Unlike Fred Halliday and his pro-imperialist Arab and non-Arab acolytes, we need never choose between imperialism and fascism; we must unequivocally opt for the third choice, which has proven its efficacy historically and is much less costly no matter the sacrifices it requires: fighting against domestic despotism and US imperialism simultaneously (and the two have been in most cases one and the same force), and supporting home-grown struggles for democratic transformation and social justice that are not financed and controlled by the oil tyrannies of the Gulf and their US imperial master.

Imperialism, despotism, and democracy in Syria
The stark choice between a fascist or an imperialist course in Syria should be discarded for a third and better course.
6 February, 2012 – Joseph Massad – AlJazeera

New York, NY – In the context of the US invasion of the Gulf in 1991, British academic Fred Halliday announced his new right-wing affiliations in the British newspaper the New Statesman by declaring: “If I have to choose between imperialism and fascism, I choose imperialism.” It never occurred to Halliday that he could have opposed both and supported home-grown democratic struggles instead.

This was indeed a watershed moment for Arab, American, and European anti-imperialist leftists who would become turncoats, moving from a principled opposition to imperialism to a principled and financially more rewarding support of it. Like much of the scholarly and journalistic output of turncoats, Halliday’s sober and academically valuable studies, written before his transformation into a pro-imperial apologist, were followed by forgettable and mediocre studies after it, so much so that he did not publish a single study after 1991 that had academic merit or even a shelf life beyond a few weeks (though his Arab turncoat comrades saw fit to translate these later studies to Arabic!).

The stark opposition that Halliday drew between American imperialism and Saddam’s despotic rule preceded the events of 9/11 and the re-introduction of the term “fascism” in a slightly altered form to fit US imperialism’s new enemies, namely the neologism “Islamofascism”, which another British turncoat, Christopher Hitchens, had done so much to disseminate.

At the time, many Arabs, Europeans, and Americans (myself included), who have been unwavering critics of Saddam Hussein’s despotic and terroristic rule and US imperialism’s genocidal wars against Third World enemies, opposed the first US invasion of the Gulf in 1991 and the ensuing 12-year siege, which cost more than a million Iraqi lives, as well as the subsequent US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its 8-year occupation of the country, which killed another million Iraqis.

Opposition to US invasions of Iraq and Kuwait stemmed neither from any illusions about the nature of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime nor from his alliance with the Saudi theocratic state and its smaller Gulf partners. It came even less from his military strategic alliance with France and the United States from the late 1970s onwards, in the service of which he invaded Iran in 1980 and sacrificed the lives of one million Iranians and 400,000 Iraqis. On the contrary, it was based on a sober assessment of these realities and the costly impact of imperial invasions.

It was in this context that the Iraqi exile opposition in London and Washington, especially the irrepressible Kanan Makiya, who were calling for a US ground invasion and for more bombings of Baghdad by US forces, began to attack all those who oppose the US invasion, including the late Edward Said, as apologists for Saddam. Indeed, in 1991, Makiya’s Iranian ex-wife, Afsaneh Najmabadi, joined the fight and launched an impassioned defence of a US invasion of Iraq and the intellectuals and journalists who championed it, especially Thomas Friedman, Fouad Ajami, and Makiya himself. She obscenely attacked Said’s criticism of them, describing it as the “rhetorical equivalent of political murder”.

It would seem then, as Marx put it, that history repeats itself twice – the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. But does it repeat itself a third time?

The Iraqi exile opposition insisted along with its US imperial sponsors and the chorus of pro-war American intellectuals that people should make one of two choices: for or against Saddam. While the US and its Iraqi partners had their way, the subsequent destruction of Iraq, the dismantling of its state structures, and the destruction of its societal cohesion is the clearest illustration of what such a choice entailed for the Iraqi people and their country.

