Mubarak the Pétainist .. Nasrallah the DeGaulist

Today, it wasn't the first time for the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to congratulate Israel in a letter to Shimon Peres on the so called " 62nd Independence Day", only against the will and interest of most of his nation. To the vast majority of Egyptians, this day is a tragedy wherein Palestine was officially fallen. Being a repeated act does not necessarily mean it was not the most painful to the entire Arab world, taking in consideration the concurrent happenings and acts to this letter, these are;

1. Israeli destructive excavations under Al-Aqsa mosque is continued, including news about underground metro line in Jerusalem that passes under the mosque.
2. The controversial steel wall on the borders, which is ghettoizing Gaza and Palestinians more and more is almost done.
3. Ahram official newspaper in Saturday 17th of April had almost praised Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, naming him "Superman" on the occasion of assassinating the Iranian nuclear scientist; Massoud Ali Mohammadi.
4. Mubarak system is practicing ongoing oppression against political reform activists, including proven cases of torture since 06-04-2010. A contrast that builds an image of regime that is harsh internally and ultra soft externally.

Mubarak used to refer to Hezbollah resistant acts to be jeopardizing Lebanese people welfare and safety. His words were typically used once in the first half of twentieth century. Henri Philippe Petain, who was one day named Marshal of France upon his outstanding military achievements in Word War I, had became the elected Chief of State at the age of 84 in 1940, when the French Parliament members thought he will revitalize France as a national hero after the defeat against Nazi battalions. They realized how wrong they were when the old marshal transformed France into a dwarfed state headed by a dictator (Petain himself) who has became deeply allied with Nazi forces, and oppressed Free French Forces activists and supporters with extreme violence to please his German masters. It was then when he used to claim that Free French Forces movement founded by Charlles de Gaulle is a losser movement destined to failure, and that is jepardizing French people safety and welfare. Nazi forces as well as Petaine were using the term terrorists and violence groups to refer to Free French Forces.

By end of the war, Charlles de Gaulle was in cabinet as chief of state in the liberated France, while Marshal Petain, who used before to be proud of his military achievements including battle of Verdun, had to stand before a court of law, and listen to his judges stating him to be guilty with treason, and deciding his death sentence for it. It was then when De Gaulle reduced the penalty to lifetime prison. Now, what can we get out of this historical algorithm? I believe we get the following;

1. The hero of World War I has sold out his cause and his country in the World War II when he was in his 80s. Thence, Mubarak being a hero figure in 1973 war as head of air forces does not undermine the fact he let down all our national values including resistance to Zionism plans in Middle East.
2. Among defeated nations, resistance figures are called terrorists and accused for altering with their own nation's welfare and safety. Nonetheless, later on, they take the glory they deserved in the book of times, while there opponents suffer treason accusations. Therefore, one day Hassan Nasrullah will be called one day the man who stood against Zionism while Mubarak, Abdullah of Saudi and Abdullah of Jordan will face hard time before the court of history.
   
3. Petainism became a symbol of defeat and negativism, while DeGaullism became a symbol of national pride and societal orientation. Maybe one day, Mubarak and Nasrullah name will be symbolizing some meanings.
   

Cruel Tuesday, a Decrepit Dictator Reveals His Ugly Face

Today, in Tahrir square located at Cairo downtown area, such a place that witnessed many of Egyptian nonviolent struggles against autocracy since 70s and until today, impeccable young blood was shed again, to feed the lust of land that seems to have unending strive for blood of its own flesh. 6th of April movement is a casual youth fraternity born in 06/04/2008 through an initiative of Israa Abdel-Fattah, who lead a 40,000 citizens strike through a facebook cause. Such an act that turned Mubarak regime agitated enough, not only to capture the initiator, but also to unleash a punch of price increases and new taxations, tailored to debilitate the social class that fathered Israa. Today, with the evolution of activism in Egyptian street, supporting constitutional reform cause of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former Director General of IAEA, the movement called for a demonstration and a parade marching from Tahrir square to the nearby National Assembly residence to support his widely popular cause.

Eye witnesses had saw police forces gathering in downtown area as early as 7:30 AM. Few hours later, and while young participants were hardly starting to aggregate around 11:00 AM, some of them putting-on white shirts with ElBaradei motto printed over, floods of police soldiers started to literally crushing them. When I arrived their one hour later, demonstrators were already dispersed into small groups here and there. Despite the trials of police forces to capture journalists and damage their cameras, videos and images of today's misery are everywhere today over the net. Thence, I am not planning to describe the violence with words that will never outweigh live scenes. It is quite enough to say that the day fathered 94 demonstrators arrested and more than 40 wounded and badly hit.

Nonetheless, I wanted to make deeper highlights on the tragedy from the standpoint of a former activist who has been latent for more than ten years, before he decides to be back to streets with the evolving reform, those are;

- Degree of violence was entirely disproportionate to the event. This is usually a sign of a dying dictatorship. Therefore, bad news sometimes has its good aspects too. Shall Obama administration keep supporting the 83 years old dictator? They are then backing a looser and they will feel reproach for it not less than what Carter administration felt upon Iran revolution in 1979.

