Tharwa Editorial
Although we cannot deny that the deeper causes for the conflict in Darfur seem to lie in the scarcity of resources in the region and the restricted access to them rather than ethnic tension, which seems to be a contributing factor only, current Arab reactions to developments in Darfur, official and popular, border on racism (to put it bluntly). The same can also be said with regard to reaction vis-à-vis Kurdish aspirations and concerns.
Raising such a sensitive issue as Minority Rights in such a troubled part of the world as the Middle East (especially the Arab World) at this point in time, when external forces are once again actively involved in reshaping the region and when many of their officials and “experts” are loudly and unambiguously calling for “regime changes” and new Sykes-Picot arrangements of one type or another, is bound to raise some eyebrows as well, both as a reflection of confusion and dismay. Continue reading “Why Tharwa? Why Now?”
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld’s recent allegation that Syria is smuggling war materiale into Iraq raised the ominous prospect that Washington’s attention will turn toward Damascus, whenever it is finished with Baghdad.
Rumsfeld’s charge – vehemently denied by Syria – now tops the long list of unresolved issues in Syria’s relations with the United States: its open-ended military intervention in Lebanon; its continued support of Hizbollah there; its alleged involvement in the 1982 suicide attack against the Marines barrack in Beirut resulting in the death of 241 US soldiers; its continued support of various “outlawed” Palestinian groups; and Syria’s allegedly growing stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Indeed, Syria has long been included on the State Department’s list of nations that support terrorism. Continue reading “Is Syria Next?”
This article was commissioned by the Danish newspaper Politiken and appeared on Sunday, April 6, 2003.
A Lamentation
O Democracy, o new messianic prayer currently running on the lips of the multitudes invoked as some merciful deity to hasten the coming of some long-desired deliverance. O how quickly do words and notions, made holy and sacred, turn against their inventors. O how ironic and oft-recurring is the dream that turns into a nightmare, especially when you are an Arab. Continue reading “Democratization American Style!”
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 