Only Arabs Can Restore Arab Rights

Syria's Bouthaina Shaaban: President Obama Did Not Come To The Region To Solve The Problems Of The Arabs

(CBS)  Bouthaina Shaaban is a political and media advistor to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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For some ulterior motive, President Obama’s recent speech was promoted as if history would be different after June 4. As if the Muslim presence on the international stage was not timid enough - or maybe because of that - the speech was used as if it were sufficient evidence of the desired change in American policy towards the issues of the Middle East.

Barak Obama is the president of the United States, whose reputation has been tarnished as a result of killing millions of Muslims in Bush’s wars on terrorism, which he officially equated with Islam. So, Obama’s first duty to his country is to delete these sins from the memory of the Muslims, even without mentioning Bush’s war on Iraq, which killed a million Iraqis and which, he acknowledged, "was not a necessary war."

But this shy admission, phrased in unfinished sentences and subordinate clauses, was not even close to an apology. Neither did it touch in any way on the suffering of a million Iraqi widows, who lost their husbands in the American war on Iraq and over two million orphans whose lives have been ruined by Bush’s export-oriented democracy.

Obama spoke as if the United States is not at all responsible for these war crimes. He even ignored any reference to his decision not to prosecute the war criminals and the jailers of the secret prisons and the torturers from the intelligence services.

Barak Obama set a dangerous precedent for the Palestinian people by urging them to abandon resistance which he called "violence" without urging Israel to lift the blockade, end the occupation or stop the policy of killing, massacres and assassination - or even promise the Palestinians to protect them against the Israeli oppression which has deprived them of freedom for more than 60 years. Meanwhile, his father's country, Kenya, was liberated from British occupation through resistance. In fact all peoples, including the people of the United States, were liberated by resistance, which he equated in his speech with violence.

Obama’s speech was disappointing only as far as the Arabs are concerned. As to the Jews, he was very assertive in relation to all their concerns. With unequivocal language, he affirmed that six million Jews were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust, while he did not mention the holocaust committed by the Jews in Gaza when they killed thousands of children, women and civilians with phosphorous bombs thrown by American-made warplanes on the houses of civilians under the world’s full gaze.

Since Gaza is not on the moon, he could have visited the scenes of today’s holocaust before boasting about visiting the monument to the holocaust in Germany.

The question is not a matter of numbers, particularly when he quoted the Quran in the same speech that "he who killed one person without justice would be as if he killed the whole of humanity." So why did not he condemn unequivocally the murder of women and children in 2009, or even mention the victims of the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006? Why did not he condemn with the same vigor Israel’s use of phosphorus and cluster bombs and shelling houses with missiles and bulldozing them in Jerusalem and expelling the original Christian and Muslim population from Palestine and depriving them of the right of return to their homeland?

It is easy to talk about democracy, but why did he fail to mention that the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Dweik, and thirty other members of parliament are in Israeli prisons since they were elected by their people?

President Obama did not mention any international frame of reference for the peace process. Neither did he mention the principle of land for peace. Instead - and this is one of the most dangerous points in the speech - he denied the right of resistance and equated it with violence, ignoring the fact that resistance is an inevitable reaction to a foreign occupation which uses its alliance with the United States to displace the Arab population and replace them with armed extremist foreign settlers. He did not call on the settlers and the Israeli army to stop killing, displacing and humiliating the Palestinians.

That is why we should remember that President Obama was not here to solve the problems of the Arabs. The responsibility for restoring Arab rights lies first and foremost with the Arabs themselves. So, would some of them stop exaggerating the impact of visits made by foreign leaders, and focus on what they themselves should do to restore their rights and gain their freedom?

[VTchemist]

It is so naive to equate the Holocaust to the problems in Gaza. Egypt and Jordan would not let the Arabs fleeing the new state of Israel into their countries (although both Egypt and Jordan had no problem expelling Jews). The Palestinians are nothing more than pawns to the Arab nations.

Shame on you, Mr. Shaaban for your comments! And for your part in Black September, shame (killing 10,000 of the PLO, your own brothers) shame on you for your hypocrasy!