- The stamina of 6th of April activists was inspiring, even when gathered in Hisham Mubarak center for human rights advocacy after it, they were not desperate or damaged. Their moral remained high in general; even young ladies with wounds and bruises were smiling and exchanging jokes about some funny incidents. Young men were more ambitious for a next run of confrontation with the fading regime.

- Control room instructions to 6th of April activists at around 2:00 PM in Hisham Mubarak center, directing them to integrate with another demonstration in lawyers syndicate was a nonsense step. First, the cause of the lawyers was all about Jerusalem and the undermining of Aqsa. Also it was a poor demonstration encircled with national security forces numbering three folds the number of lawyers.

- The sole gate of the building wherein the advocacy center lies in the 5th floor was blocked for a short while by a couple of police agents in civil costume. It took only handing 50 L.E. to one of them to let me pass untouched throughout this primitive siege. Comic fact when we remember we are talking about political security soldiers. Poverty and values deterioration killed any competent operation around in Egypt.

- If ElBaradei and the National Assembly for Change members who are public figures were around today, this would have added a lot to their cause, relatively protected the young calibers and gave harder time to Mubarak regime.

- Having more than 90 citizens under arrest, the coming days should witness severe pressure on Mubarak regime to release them. Otherwise, the lesson he wanted to deliver to Egyptians will be efficient and an additional layer of fear will be composed over their guts. The dirty victory achieved today by that vanishing regime should not last more than hours; otherwise, it will father more harsh oppressions, possibly with causalities next time.

This is what I can recall now after a long hassling day. Maybe later other points will follow.

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Image from: http://yalally.blogspot.com/

Remotely Support Reform (RSR)

To: All Egyptians living abroad,

Dear brothers and sisters abroad, I know you have been dreaming of political change to be initiated in homeland, therefore social reform will follow, and your agony upon reading press or watching news about what is going on here will decline. The good news is, being outside Egypt doesn't mean you can not contribute to the evolving movements in the Egyptian street. Yes, you can. Hereunder some ideas, nonetheless, I know you can come up with better ideas in accordance to your conditions and the norms of the place where you are.

• You can agree with all the Egyptians you know in the city where you live to meet on the weekend, and demonstrate in a public place for couple of hours, raising quotes that support political reform in Egypt and urge the free world to support constitutional reform streams in its honorable cause.
• You can submit your comments supporting constitutional reform to your favorite press magazine, online newspaper ...etc.
• You can interfere with a phone call in whatever TV program that can be directly or indiretly lead you to voice your support to reform.
• Employ whatever communication media you can access to express your support to constitutional reform and your fears from the current chaotic political and social life.

Dears, through this you will be helping us inside Egypt big time, and you shall abolish any feeling of negativity and nehlism that might tingle in your hearts in the future if you just did not give a damn in such a boiling situation. I am sure you will do your best if you are convinced, so please try to be.

Egyptian Constitution Modification

Do you support to modify the Egyptian Constitution, In order to facilitate the nomination of independents procedures In the presidential election?

Code of Honor

of the Egyptian Intellectual Elite (CHEIE)

Why We Need Such a Code

Throughout the past few decades, an unbiased observer can visualize the Egyptian political and economic dynamics to qualify for what we call the Egyptian Dark Age. During this era, cultural deterioration, together with economic decline and disruption were very enough to collapse the legal order of the Egyptian regime. Hereunder, we shall list some drives through which, this regime led us to the middle of no where;

1. Economic decline resulting from random liquidation of Egyptian public sector. While the private sector is still immature to lead the economy. Such policy resulted in an increasing unemployment rate, stunted GDP as well as increasing inflation rate. Having these three wheels moving altogether, even a minimal level of social justice became unattainable.
2. Breeding and promoting a consumption pattern that most of us can never afford. Thence, an increasing gap between needs and means made moral deterioration an inevitable outcome. Ending now in a state wherein corruption is no more exceptional.
3. Backward leap in religious diversity tolerance among Muslims and Christians. This was the result of immature handling of primary conflicts and the fruit of unjust bureaucratic regulations.
4. Fading out the role of Egypt in the regional as well as international political gallop. This was the sour fruit of fellowship relation with The United States, and also the focus on controlling opposition movements inside other than international mainstreams.
5. Deformed political life and democratic practices that reached climax in 2007 constitutional reform. Resulting in the unprecedented articles no. 76, 77 and 88. On which Mubarak regime capitalized to limit presidential election opportunity between Mubarak and his son… Fair enough?

Today, and while Egyptian street witnesses a promising deep stream, started in 2007 with syndicates and youth movements, took a clear form with the suggestion of a transient supreme council to lead the country in a constitutional reform period of 2 years, it was launched by Haikal in 2009. Finally it evolved like never before in the recent decades into a state of ambition to real change with arrival of ElBaradei last month. Egyptians believed the man, not only being trustful, but also they miss this feeling. For years they had to tolerate the hill of NDP and its Royal Family as will as the fake opposition parties. The collective conscious of Egyptians had comprehended well with opposition models like those of Muslim Brotherhood, Wafd and Tagamoua that when an opposition plays with the dictatorship according to his very own rules, then it is a part of his dictatorship decoration.