In 2011, we were treated to a repeat performance of the very same scenario. The Libyan exile opposition and those inside the liberated parts of the country, consisting mostly of erstwhile servants of the Qaddafi regime, began to call for a NATO invasion of Libya to help the Libyan people in their uprising against Qaddafi. Again, many anti-imperialist and pro-democracy Arabs and non-Arabs cautioned that while Qaddafi had been a merciless despot for four decades and had become an ally of the United States and Europe for the last decade of his rule, a western imperial invasion of the country would not be in the interest of most Libyans Rather, it would entail the destruction of the country, with thousands of casualties, for the sole purpose of controlling Libya’s oil wealth and not in the interest of establishing democratic rule. Again the Libyan opposition allied with imperial powers, like its Iraqi predecessor, immediately challenged any opponent of the imperial invasion to make one of two choices: for or against Qaddafi.

It would seem then, as Marx put it, that history repeats itself twice – the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce. But does it repeat itself a third time?

In the age of Arab exile oppositions sponsored by Gulf oil and US imperialism, it clearly does. Enter Syria’s exile opposition who hijacked the popular uprising against the Assad dynasty in the country. True, neither Qaddafi nor Assad (Sr or Jr) could compare to the despotic terror of Saddam Hussein, though they have tried their hardest to approximate it.

Like Saddam, the Assad dynastic regime has been an ally of the Saudi theocracy and its junior Gulf partners, and an agent of US imperialism in the region, especially in its major intervention in Lebanon in 1976 at the invitation of the Christian fascist forces who called the Syrians in to help them crush the leftist revolutionary movement in the country, including the PLO. The role played by the Syrian regime (in conjunction with Israeli advisors) in the horrific Tel al-Za’tar massacre in 1976, when thousands of Palestinians were slaughtered at the hands of fascist Maronite forces abetted by the Syrian army, is now the stuff of history.
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Bahrainis seek freedom and justice, says Lamees Dhaif
WSN – by Lameses Dhaif – 23 January, 2012

Bahrain, a country that feels the world forsake it and ignores its struggle as compared with the rest of the revolutions.

The people of Bahrain are peaceful people living at the mercy of a repressive, corrupt authority. We are the only oil country where more than half of its people live in need, not because we do not have the resources – but because the corruption here created two categories of people – extreme wealth and extreme poor.

The indigenous people of Bahrain lived here before the arrival of the royal family. These – the original inhabitants – suffered more than others of oppression, discrimination and marginalization.

Recently these people revolted demanding conditions which are more just and democratic.

They also requested to change the prime minister, who has governed the country for four decades. During these years he looted so many of the countries resources for himself and his family.

Instead of listening to these demands, the regime suppressed villages and the regions that participated in the protests. Thousands of people were arrested, starved and injured. Lots of martyrs fell, most of them below the age of 16 years.

The peaceful demands were met with repression and abuse not only rejection.

However, the people are determined to continue their struggle to regain their legitimate rights.

The role of women

Women participated alongside men in these protests and were in the front lines. They were not afraid of the bullets and the military.

The martyr Bahia Al-Aradi, was one of the first to be killed in the confrontations. She had remained steadfast and was standing even when the men began to retreat after attacks from the military.

The women were subjected to the worst types of torture and were deployed from work and their reputation and chastity were trashed. This increased their determination to contribute to positive change.

Democracy is what Bahrain wants

When it comes to democracy, we believe that this form of tribal rule has failed. The existence of one family that controls the country and the destiny of its people has become a thing of the past. The era of absolute monarchies has ended since the Middle Ages.

The people of Bahrain are educated and they deserve a democratic government that respects and honors its will. Freedom and justice is all we want .. Is it too much to ask?

(Lamees Dhaif is a Journalist and human rights activist from Bahrain, she shares her views on Bahrain with www.wespeaknews.com via email)
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Gulf Arms Deals: Buying Security or Bailing the West
By: Yazan al-Saadi – 12 January, 2012 – Al-Akhbar

The United States and the Gulf monarchies have committed to what has been dubbed as “one of the largest re-armament exercises in peacetime history,” amounting to the sale of US$123 billion worth of fighter jets, helicopters, missiles, tanks, and other advanced weaponry.

The deal, announced this past Christmas Eve in Washington, has been justified by Andrew Shapiro, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, as “[sending] a strong message to the countries in the region that we are committed to support the security of our key partners and allies in the Arabian Gulf and the broader Middle East.”