[cujat]

Interesting how this author blames the million iraqi deaths on the U.S. and George Bush. The US may have started the conflict but the large majority of those deaths came at the hands of other muslims who oppose freedom and human rights, not American soldiers! Freedom isn't cheap and it comes at the expense of human lives but these deaths are worth it in the long run if a free and democratic society controlled by the people is the prize. The U.S. has consistently stood up for peoples freedom regardless of the cost in both money and lives, but that is ignored so that the religious fanatics can keep their death grip on the people. It's the Radical Muslim philosophy of, if your aren't muslim you must die, that is the main cause of conflict in the world today. If their citizens stand up against that and take control of their own lives, they can practice their religion and be a part of the rest of the world like everyone else! Until then, I for one hope that our government continues to stand up against the oppressors of the world and protect those who fight for freedom.

[armyoftwelve]

Whatever is wrong with the arab "world," it comes from the arab "world" and not from the west, the east, the north or anywhere else.

A bankrupt and corrupt culture covered up by the sheen of religion, so people delude themselves about being closer to God. And that's were the problem comes from--the delusion that the writings of one man give a group of believers possesion of the truth.....

[mitdgreenb]

Philistine -- You may be an art lover, but you are not a history lover. What you are describing is circa 1950's Nasser Pan-Arabism. It did not work then and it won't happen now. Why?

1) Nasser was a tyrant. Pan-Arabism was revealed for what it was: fascism.
2) There are numerous divisions in the Arab world that prevent working together. Start with having Sunnis and Shi'ites... groups who regularly desecrate each others' holy sites even though they are all Muslim and all Arabs! Throw in Taleban (who desecrated an ancient Buddhist shrine) and Wahabi's. Until you can get these people together in the same Mosque to pray TOGETHER without violence, you have no chance. Even the Hajj has had so much violence that the Saudi government spends $10M's to keep it safe!! (And you can't blame that violence on the US or Israel, since no non-Muslims are allowed in Mecca.) If Muslims got along, those $10M's could go aid Muslims in need.
3) There are enormous economic differences among Arab countries, and an exceedingly bad record of the wealthy ones helping the poor. There are often great promises of aid to, say, the Palestinians... but does Dubai or Qatar or Saudi really send them that money?
3a) When Indonesia -- the largest Muslim (not Arab) country was hit by a tsunami, how much aid came from the Arab world? Look it up.
3b) The Palestinian Administration, by its OWN audit, found that Arafat had expropriated $1B for himself and his family. Maybe that's why Arab countries don't send money to each other?

C'mon. Pan-Arabism is a lie told by a fool signifying nothing, except fascism and the violence that comes with it.

[mitdgreenb]

Tmittel -- A nice commentary. Let me offer a summary:

"There will be peace when the Palestinians love their own children more than they hate ours" -- Golda Meir

[AJMarine12]

I agree,.......but would like to add, "Either that, or one side kills of the other. Until then, this nightmare will just go on and on".

[AntiIslamicExtremisim]

Thank you Smit4835. Said perfectly...they've never been able to take care of their own business, and then blame it (their problems) on everyone else, esp the U.S. hey, where can I get a plastic key to paradise?! lol pathetic forget the 72 babes, they'll be all covered up so you could not see or touch them anyway...

[smit4835]

Barack Hussein Obama's contribution to changing anything in the Middle East is nothing but lip service.

It' interesting that the left-wingnuts who deride the policies of the Bush/Cheney administration for having the guts to do more than just make speeches in the Middle East want to somehow associate Barack Obama's Islamic appeasment speech as being responsible for Iranian citizens rising up against the results of their fraudulent election.

His wimpy speech had absolutely nothing to do with this uprising.

After 9-11 and years of useless U.N. resolutions condemning Saddam's open refusals to abide by them, G.W.Bush did more than talk a good game and defer to, yet more useless resolutions. He had the guts to take action.

It seems the only action Barack Hussein Obama is willing to take is jacking his jaws until the $h!t begins to hit the fan.

What libtards refuse to admit (and in their dishonesty, never will) is that if Bush would never had had the courage to go into Iraq to complete the job of liberating the Iraqi people from the tyranny of dictator Saddam Hussein and his sadistic sons, the people of Iran would not be now in the streets wanting and feeling they deserve the same chance for democracy and liberation in their country.

They are looking at their neighbor Iraq, and they want the SAME THING for themselves: FREEDOM!

George W. Bush never did offer to sit down and negotiate a way to appease Ahmadamnjihad and the mullahs, he threatened to kick their butts if they ever got close to achieving a nuclear bomb! Ahmadamnjihad, AND THE MULLAHS, knew they would get the SAME thing Saddam got if they crossed a certain line! And the people of Iran were silently hoping he would do the same for them as he did for Iraq.

The scene you see in the streets of Iran today was SET UP by the strength of George W. Bush's administration to FIGHT Islamic tyrannical governments, NOT give them lip service like Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama?s more concerned with waging his war against the United States Constitution, America small businesses, the American taxpaying middle-class, and Americans themselves than he is fighting anyone in the Middle East. He?s ignoring what?s happening in Iran as he?s too busy running around the country now with the same old song he always sings when he?s getting ready to put another shaft in the taxpayer?s @$$--?We got to take over health care and we?ve got to do it NOW!! OR we?ll have a catastrophe! Give me more control over every aspect of the economy and your lives or the country will not survive!!?

He?s got a lot of courage when it comes to putting a foot up the taxpayer?s rear end! But all he?s shown since descending from the heavens to work out his magic on America is an open mouth, extended hand, and a standing invitation to Ahmadamnjihad on Ahmadamnjihad?s terms. ?Hey, it?s alright if they develop nuclear power?they?ve got a right to it.?

What the leftists will NEVER admit is that if it hadn?t been for Bush?s ?meddling? in the Middle East, there would be NO public hew and cry taking place in Iran NOW!

They will also never admit that RIGHT NOW George W. Bush is more popular to the people of Iran than Barack Hussein Obama!! And always has been!! There are students in those riots holding up signs RIGHT NOW with photographs of Barack Obama?s face on them with the word: ?FRAUD? emblazoned on them! You won?t see any of your mainstream media pundits reporting on this!

Living up to his White House creed, ?Never let a good crisis go to waste,? Barack Hussein Obama and his gang are using the opportunity of the suffering of the good people of Iran to try to push through their Socialist Health Care takeover on the American people. The only war worth fighting to Obama, is the one he is waging against you and me!

One good thing that will come out of all this is that the voters of Iran will see, sooner rather than later, that Barack Hussein Obama doesn?t give a damn about helping anybody but Barack Hussein Obama and their Islamic oppressors.

While they?re bleeding in the streets waiting on a response from Obama, he?ll be too busy putting all his attention and energy on bleeding us dry.

[babooph]

US propaganda system is SILENT on restoring the US Bill OF Rights ,canceled by the "Patriot Act" -some fools think they still have them -they think gun rights still exist.US has no more "rights" than any Arab nation.

[perivorian]

This author is obviously living on a different planet. Sir, the facts are I am not on this planet to have myself, my family or my friends kidnapped or murdered by ISLAMIC terrorists. If the islamic world does not want the West killing them, then perhaps the Islamic world will stop trying to kill everyone else. Have you forgotten that Islam has been attempting to invade, enslave or genocide the planet for 1400 years? Is it coincidence that nearly every conflict today involves Islam?

Islamic culture is a pariah on the world until it changes. Enslaving half the population because they are women is insane. Burying women to stone them for loving a man or not wearing clothes men force them to wear is insane. Throwing acid on women is insane. Forcing boys and girls to wear bombs and suicide murder is insane. A civilization advances as it removes the bad parts of its culture in favor of better parts and the new and improved. Whatever was good of islam seems to have been removed in favor of the insane.

Bottom line, I want my government in Islam's face killing them until either they give up their dark age desires of genocide and enslavement of all the world or there are so few left that their desires no longer matter.

It is entirely within Islam's power to end their strife. America has no history of colonization, no history of empire building. America will leave when the treat is gone, as America has demonstrated many times. We have a right to live our lives without the treat of imams, mullahs and other religious leaders causing hordes of men to try and kill us. This is why we are in the middle east killing them.

Finally sir, Freedom fighters are fighters when they have a legitimate reason to fight for their freedom. Palestinians are not fighting for freedom, they did not even exist until Arabs convinced themselves they were "Palestinians" a roman term and as with all of Islam, they are fighting not for freedom but for the ability to continue stoning women, enslaving peoples, killing whomever they wish and basically forming yet another Islamic totalitarian regime. Israel is like the west in most things. If Islam did not attack them and continue those attacks for the last 60 years, then there would have been no issue. I repeat again, nearly every conflict going on, Palestine, Kashmir, Timor, Terrorism, enslavement in Sudan, Insurgents in the Philippines, Western China, Azerbaijan, Taliban and etc... are all because Islam is attempting too murder and start wars all in the name of their so called freedom to oppress those around them. Do you really think it is a coincidence that Islam is in so much conflict with so many parts of the world?