What is our Code All about?
In march 2010, National Security forces arrested an activist supporting ElBaradei, Dr. Taha Abdel-Tawwab. The innocent activist was a subject of severe torture by an NS officer, thence he had to announce an absolute hunger strike until this officer is transferred to investigation in front of a court of law. It took him 5 days of fasting and he was about to die honorably when he got what he wanted and the coward went to the court. Now, Taha did this alone. The system wanted to freak us out, but Taha freaked them back. Now it is time we say; we shall not allow another Egyptian activist to suffer in solitude. Accordingly, we the hereunder listed writers, journalists, artists, scientists and academic Egyptians, declare our consensus and support to the following code as a personal oath and code of honor;

• On my honor as a human, an Egyptian and a person who is committed to the holiness of knowledge, I shall support the seven point's declaration of democratic reform no matter what obstacles I will face throughout the road On my honor I will dedicate myself and sacrifice any personal welfare or interest to support any Egyptian who faces oppression from the current system on the background of his support to political reform in a civil way. My support includes adopting the protest method that suits the level of persecution he faced

• On my honor I will do my best to widespread the voice of my mates in reform as well as and supporting citizens both internally and externally, to get a maximal focus on our common cause until we achieve liberal state and real democracy in this country or we die trying

• On my honor I will collaborate to make sure any devilish creature who shares the crime of torturing and humiliating an Egyptian citizen faces a court of law someday. Today or tomorrow or after decades he should meet his fair destiny

• On my honor I will be ready to share in strikes, demonstrations and hunger strikes as well as any other nonviolent resistance mean I will be called for in response to cases of terrorizing or torturing change activists and citizens

God be my witness... God help me keep my word of honor

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For Egyptians who wants to join the code they can sign in by commenting with their tertiary name, national ID number and job. For non-Egyptians who want to support the cause they can sign in with their full name, ID number and nationality.

Baradei Phenomenon

What is very unique about Mr. Muhammad ElBaradei? The former General Director of IAEA? Is it only being an Egyptian Noble prize holder and a man of a senior UN position? We have several Egyptians earned Noble before in different fields, and also we have some figures with senior international posts. Is it being a possible candidate for presidency of Egypt in 2011? He is not so far. Simply because he is not fit under the constitutional article No. 76 that limits candidacy to members of supreme board of parties represented in the National Assembly 1 year before elections in November 2011, such a fishy article that was passed in silence in 2007. Is it only he is talking about the necessity of an overall political and constitutional reform? All the activists and politicians around were saying the same all time and no body gave a care to this but intellectual elite. Then, what is phenomenal about the man to be welcomed in Airport by around 3000 Egyptians from university students to street-men (me included) to intellectual elite? And to have Mubarak looks that paranoid when asked about him in a press conference in Germany? I believe what is phenomenal about him was his FAITH

Since Nasser was deceased in 1970, our figureheads were catastrophically poor in terms of both charisma and moral contest. Sadat (1970-1981) followed by Mubarak until now were employing a pragmatic political speech resembling that of the neocolonialists in USA, with one major difference, being in the colony standpoint not the empire one. Absolute subordination was the common talk of both men who did not have enough faith in their own and their nation's capabilities. ElBaradei - unlike Nasser- is hardly a social liberalist and will surely never adopt an anti-colonialism style if he became the president. Nonetheless, the man have faith in possibility of mutational change and in his capability to be active part of it. Such a faith is something everyone in the Egyptian soiety is missing. Desperation was a dominant tone among Egyptians over the past 10 years more than ever before, the geriatric style of Mubarak had surely aggravated this desperate tone. Make a survey about common public beliefs in the Egyptian street and you will have the great majority believe in the following:

1. Government is all corrupted from top downward.
2. Power inheritance is a normal destiny, and it might be even better than other options.
3. Alliance between government and opportunistic capitalism is another destiny. You will find people saying overtly "It is their country and they can do whatever they wish".
4. Political contribution by voting in elections is nonsense as "they" will get whoever they wish.

The matter then can be summarized as a majority of helpless Egyptians at one side, and "them" on the other side with absolute power and "they" have it all. When someone has this concept about his homeland he must be a victim of a Middle Ages regimen no matter what. ElBaradei, with his own personal CV, and choosing a very right time wherein local political streams seems helpless with the increasing power of Jamal Mubarak, tackling these issues with a big belief in what can be done, offered to Egyptians a most desired dish of HOPE. Thence he got people framing him as their own hope himself.. and this is how usually a hero is born. This is why all Egyptians were mesmerized in front of TVs watching him with Mona Shazly last week. A fact that did not happen since 60s with Nasser, and was very alarming to the current regime. This is why I believe it was not very political of Mubarak to speak about the man that lightly in the press conference, such an answer that added to ElBaradei and depleted Mubarak's image is the power keeper.

Goodbye Lionheart

I don't factually know if King Richard I of England, known as Richard Lionheart possessed the same iconic value in the minds of British street-man as he did among Egyptians or not. Thanks to the historical masterpiece of the deceased Youssef Jaheen, Nasser Saladin, which coined Richard as the European Middle Ages noble knight and commander, despite the fact he led the third crusade against Arab land, based on his later peace treaty with Sultan Saladin. Likely this image in the back of my mind was the major drive to frame the British member of parliament and anti-war activist George Galloway as George Lionheart, briefing my impression about him as an honorable person and a man who stands for what he believes to the fullest extent and on whatever level of opposition.

