North Korea suddenly become our best friend & ally, to be protected against all the “bad guys” in the world at any human cost? Sure, this is a stretch but a worthwhile comparison, it’s all about commodities not democracy or some other ideology, it’s strictly greed & power that these young people are paying for with their blood & body parts. It is not worth it & if anyone reading this agrees, here is contact info for senators & congressmen in DC: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
America is broke! We are not in a position to give even one dollar away to other nations!
In the last couple of days it has been reported that “We’re on the verge of a great, great depression. The [Federal Reserve] knows it.”
Spending money like there is no tomorrow. Borrowing money and going deep into debt with no way out. Giving away billions of dollars to other countries when our future is very dark, is unforgivable. Printing trillions of dollars out of thin air deliberately causing inflation is profoundly immoral. There is no doubt that the economic destruction of America is intentional.
Things are going to be very unpleasant. It is most urgent that organic, non-gmo fruit and nut trees and berries are planted in our nation’s parks to help the many millions of desperate, hungry people in the coming great depression.
We can only pray that moderation wins out in the end. But like we have seen in America the radicals don’t go down easy. Radical Islam is on the move alongside the murmurings and quests for democracy in the Middle East. The problem is most people in the west just want it to stop and go away. They are willing to appease anyone who becomes aggressive. Even Reagan went with the quick fix by appeasing the Iran funded highjackers by paying their bribes with Iran-Contra and it was almost his downfall. Today the left and the UN want to give concessions to terrorists in the Palestinian refugee camps just because they can muster up a mob of followers. It’s easy to ostracize Israel because they follow a code of conduct that reasons out problems. But all the Islamists have to do is strap explosives to some deranged religious zealot and we have to start negotiations. The other problem is the so-called “moderate” Muslim who in a recent poll in Egypt pretty much agrees with most of what the Taliban stands for. Until that mental state is changed for something closer to what a rational human being would be, we are just wasting our time and money in the Middle East. Anyway I agree with Mr. Mauro, we should stop giving money to every country in our Foreign Aid Bill. Like Obama helping only his hand-picked supporters, we should, through a nation by nation basis, only give aid to those who espouse a non-dictatorial philosophy, believe in basic human rights, and respect for dignity of people.
Most Americans—and by now probably some Europeans, too—are leery of giving money to alleged democracy types embedded within the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ movement. This movement looks like it is part of the ongoing instability that is endemic to Muslim societies and giving billions away to these people would be like shoving it down a toilet.
Well at least obama is spreading around the American evil capitalist money,around to his friends because America has oppressed everyone. Don`t it make you proud to see comrade obama stealing US tax dollars and giving it to our enemies. Kinda gives you that warm feeling going up your leg. Or is it that warm feeling going down your leg. Oh well it does not matter because, comrade obama will take care of all free Americas!
If you are a member of Western Civilization you should know by now that Arab, friend, democracy, and individual liberty are all mutually exclusive terms. That big round peg will never fit into that tiny square hole no matter how hard or long you pound it.
Bingo! We have a winner. Drill here, Drill now, and let them rot on the vine in their precious “Holy” lands.
The Arab Spring can either be a friend to the Islamists or an enemy. The West’s support should be directed towards making it the latter.
This “enemy” of the Islamists is typically more socialist than capitalist. Give money to neither, and let them both be responsible for their mess.
Fiascos, Bongos, and Wars
Bongos, Fiascos, and wars have all been in the news lately but let’s deal with the last first and hold President Ali Bongo of Gabon and rapper Lupe Fiasco in abeyance since America’s wars matter far more than both of them.
Our anti-war president, who rose to the top of the presidential heap in part due to his very principled opposition to our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is evolving into a warmongerer almost on a par with Genghis Khan and Adolph Hitler even if he hasn’t, yet, laid waste to most of Eurasia or initiated a worldwide conflagration.
The first inkling that should have been a tipoff that Barack Hussein Obama was a closet lover of war was his failure to push for closure of Gitmo despite his pledge to shut down that transparent symbol of America’s adventurous iniquities but he was so clever that few noticed he had a bloodthirst for conflict.
That inclination has become more transparent by Obama’s failure to quickly wrap up Bush’s Operation Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan’s Operation Enduring Freedom campaigns, as he had also pledged, and has now been set in stone by his wars on the sneak in Libya and in Yemen. (http://nyti.ms/kK5w7O)
Characterizing the Libyan war as a “kinetic action” and carrying on the war in Yemen covertly doesn’t really cut it, transparently speaking, Mr. President. It’s past time that, having involved the nation in a third and fourth wars, that you fess up as a warmongerer.
Even the aptly-named rapper from Obama’s hometown, Chicago, Lupe Fiasco, is on to Obama. He descibes the president as ”the biggest terrorist,” although Fiasco didn’t stipulate compared to whom. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=4779)