On the surface, the deal seeks to ensure that any potential expansionist interest by Iran towards the region is deterred. Yet, the nature and outcome of previous and current substantial arms deals between Arab Gulf monarchies and the West, in terms of its military value vis-à-vis Iran, suggest an agenda beyond merely containing the Islamic Republic.

Considering history: the “lightning” example

Amer Mohsen’s a href=”http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/29087″ target=”_blank”>recent article for Al-Akhbar Arabic devoted much attention to the first major arms deal between the West and the Arab Gulf monarchies, which occurred in the early 1960s, and how it illuminated much of the nature of why these deals are initiated and their usual outcome.

As Mohsen point out, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom broke new ground by committing to a transaction in regards to the English Electric Lightning supersonic jet fighter aircraft, developed by the British Aircraft Corporation (known today as British Aerospace) during the 1950s.

Saudi Arabia, mired in the Yemeni Civil War and sporadically conflicting with Nasser’s Egypt, ordered 35 Lightning F-53s and six T-55s which were delivered in phases, completed in 1972. For the British defense industry at the time this was the largest sale in its history.
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GlobalVoice: Bahrain: #OccupyBudaiyaSt Continues
18 Dec 2011

Bahraini protesters have been continuing with their daily protests despite a government crackdown, from a government that tells the world that it is implementing reforms and not involved in the killing of innocent people. This none forceful confrontation with protesters has resulted in two deaths and countless injuries since Thursday.

On Thursday, Bahrainis started their #OccupyBudaiyaSt protests. On that day, a 22-year-old man called Ali Al-Gassab was killed and activist/blogger Zainab Al-Khawajah was arrested for taking part in the Occupy Budaiya Street protest. The Occupy Budaiya Street protest aims at pressuring the government to release political prisoners and pay tribute to Bahrain’s 40-plus martyrs, killed at the hand of security forces since the unrest started in Bahrain in February.

On Friday, as the regime was celebrating the country’s National Day, thousands of Bahrainis packed the streets heading to Al-Gassab’s funeral. However, the hospital, allegedly refused to give the body to his family. Despite this set back, the crowds headed to the cemetery, in Abu Saiba village, also on the Budaiya Highway, where they chanted against the regime. Security forces chased the protesters away with tear gas and brutality. The most notable event was what was so called ‘Shakura Massacre‘; an incident that was caught by seven different cameras. It shows riot policemen on the roof of a building in Shakura village, along the Budaiya Highway, brutalizing around 18 men and leaving them with major injuries. The Interior Ministry tweeted in comment on this incident earlier on Saturday saying:

@moi_bahrain: Legal Affairs at MOI suspended some police personnel to investigate attack case against citizens in Shakhura yesterday (Friday).

Some netizens objected to the Shakhura being dubbed massacre, saying that none of the youth attacked was killed. Here is a video of the incident:

brilliant coverage of the Occupy Budaiya Protests HERE

Potential Demonstrations in Bahrain 23-26 Aug., 2011
by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 6:40am

The following potential or planned protests from a U.S. Embassy Manama Demonstration Notice in Bahrain should be avoided by all U.S. Forces, DOD civilians, DOD contractors, and family members:

Tuesday, August 23 at 1700 in the vicinity of Diraz.
Thursday, August 25 from 0600 to 0900, a vehicular demonstration from Alba Company towards Sitra bridge and on to the business district/diplomatic area in Manama.
Thursday, August 25 at 2100 in the vicinity of Billad al Qadeem.
Friday, August 26 at 1100 in the vicinity of Diraz.
Friday, August 26, time TBD in the vicinity of Al Dair.
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The United States under the Presidency of Barack Obama and the UK under Prime Minister David Cameron, have engaged in a Conspiracy of Silence regarding the continue tolerance of the brutal torture and oppression of the people of Bahrain by the governing al Khalifa regime. Both nations supply weapons that are used on a daily basis to gas, kill, maim and torture a peaceful people demanding freedom, democracy and protection of their Human and Constitutional Rights under Bahrain and international law. Please take a stand and help break the horrible silence of repression, demand freedom for Bahrain’s tortured prisoners of conscience and defenders of Human Rights, so together the people of Bahrain can build a free and democratic future.