Following on his widely aired standpoints about events, movements and streams in our region over the past few years starting from 2006, I can say my own views to be identical to his. Those views were always centered around distinguishing freedom fighters from terrorists, and I can summarize as;

1. Standing sharply against the devilish growing power and network of neo-conservatism, Zionism, religious fundamentalism and rightest extremism. From Safari club to New World foundation, leaving alone all the small adhocratic alliances here and there around the globe.
2. His solid belief in socialism, and his pro- Soviet Union views, based on understanding the drawbacks of the unipolar world on the rights of the poor and non-privileged nations as well as individuals worldwide.
   
3. Fully supporting Hezbollah as freedom warriors who had never conducted anti-civilians acts.
4. Fully supporting Syrian regime in his relatively stably conservative attitude toward peace treaties as far as Golan is occupied.
   
5. Supporting Hammas as freedom warriors too, nonetheless, conserving their flaws in conducting anti-civilian operations as well as their political ambitions, specially knowing their attachment to semi-international fraternity of Muslim Brotherhood. That has been over ages linked to the devilish forces listed here above, in spite of the current dispute in Palestine.
   
6. Understanding the Iranian right to hold power and work on it, keeping concerns on their semi-theocratic state.
7. Holding no warm feelings at all toward the Egyptian, Saudi and Jordanian current regimes, known for their Anglo-American affinity on the expense of their own nations' interest and beliefs.

Today, as Egyptian regime decided to deport Mr. Galloway to London upon his arrival back from Gaza strip, only as a revenge against his anti-fence demonstrations, and to forbid him from entering Egypt again (as far as the current regime is in place), I had to write few words to such an inspiring man who possess values and beliefs unlike the majority of the hemisphere he lived in, saying;

O' Gorge Lionheart, among the few real socialists left alive in this country, I assure you non but believes, respects and admires you and your stands against the forces making up our tragedy of life today. You were deported from our land against our well, and only as you said, deportation by a dictatorship is a feather on your head, but you are now even more engraved than ever before. Even before the confessions of Mazhar Mahmud were published, non of the men who understand the reality of the game had ever doubted your integrity and clarity of purpose and consciousness. Stay closely afar. My Best Regards Sir.

My Noblest Deed

With Glory you Shined
a Warm Sunrose in the Shivering Ages
With Holiness you Shined
a Moment of Faith in the Heresy Cages

Sent Down on My Soul
Manna and Quails on Desert of Moses
Sent down on My Soul
In a Deserted heart, Unleashing Roses

Your Love is the Noblest of My Deeds
If I Will Hide it .. What Shall I Reveal?
Your Name is the Holiest of My Verses
What Shall I Sing .. Should I Conceal?

Artistic Animalia

Hezbollah & The Lebanese Paradox

Analyzing Nasrallah Speech after Presidential Elections

In his speech on May, 26, 2008, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had addressed a variety of issues and triggered a variety of supporting and opponent reactions. I was asked by the very dear friend blogger Fantasia to express my views about that speech in the lights of the overall Lebanese situation. Now, going straightly to the core , we need to understand some factualities of the Lebanese case before we assess the appropriateness of Nasrallah speech as a political language:

• Political powers today in Lebanon are clustered into two opposing fronts. First is Al-Mostaqbal movement, lead by Saad Hariry, the son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariry. The supporters of this movement plus the Lebanese formal army, being the Socialist Party of Lebanon and Qataib that is a Sonnet armed militate in a sense. Second front is lead by Hezbollah and its leader, and supported by Amal movement (both are Shiites organizations having their own militias too) as well as a secular patriotic movement gathering a variety of Lebanese streams in a highly diversified society.
• Power game is the eminent element in the Lebanese crisis. It is neither about the war in 2006, nor about Hariry assassination. It is a power seeking dispute between Hezbollah who perceive his victory to be more entitling for more power, and others, specifically Walid Junbalat and Saad Hariry who has always opposed. I see it more like a power game based on fractional loyalties more than a patriotic dispute for sake of Lebanon by any mean.
• Overseas parties are very there in the Lebanse dispute. USA and its regional representatives in the Gulf region, mainly Saudi Arabia (who had also held a fishy linkage with Rafiq Hariry) supports Junbalat and Hariry as they always did. Syria and Iran supports Hezbollah as theu have always did as well. Each for his very own sake, non for the sake of Lebanon.

Now, let us start with the major quotes in Nasrallah speech in May 2008. I will comment it here by its chronological sequence other than its importance or relevance;

• He welcomed the election of Soliman as a good step forward. Then he praised the strategies of the assassinated prime minister Rafiq Hariry, accommodating both development and resistance hand by hand.
• He answered who claims Hezbollah to be a clergy lead party. Stating this to be a pride for this party, and that the clergy mentality advises them to accommodate the Lebanese diversity. This I surely disagree too. Theocracy can never bear diversity. Being a clergy background man was always the annoying thing about Nasrallah to myself. Yet, I still respect the freedom fighter in him.
• He had stated a good point when he linked the armed resistance to its causative reasoning. Stating he will be ready to disarm his forces once Lebanon has the suitable power and regimen to protect the Lebanese land and interests. Then, claimed the talks about a new Israeli war to disarm Hezbollah is exaggerating the situation to pressure the nation. Which I believe to be true. No army in the world can disarm a militia. Very true.
• He called Iraqis to reject the legal framework required by the US to legalize its existence in Iraq. Calling it a major choice and calling for the continuation of armed resistance. Which I support.

