“Be it a popular uprising or not so popular, the crucial thing is that this no-fly zone must stop this no-flow of oil from Libya to Europe and USA, a situation that if kept going could drag a newly recovered western economy back to recession”
Dr. Ashraf Ezzat / veterans today
History is now unfolding swiftly in the Arab world it practically outpaced and deviated from the expectations of all observers and policy makers in the region and internationally.
For centuries the Middle East has been the theater for political changes usually brought about by foreign and world powers starting from the Napoleon Bonaparte/ French campaign (1798-1801) to the Balfour declaration in 1917, and the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948.
With the undergoing contagion of uprisings, the Arab people and may be for the first time- after the end of western colonialism- are taking the lead and political initiative to change the region into what they hope to be a more democratic and freer Arab world.
As more ordinary people from almost every Arab country- with no apparent organizational leadership- are taking to the streets voicing decades of frustration and discontent with the way they have been ruled, change seems to be the only way out for a Middle East in turmoil.
The world has been caught by surprise – especially Europe and the United States- by the Arab uprisings. And because this was not in anybody’s agenda, it took the west a while to believe it was real and not some al Qaeda in disguise- as usually interpreted by the west of any upheavals or unrest in the Middle East. And it took them even longer to guarantee that it had nothing to do with their Zionist enclave in the region whose safety and prosperity are of primary concern for the United States and Europe in the Middle East, next to oil of course.
Name of the game in the Middle East
Oil and Israel, this is the name of the game in the Middle East no matter how hard the west tried to convince the Arabic/Muslim world otherwise. The democratization of the Middle East has never been a real concern for the west, and why should it be when they have got all those so called strong allies- dictators- as heads of autocratic regimes acting in accordance with the interest of the European and the Zionist American axis.
Unprecedented and having a potent domino effect, that is how the main stream media described the uprisings in the Arab world that started in Tunisia and then gained the most dramatic momentum as it reached Egypt where millions of hungry for change literally occupied the Tahrir square in the heart of Cairo for almost two weeks and nonviolently called for the regime to simply go away.
The incredible scenes of Egyptians swarming the streets and not giving in despite the brutal violence and intimidation of the security forces have inspired almost all Arabs in the region and aroused the inevitable question of why they can’t do it too now that Egyptians have successfully carried it out.
This domino effect sounded a bit weird for some political pundits and observers, they just couldn’t see something happening in Tunisia and Egypt in one week to be followed by the same scenario in Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman and Libya the next week. It was simply too alike to be true or spontaneous, so various conspiracy theories began to spawn trying to reread those uprisings as orchestrated by hidden powers like the Israeli Mossad or the illuminati groups or the giant world oil corporations.
False flag uprisings
What the Arabs are doing right now is absolutely not about oil or Israel, it’s not some false flag operations meant to deceive anybody, on the contrary it is a loud and clear message that Arabs are fed with deception and that they can’t tolerate corruption and dictatorship anymore, though deception never really fades away.
It’s about Arabs and their voices heard may be for the first time in a long time. And since many had believed that Arabs were politically mute, they just couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
These whole revolutions are about Arabs and their long forgotten rights and freedom. The domino effect, strange as it might seem to many but it is a sure sign that the Arab world is like one big nation inhabited by closely related citizens with relatively the same collective psyche, sharing the same history and land and aspiring for the same change that would bring about-hopefully- a better future for them all.
That said, it will be a matter of time before the whole Arab world engage in this historic cycle of change and it wouldn’t be unlikely to see these uprisings reaching as far as Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Damascus in Syria and Ramallah in Palestine, as a matter of fact people there already began rallying calling for democracy and a united Palestinian political front that would bridge the gap between PLO and Hamas.
These popular uprisings have revealed more insights into the socio-political dynamics of the modern Arab world; they have clearly showed how much corrupt the Arabic regimes are and how far they would go to cling to and stay in power.
This rampant corruption has spread to almost all Arabic governments’ policies and institutions and with the lack of free speech the Arab nations ranked high only on the world record of suppressing dissent and torture.
And as the Arab tyrant presidents and kings were rated amongst the top billionaires of the world, their nations and people kept their wretched place in the underdeveloped swamp.
The uprisings taking place now in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen with the fierce crack down on protesters give an obvious demonstration that the autocratic regimes there will not give up without a fight.