To say the Palestinians or any other Islamic group is fighting for freedom is insane. It is akin to saying the old American south was correct in trying for independence to keep slavery. You just cant claim to have the moral high ground in an insurgency if your goal is repression of your own people.

If you want Islam to survive and legitimacy in this world, then your words should be directed at the megalomaniacs who run your religion. All other major religions have thrown out the idea that violence, war and genocide are a means to promote the religion. Empires have long since died out, especially those with the idea they can colonize and oppress native populations. Islam is the only government and religion left that still seems to think it can invade the world, oppress everyone and enslave or murder those would would disagree,

Islam is the problem, perhaps you should take a new look at your religion because people like you who legitimize these insane leaders are almost as much of a problem as the psycho mullahs and imams are.

[tmittelstaed]

To any Arab in the MidEast reading this - many many many Americans are disgusted with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and disagree with our governments special treatment of Israel. We also understand the bit about violence - we ourselves used violence when we fought the US Revolutionary War back in the 1700s.
The simple problem is, that us Americans and to a lesser extent, Europeans, just cannot bring ourselves to support your societies when we see you acting as terrible to each other as you act towards your enemies.
Go to any Arab country and look at basic fundamental things like the right of a woman to escape from a husband she is married to who is beating her. Look at the right of a woman to walk around with her face uncovered if she wants to. How about the right of a man to say and print something that is unflattering about his government. Or a man who was raised Moslem who wants to convert to Buddism?
Fundamentally, we can understand why any Arab wants to kill an Israeli. What we can't understand is why any Arab would want to kill his own neighbor, living on the same street as him, living next door to him, who is also an Arab, who is also suffering at the hands of the Isarelis.
In the US if any one of us is threatened by another country , regardless of our background, every one of us would band together to support him. Even for example if an illegal Mexican immigrant in the US was threatened by, say, a Mexican national - while we may want the illegal deported, as long as he's on our soil, we wouldn't tolerate an attack on him by another government.
But in any of your countries, from our point of view it just looks like dog-eat-dog, every man for himself - with even family members willing to kill each other over things like if one of them wants to follow a different religion.
As long as you Arabs are doing that to each other, within your own countries, then we may try to help you get along with your neighbors, but we will never trust you. Until you can band together and support each other when the going gets tough - regardless of your differences - you never will have our respect.
Israel may do terrible things to you, but Israel has never had a civil war, and the Jews have just as many differences between themselves as Moslems do.

[wassermd]

I don't completely agree with all of these comments but the point is that Arabs have refused to take ownership of their current issues and their future. These comments are on target. When we think of the petrodollars that the Arabs have wasted on trivial and petty things like a ski slope in the desert, yet millions are destitute and living in deplorable conditions, there is only one word that comes to mind - ownership. The Arabs still do not have collective ownership meaning that the rich own all and the poor either exist or join radical groups that blame external groups for their own troubles. Dictatorships, monarchies and autocrats will never allow the progress necessary to deal with issues in a pragmatic and objective way.

[AntiJihadist]

This crap, full of lies and distortions, written by certain Bouthaina Shaaban, simply misses the point. You will never restore your rights and respect until your religion will continue preaching hate. We, the free world (America, Europe and Israel) shall defeat you in any place and in any time! Look at the results of the election to the European Parliament and this is just a beginning.

[AntiIslamicExtremisim]

You are dead on AntiJihadist. Such distortions and lie...notice the expansion into millions of poor muslims from more accurate numbers, and lack of truth or even mention of the truly millions they have killed around the globe, particularly each other. We (US or the West) need apologize for Nothing. I kind of favor the line in Braveheart, where "Wallace" rides out to meet the King's men and tells Them to march their troops off the battlefield and they will be spared, and then ride back tell their king to apologize for all the violence they have done to the Scottish clans, and finally to then put his own head between his legs and kiss his own arss. That's exactly what Shabban, Assad and all the other henchmen of the Muslim world can do in relation to their Own people. No need to apologize to us (The West), we don't need or want it...apologize to Your Own People for the hundreds of years of wrong you have done to them. You know nothing but destruction even of the beautiful lands that surround you and are a disgrace to humanity. I will be glad for the day when you own people awaken, like in Iran now, and hopefully throw you all out with the rest of the garbage. Just had to get that off my chest.