That was it, but I am sure the dear Fantasia wanted me to comment on a specific thing that I did not catch. Maybe because I did not listen to the entire speech.

A Visit to Iraqi Kurdistan

Toward a Road Map that is Hidden Agenda-Free

I had a gratifying expedience to visit Iraqi Kurdistan during a business trip, throughout which I had a relatively embellished opportunity to materialize factuality and get encompassed with realities of Kurdistan region particularly and Iraqi affairs collectively. Benchmarked on the insights I had from readings and outside brooding, I had some of my previous assumptions confirmed and many others altered and changed.

Asserted Contentions:

• The inflammation on Iraq ground now, while being conducted through Iraqi hands, is highly curried, supported and financed by exterior forces, US, Saudi Arabia, and Iran being on top of the list. While the internal conflict benefits the states through exhausting the Iraqi bullets into Iraqi flesh, in the stead of using it to resist occupation. For Iran, Iraqi land became the soft belly wherein they can agonize Americans to decrease the international pressures resulting from the Iranian nuclear activities. Moreover, the foundation of a Shiites' state alongside the west shores of Iran will offer a strategic friendly horizon. Finally the Saud family worst dream has been always to see the Eastern zone Shiites revolting and dominating over the oil rich zone of the kingdom. Foundation of a Shiites' state in Iraq will be a triggering and a supportive element to the Shiites tribes in Saudi, who suffers oppression despite the whole kingdom is financed through the oil in their territories.
• Ethnic, political and religious figureheads and barons are the inflaming fuel of the masses, each for his very own agenda of ambitions and glories. The political breach now in Iraq is overwhelming the local leaders to seek boundary spanning. For the simple man in the streets, like everywhere in the world, he is seeking security and basic needs’ satiation for his family and himself. Nonetheless, he can not help being a part of the uproar whenever his herd is altered, as explained by the herd leader, only as well as evey simple man in the world too.
• Whatever is going-on is a common blameworthiness for both Saddam and Baath regimen on one hand and USA with the rightist gang on the other hand. While Saddam system sinned ignoring and inhibiting the diversity of a harlequin society, harboring different ethnicities, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkmen and Assyrian. Plus a diversified religious profile including Shiites, Sunnites, Chaldean Catholics, Syriac Orthodox and minorities of Mandaeism, Baha’ais, Shabak and Yezidism also exists. Absolute ignorance of such a highly diversity together with oppressions being drove by the ethnic and religious belonging of Saddam, who was an Arab and Sunnite, amplified the gap of mistrust between the mosaic elements, and inflamed hatred among individuals as well as groups. When the US blinded tirade broke the oppression bung with the fallen Ba’ath regimen, without even knowing enough about the mosaic composition of the nation, they granted an opportunity to both hatred and influence lust to unleash its evils, resulting in the cloudy blood bath we all see today.
• While I grasp the motives of the initial coalition between Peshmerga and US invasion forces in 2003, a thing that gathered PUK and KDP forces to work together, maybe for the first time in their history, my trip did not give me any justification to the extended alliance with the invasion army of USA. Letting go of a totalitarian through a coalition with an invader with his eyes kept on the national wealth of Iraq, I do not see as a good move politically, leave alone its ethical constrains.

Altered Contentions:

• Kurds represented in some of their intellectual elite are showing limited interest in furthering the self-governance autonomy they have today into an independent state. This altered my previous belief of the Kurdish everlasting strive for a pan-Kurdish state. However, this is not necessarily reflecting the standpoint of Kurdish masses. Elite is elite, and if mankind followed the knowledgeable elites pathways from Socrates down to the present time, life would have been very different.
• The pleasurable feeling I had among the Kurdish partners over there exceeded my apprehensions; it turned the talks about Kurdish allergy and prejudicial antipathy toward Arabs to be blasphemous. I witnessed a genuine hospitality and embracing attitude that goes beyond the business protocols to express an outgoing extroverted personality of the Kurds. Apart from our friends there, walking in the streets, talking to people in Arabic, I felt no xenophobic manner at all. I am sure there must be some ethnic zealots, like everywhere in the world, nonetheless, I can affirm they are not the masses of Kurds.
• The security and normal life flow in Kurdistan, apart from the troubles in the middle zone and the tension in the south exceeded my expectations and turned any cautions we through about before the trip to be meaningless.
• Swayed by the views of Peshmerga militias, I was prepared to meet fundamentalist Shafi’i Sunnites, this was the most false expectation I had. Kurdistan is a country that is well prepared through its intellectual elite to be a secular state.
• The level of dedication of Kurdish youth to their self-governed region was surprisingly high. The degree of eagerness with which the traffic police and the security forces operates shows something beyond fulfilling a duty, it can be only expressed as categorical loyalty.

