A Saudi intellectual living in the United States wrote in an Arabic “international” newspaper that the US did not defeat countries hostile to it through military might but that the defeat was caused by American democracy and freedom, universities and research centers and America’s unparalleled social order. It is through such values and principles and the unique political and social fabric that the land of Uncle Sam dominates the world rather than by Cruise and Tomahawk missiles or B-52 bombers.
A first reading of the article may have won the writer the admiration of some who are already fascinated by such views, many of which began to surface after the plans to shape the future of Iraq and the region were made public.
A second reading would show how some of us were willing to join the campaign and fire the propaganda bullet well before the artillery, tanks, planes and ships of the invading forces started doing their jobs.
Let us first ask ourselves these questions: Since the same values and principles cherished by the US are also found in countries such as Norway, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand and even Singapore, why are these countries’ flags not fluttering over Umm Qasr or Basra? Why is this not the case if some countries think they have the right to dominate others only because they consider themselves civilized?
If what that Saudi intellectual said was right, why then are those states neighboring North Korea, a country in possession of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles capable of striking capitals far away, hesitant to enter into a confrontation with a country that is backward if judged by the values set by the writer?
I leave the answer to the reader. What I would like to stress is that this armed campaign against our region and our nation is as dangerous as the one being launched by those who are the true beneficiaries of this campaign and others looking for some gains. The beneficiaries are bluntly telling us that if we want to spare ourselves the dangers we must copy our colonizers in everything: Think like them, behave and act like them and view life the way they do.
Another enlightened Saudi presented us with a different interpretation of certain verses in the Holy Qur’an. He says we should not worry because the Arabs and Muslims are going to benefit from this American invasion.
The enlightened writers think that since the books and articles they have written in the past and the covert and overt meetings they have held have all failed to influence the minds of those backward Muslims who remain attached to their religion, morals, values and traditions, the only way left to make the desired change is to apply the Western tactic — tanks rumbling over the bleeding bodies of the very brothers and cousins they want to reform.
One intellectual wrote praising the soldiers from Texas, Florida and California, welcoming them to our countries and homes and even standing on the roofs of our mosques. In his view they are welcome because they bring with them the promised democracy and reform.
The enlightened writers seem to have forgotten that the Arab and Muslim nation has been colonized in the past, in some places for hundreds of years, and finally managed to drive the colonizers out and return to its roots. Is there any difference between what is being said these days by some Arabs and Muslims who keep courting the enemy and what was said many years ago by the ruler in Saigon who said that he was confident American support would enable him to prevail over North Vietnam?
Arab News Local Press 31 March 2003