This page of history, this transitional phase toward democracy in the Arab world won’t be nice and smooth or without any disappointments; the change the Arabs long for will not be attained without sacrifice. The blood that has been spilled over the streets of Cairo, Sanaa, Manama and Benghazi testified to the willingness of Arabs to pay the price of freedom.
Libya, the bloody side of the Arab uprisings
The violence witnessed in Libya and the madness of Gaddafi in confronting the rebellion could have been the same scenario in the rest of the Arabic countries hadn’t it been for variations of the geo-political and demographic situations in other Arab states. For example, the population of the Libyans is about 5 million people scattered over a vast land area, compared to Egypt, the whole Libyans would have been just about the expected number of people to occupy only the Tahrir square and the heart of Cairo.
So, as those masses of millions of enthusiastic Egyptians have molded into titanic waves of angry protesters that seemed unconquerable by any means- diplomatic or military- especially with the main stream media covering the historic event by the minute, where as Libya with its tribal demographic pattern along with a psycho paranoid as the head of the state had been the right candidate for the most unfortunate and agonizing military onslaught to crush the rebellion there.
These revolutions are the embodiment of the saying “power to the people” … they have clearly showed that the will and power of the people cannot be disregarded nor overcome. On the other hand, the bloodshed and the brutal military violence that erupted in the rich with oil Libya have been what seemed like the right moment for the international forces to step in and try to have a share in steering these compassless and seemingly bound nowhere revolutions.
The UN passed resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya – which came rather late- is not exactly the revival of European and American chivalry, and president Sarkozy of France cannot be, all of a sudden, king Arthur of the 21st century.
Libya with its huge reserve and flow of vital oil to Europe & the United States could not and should not be left alone in the hands of some maniac and political outcast like Gaddafi to be drifted into some civil war that only god knows when it will come to an end. This is unacceptable under any circumstances, be it a popular uprising or not so popular, the crucial thing is that this no-fly zone must stop this no-flow of oil from Libya to Europe and USA, a situation that if kept going could drag a newly recovered western economy back to recession.
Bewildered and outpaced by the way things are getting out of control in North Africa and by what happened in Tunisia – that used to be a French colonial territory – the Elysee made sure that this political blunder would not happen again not in Algeria and definitely not in Libya. That’s why president sarkozy has taken the lead, saved the day for a reluctant USA and acted like the knight in shining armour ready to sail to Libya and help free its oppressed people.
Europe and the United States are now contemplating the post- uprising Arab world and with their long in power puppet heads of regimes in the region gone with the wind of change the west is bound to come to terms with this new reality on the Arab world ground, namely the will of the Arab people who will definitely not take kindly to any suspected act of another western invasion of their arab land.
And in doing so, the coalition forces acting now in Libya backed by a consent from the Arab League will be walking a fine line – especially the united states- trying to stick to the part of the savior and at the same time to distance themselves from the role of the occupier who is willing to order and deploy troops on the ground.
Haunted by the Iraqi nightmare, will the coalition forces be able to get the mission accomplished in Libya … and how long will it take before the Pentagon communicates the Egyptian military generals and asks for some Egyptian infantry battalions to be engaged on the ground to finalize this costly and unpredictable Odyssey Dawn operation.
For more articles by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat visit his website
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Ashraf Ezzat is an Egyptian born in Cairo and based in Alexandria. He graduated from the faculty of Medicine at Alexandria University.
Keen not to be entirely consumed by the medical profession, Dr. Ezzat invests a lot of his time in research and writing. History of the ancient Near East and of Ancient Egypt has long been an area of special interest to him.
In his writings, he approaches ancient history not as some tales from the remote times but as a causative factor in our existing life; and to him, it’s as relevant and vibrant as the current moment.
In his research and writings, Dr. Ezzat is always on a quest trying to find out why the ancient wisdom had been obstructed and ancient spirituality diminished whereas the Judeo-Christian teachings and faith took hold and prospered.
Dr. Ezzat has written extensively in Arabic tackling many issues and topics in the field of Egyptology and comparative religion. He is the author of Egypt knew no Pharaohs nor Israelites.
He writes regularly at many well-known online websites such as Dissident Voice and What Really Happened.
Dr. Ezzat is also an independent filmmaker. His debut film was back in 2011 The Annals of Egypt Revolution and in 2012 he made Tale of Osiris a short animation for children.
In 2013 his short The Pyramids: story of creation was screened at many international film festivals in Europe. And he is working now on his first documentary “Egypt knew no Pharaohs nor Israelites”.
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