However, this should not at all distract us from the urging risk of extended civil war in Iraq, a thing that will limit the chances of one unified Iraq, giving a wider room for tribalists and communalists to seed more and more hatred very deep in the masses. While coming back from my visit to Iraq, I found my head exploring the possible actions that can represent a road map out of today's maze, something that can be cnducted if, and only if, someone overthere is still caring for unity more than personal agendas. I found myself fantasizing about a new Iraq, under a slogan of "Prosperous Unity...Esteemed Diversity". A scenario that capitalizes more and more on the intellectual, civilian and business elite more than the conventional tribal and religious leaders who took Iraq to what it is today.

Simple Man Quotes

From the Sayings of an Ordinary Man

hese are the quotes of a simple man, who happened to live once in Egypt. Hi-Ku-Btah, the land of paradoxes, also the land of wisdom. He used to write down his quotes, but not a single time before he thought to publish it, he understands he is too simple to have his quotes readen by anyone. Hereunder some of my quotes, from business and life, and from love to politics. Wish you enjoy it.

Business Quotes:

• A businessman, must be a man in first place, then we talk business
• In the world of business, if you 'F' you better 'F', if you foreplay, you better fuck
• We should do things not the way it is usually done, but in our very own way. Thence, it dawns uniquely and ends unprecedentedly
• Fortunately, success is addictive. Unfortunately, failure produces tolerance
• I am working for money, we all do' Well, every dog imagines the whole universe is sweating on bones
• Try the ecstasy of turning things better. This is your first mission in this Universe. Therefore, your Creator linked it to the utmost joys
• Justice is not the foundation of an organization, it is the foundation of success itself
  
• 'Not very caring of money', a man who sensed a moment of glory.'Not very caring of titles', a man who loves the nudity of his name
• 'Sir, I suffered agonizingly from the unjustness of your predecessor' imagine him saying the same to your successor, and expound accordingly
• If persistence is there, capabilities can be developed. If cerebration is there, disciplines can be coached, if both are there, you have a raw material of an exceptional caliber

Life Quotes:

• 'Dwelled his entire life in definite happiness' biography of a stillbirth
• Daylight reveals everything, except truth. It reveals in darkness, only to those who have the courage to face it
• Who said none is perfect? Everyone can be, if he perfectly lived himself. Among humankind, perfection is coherence
• Some wine makes you sensuous, too much makes you senseless. Some love makes-up your life, too much turn it down. Also some certitude makes you spiritual, too much makes you spiritless
• Aquatic it was, the initial material of life, and its utmost holiness still manifests in babies and poets eyes

Death Quotes:

• Nothing is absolute but death, when you see a beloved one, after life has deserted him, you materialize what absoluteness is
• I fear fatality for one thing; I did not convolute my heritage into substance yet. I have it all in a soft mass that disintegrates moments after death
• It is not death what I fear; it is the first moment after it
  

Political Quotes:

• Do you expect me to plunge my hand between lion's jaws? No Sir, you can keep it away from the lion and from leadership too, leadership is not a typical game for fainthearted kittens
• Do you expect me to plunge my hand between lion's jaws? No Sir, we all know you are too coward to do. We only request, you don't praise a fox calling it a lion
• War and peace heroes, those are the martyred warriors, who deceased only to make peace obtainable...exclusively
• How can I feed you? Typical disparateness of cracked geriatrics
• I am accusing all ministers as well as the prime minister, and I am begging the wisdom of Mr. President to interfere. Signature: son-of-a-bitch
• Cowards can only blame the second man, they blame Hajaj and bless Abdul-Malik, blame Qarqosh and bless Saladin. This is the maximal length of their guts

Woman Quotes:

• It is five 'E's that turn a woman into a big 'E', educated, elaborative, elegant, easygoing and estrous, these five makes an ecstatic phenomenon of a woman
• Woman is the rocky shore for a man. Man is the sweet and sour grapes for a woman. A little suffering is very essential in both, however, the steaks deserves
• Keep surprising him, keep impressing her and her mates, therefore, you both keep your beats unceasing
• A pretty lame-brained woman is still interesting to men, as interesting as a cigarette after dinner, choose this for yourself if you wished"

Iran & Others

Studying the Nature of Arab-Iranian Relations

During an online discussion with the dear friend Amr Al-Abyad, his opinion was Iran is an enemy to Arab nations and Pan Arabism, maybe not less than Israel case. Amr had plenty of points justifying his attitude against Iran, you can study it here. However, I will not discuss these points here, I will assume it to be true (except for those related to Hezbollah, that I know personally it is not, this I shall discuss later) and go for studying the reasons of this anti-Arab hatred among Iranians.

During Bosnia & Herzegovina war, and like any other Muslim on earth, I was intimidated. However, when I am intimidated, I do not demonstrate and burn flags, as I believe this changes nothing, I prefer to read and study the matter, to figure out the way led us into it, therefore I can imagine a way-out of it. Studying the problem by that time, I went back to find the seeds in Balkan wars, era of the Eastern Question. I found the seeds of hatred put by Turks in the 19th century to create a heritage of hatred among Serbians against Muslims and Islam. Specifically against Bosnians, who are believed to be partially Albanian rooted, descendants of those who accessed the domain during Turks domination. With a similar fashion I will access the Iran Question, and share with you some answers, only to the best of my knowledge and judgment.

Iran and Roots of Hatred
Worthy to say first that Persia held a special status among the nations dominated by Islamic Empire in the 7th & 8th century. Maybe this status played a role in keeping Persia with its distinctive national identity while others were Arabized. We have the fact that while Egypt and the historical Sham were great nations, they were already captured as parts of the Eastern Byzantine Empire capitalized in Constantinople. Being part of a previous Empire for decades, had surely facilitated these nations acclimatization to be part of Arabic Islamic Empire, to mutate overtime into prosperous Arab nations themselves. North African countries were divided into small cities on the shores of Mediterranean with cosmopolitan nature, and Barbaric desert tribes inwards. Therefore, it was easily Arabized as well. Iraq was itself a province of Sassanid Iranian empire for nearly 10 centuries until the Islamic domination replaced the Iranian (Today, this still affects the Iraqi-Iranian relations in specific). Persia was different, it was a glorious empire, apart from the defeat Kesru II experienced against Hercules of Rum in the early 7th century. Only until it was captured by the Arabic Islamic Empirical forces. It was the first time for Persia since mellinia to be a follower state or a province of others, this stands as a major factor resisting the stains of the new Empire. This is typically why Iran became Islamic, however, non-Arabic state.

Moreover, during the Arabic invasion, Arabs were misled enough to destroy the statues and monuments, under the impression that these statues were worshipped, while Iranians were Zoroastrian not pagans, they worshipped no idols. Somehow, violence took place in Persia more than other captive states, maybe due to more resistance. Needless to mention the sayings that Iranians were welcoming the Arabs conquest is ridiculous. As ridiculous as those about the Copts wlecoming Arabs. Even an army of angels upon conquist of a city, will have a drifting elements who causes a more or less turblence here and there. This is never welcome to the conquered nation.

However, this lead Iranians to hate Arabs somehow, but not Islam, the tales about Iranian conspiracy against Islam is simply baseless, as fictious as the tales that Iran adopted the Shiites Islam to destroy Islam from within! Whoever adopts this belief, ignores the fact that Iranians were Sunni Muslims for nearly 1000 years, before the Safavid dynasty roles, shifting the official religion from Sunni to Shiites Islam.

We should remember also, that prolonged suppression of Shiites all through Islamic history from Umayyads dynasty onward, added a punch of hatred toward Sunnis, who were named by their Shiites opponents as Nawaseb, meaning those who fought against Prophet's descendants, as a response to Sunnis who called them Rawafid, referring to their rejection to the -so called- agreed on Caliphate.

Iran, Shiism & Geohistorical Implications
It was the facts of history and geography not conspiracies what linked Iran to Shiism since very early in Islamic history. Iran and Iraq altogether were the land fertile for Shiism linked by geography and historical events. During the latest part of his struggle against Umayyads, Imam Ali headquarters were shifted to Kufa in Iraq. Wherein, majority of battles and major events took place, and wherein also Imam Ali, supposedly was buried after his death as well as good number of his Imam descendants. Logically, Ali's army and allies, Shiite Ali, were the nucleolus of today's Shiites communities, those who lived in Iraq and western Iran, who commemorates their defiance to Ali and Hussein with webbing and weeping rituals in memories of Karbala. Moreover, it was normal for Shiites under the Sunnis Caliphates, to live in the perephries of states, in Iraq, Iran, Eastern lower Gulf…etc. as the cantonal life is the only choice before the oppressed minorities.

Modern History
Disputes between Iraq and Iran is historical, not border related, only like those between Serbians and Bosnians. Extending from Sumerian era to the modern history, in addition to the 10 centuries before Islam wherein Iraq was an Iranian province, it was captive again under Iranian power during the Safavid empire and until Ottomans conquest over Safavids, to capture Baghdad as late as the 17th century. While border disputes extended until the British power imposed itself, declaring the Kingdom of Iraq, after World War I in 1920, succeeded by crowning of Faisal ibn Al-Hussein as King of Iraq in 1921. Border disputes continued until the 50s of the 20th century, during which the Arab-Israeli dispute took the major focus of Arab nations including Iraq. Then, after Nasser's defeat in 1967, and later on his death in 1970, the matter of border disputes, specially the oil rich Khuzestan became to focus again. Amazingly, from 1969 onward, Iraqi media started to deal with Khuzestan as an Iraqi province, calling its Arab and tribal inhabitants to revolt against Iran. Also a dispute about three islands in the Gulf, that belongs to UAE!!!, and Shat El-Arab waterway dispute. These all kept warming things up, until 1974, when Iraq first attacked Iran troops near Shat El-Arab.

Khomeini, who is mocked up today by Iraqis, was a favored guest of Saddam Hussein, the vice president to Al-Bakr by this time. Simply because he was an opponent of his enemy, Shah of Iran, and once the Shah bribed Saddam with disclosure of anti-revolution organization in Iraqi army, that happened to come to Shah Iran knowlege through the HQ of CIA in the Middle East, that was flagged as US Embassy in Iran, Shah alarmed Saddam and Al-Bakr, Therefore, in return, Saddam exiled the Iranian revolt, Khomeini, who was in his sixties by that time.

When the Islamic Republic was declared in Iran, a fear was rising in Iraq as well as all Gulf monarchies from revolution export from Iran to the neighboring countries, based on Khomeini statements about "spreading the word of truth and facing the Great Satan of America", the interests of Iraqis with long history of dispute and hatred, met with the interests of panicking Gulf monarchs. Altogether with the interest of Americans to suppress the revolution in Iran, which did not only deprive them from their faithful servant Shah-n-Shah, but also captured their agents in the US embassy of Tehran, in a worldwide humiliating act to the US glory. It was then when Saddam launched his, so called, Qadissyiah against Iran in 1980. Iraq succeeded first to capture Khuzestan. However, Iranians regained it in 1982 counterattack. Only before the war starts, Saddam exiled 100s of thousands of Shiite Iraqis from the border zones, as he believed their loyalty to Iraq was questioned. They were Iraqis no doubt, but the arogant Sonni tyrant, who is protected to role Iraq under protection of his stream (like the case of Asad family and Alawi stream in Syria) ignored their nationality and exiled them based on their belief. This can never be calles a secular act !!

Iranian counterattack took place in May 1982, and in June of the same year, Saddam, showed his Pan Arabist face, asking Iran to give peace a chance, letting his army to withdraw in peace from Iran, so he can help Lebanon against Israeli invasion. Surely, he was not seeking the welfare of Lebanon, but his own. It was then when Iranians started to be the aggressors, as Khomeini not only rejected the peace settlement, but also stated he will continue the war until Saddam is fallen and replaced by an Islamic regimen!! Followed by Iranian attack targeted Bosra, however, it was a failure, and the Iranian causalities were severe. The war kept ongoing, hard on both sides, but none was willing to scream first. By the end of war, Iraq experienced some tactical victories, then both parties became interested in ceasefire by 1988.

Another hatred inflamming action came from the Egyptian former president, Anwar Sadat, while all the world, including his ex-supporters in USA refused to recieve the exiled Shah, who smashed the revolts under his army tanks before he knows he is a looser already and escape with his plane, his Friend Sadat welcomed him to Egypt. As this was not enough, Sadat started attacking the revolution there from day one, and before giving peace a chance. This lead Iranians later to name a street after the assassin Khaled Islambuli, who hunted down Sadat, which is a stupid thing also, but this is the case alltime. Blood calls blood, hatred calls for hatred, and idiocy calls for idiocy.

US Alliance with Iraq
With my due respect to Amr theory, stating the US support to Iraq during the war as Iranian propaganda, we have the following facts, all from the National Security Archives and can be found at'
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82. Wherein you can find much more details, hereunder a glance of it

• In June, 1982, President Reagan decided that the United States could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran
• In 1982, Iraq was removed from the US State Department's list of terrorist-supporting nations to ease the legal impediments for the transfer of "dual use" technology to that country
• Commerce Department files reveal that the Reagan and Bush administrations approved at least 80 direct exports to the Iraqi military from 1982 to 1989.

About Irangate, we admit it proved US had sold weapons under Reagan administration to Iran, trading it against release of hostages in Lebanon, CIA agents headed by Buckley in Beirut. It was imposed on the USA by the hostage situation, not a choice, alliance or help to Iran.

Today
In 1993, Hady Nasrallah martyred while defending the soil of South of Lebanon. Israelis-the everlasting USA allies- slaying Hady, the 1st son of Hassan Nasrallah, stands as a proof of Hady's faith as well as his father's deep belief. This is not typically the way people who sell out their countries behave. This is the way of real men and real patriots. This is one of the reasons make me stubborn when it comes to Hizbullah. Getting support from Iran and Syria, will never make me believe the propaganda of the Iraqi Ba'ath in this regard. Would I be in his place, I was to seek support even from Satan in person to free my land. Needless to mention that 2001 and 2006 wars stand as additional solid proofs of seriousness. While Saddam was trying to reach Jerusalem through Kuwait oil, Nasrallah known his way to the occupied south of Lebanon. As Mutanabi once said,

السيف أصدق أنباءً من الكتب *** في حده الحد بين الجد و اللعب

in 2003, upon Iraq invasion, US troops were assembled in Kuwait, not in Iran. In Jan 2008, George W. Bush urged Arabs to confront Iran, 'the world's leading sponsor of state terror' as he expressed.

We have an overt enemy, with whom we have an exsistence dispute. The day Israel will apply the international credos, giving up the occupied land in Gullan, Difa and Ghazza, is the day wherein Israel will loose 70% of its regional power. Then, they will never do it in peace. As for Iranians, what we need all to do, is to call for a new start, apart from the historical hatred. I was in a meeting in Sharm El-Shiekh, therein all country reps were available except the one from Iran. Because he failed to get the Visa, while Israelis can access as far as Sharm without even a passport!! What can we call this? Discrimination I can say, that fosters hatred and calls for more blood shedding. Let's wise up and save energy for our real wars.

Finally, I admit I am not an expert in the matter. However, I found no reason to desert the revealed truth to seek conspiracies. Moreover, a man whom I trust like my own self had visited Iran several times and had strong communication with Shah, Khomini as well other leaders. This man is Hassanin Haikal, and I trust the outcomes of his analysis, supported by documents about the Iranian revolution and Arab Irani dispute.