by Dr. Mohammed T. Al-Rasheed, comments@d-corner.com
It is always good to see an Arab (other than Faoud Ajami) actually make sense! It has it all: logic, rationality, pro-American. And, in the freakin' Arab News from the Gulf. My-o-my.
Bravo Iraq! For history, Jan. 30, 2005, is one magnificent day for Iraq and the Arab nation. Regardless of who won and who lost, the day should be a permanent fixture on the Arab calendar forever. I don't want to talk politics; I simply want to celebrate history.In spite of everything, the Iraqis voted. They did so with a passion and a seriousness that gives the lie to the cliché that Arabs are not ready for democracy. One myth down, a thousand to go.
Everyone says that this is the first free elections in Iraq for fifty years. That is another lie. There has never been one single free election in the long history of the Arabs ever. This is the first one.
It took the Americans to conduct it and force it down the throats of dictators, terrorists, exploding deranged humans, and odds as big as the distance between the USA and the Middle East.
British guns and soldiers were in the area for so long yet did not care to look at the people. They waltzed with people Gerty and Lawrence (their colonial spies) baptized and were happy to see the nations slip into slavery. Likewise, the French could not bring themselves to see that the Arabs were good enough to cast a vote. And even when it happened in Algeria, the French orchestrated a putsch to annul it.
On Sunday America vindicated itself to all doubters, including me. They delivered on the promise of an election, so I am sure they will deliver on the promise of withdrawal. Occupation boots are heavy and brutal no matter what their insignia or colors. Yet homegrown dictatorship is even harsher and more deranged. In the name of nationalism and "freedom" from imperialism, Iraqi boots crushed Iraqi skulls for so long. When "going home," such dictators either jetted to Geneva or went to Tikrit. At least an American soldier has no such home in either place. He or she would simply want to go back to his fried chicken and home baked cookies. In that there is hope and a withdrawal schedule.
If the endgame is propaganda, I don't expect trashing America will end in our media. If, on the other hand, we write about what we feel is right and wrong, many should think again — at least on this issue.
A priori, taking the pen against America is not a good thing; similarly, taking the pen in praise of America is not treasonous. We have brains and we should use them. Perhaps in the coming weeks we will take issue with America again. But for today, I am celebrating by having a McDonald's. I hate fast food, but for this day I will make an exception.