I feel like I should voice out what I think of all that’s happening in the Middle East:
Libya: The Libyans’ celebratory gestures are definitely too premature and hasty. In fact, I don’t consider Libya to have succeeded in its revolution. The most successful revolution has been in Tunisia, where the population is much more educated, aware and civilized. They overthrew their regime through collective populist action and it worked, and I believe that democracy will evolve in the country. However, in Libya, the opposition was directly armed by Western counterparts that are now fighting over its oil resources. The New York Times had a huge piece about it and DemocracyNow! posted critical analysis of the situation there. I was following the news on Libya very carefully, and felt very – weirdly – uncomfortable as I watched the rebels take over most of Tripoli, and didn’t know why. But looking back, it was because there were no women or children celebrating– it was only armed young men dancing in the streets and shooting their guns in the air, stepping on Gaddafi’s pictures and destroying his idols. The revolution was violent, and the violence was sponsored by the NATO. Sadly, I think Libya’s lost.
Syria: Asad Abukhalil summarizes progressive attitudes towards the situation in Syria very eloquently:
There are real divisions among progressives regarding the attitude to the uprising in Syria. I can, from even communicating with people I know, discern three trends. One trend supports the regime on the count that the enemies of the Syrian regime (Israel, US, Saudi Arabia, etc) are the enemies of all progressives and that a real conspiracy is targeting the Syrian regime not for its repression but for its stance on Israel. Many progressives among the SSNP take this stance, for example. Another strend holds that the Syrian regime should not be spared regardless of its stance toward Israel, which is weak at best, and that support for Arab uprisings should be universal regardless of the verbal pronouncements of the regime. This trends faults those who refuse to speak out against the Syrian regime for fear of sounding like the rhetoric of the Arab counter-revolution which is mangaged by GCC and is opposed to the Syrian regime. I count myself as part of the 3rd trend: a trend that opposes the Syrian regime and calls for its overthrow but also agrees that there is indeed a plot by the Arab counter-revolution in Syria. This trend is also deeply suspicious of the dominant movement in the Syrian opposition (the Muslim Brotherhood and their liberal clients), and view them as tools of Saudi policy in the region. Members of the second trend disagree and consider any criticisms of the Syrian opposition to be distracting and diversionary, and even unfair. Members of the 1st trend use the connection and ideology of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood to discredit the entire opposition movement in Syria.
I personally find myself among the first trend. I think that before hastily supporting/opposing any opposition movement as part of the Arab Spring we need to look at the bigger picture. I had a very hard time living with myself under this view, just because it first appeared to me as if I took a stance on an issue politically rather than ethically. However, I do denounce Bashar and all that he’s doing (I have no idea how that guy’s living with his conscious… if he had one). The violence and atrocious crimes he’s committed in Syria must be confronted.
But the overthrow of the entire regime is of no one’s interest but the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The entire international community spoke against Bashar, but who spoke against Al Khalifa? Why hasn’t Saudi’s King given a speech against the atrocities committed in Yemen? It is a part of the counter-revolution movement, and it is a Western conspiracy, aided by its Middle Eastern allies, against the resistance movement against Israel. If the regime falls then we’re left with a massive imbalance of power in the region, in the favor of Israel (who just killed 29+ Palestinian civilians in its strike against Gaza, but let’s leave that to another post…). So how do we reconcile the two (oppressive regime and a vital foreign policy)? Reforms, ending of violence, and tolerating this dictator temporarily, until another player comes upfront (ahem #Egypt) in support of the resistance.
Bahrain: The revolution is still ongoing, but not as strong as it was in February. Bahrainis are the most suppressed of all, but hopefully they see the light. This documentary erased every doubt I had about the possibility of the opposition being sectarian, and reaffirmed my convictions regarding counter-revolution:
