Month: July 2006

Amnesty for insurgents

Charles Krauthammer is probably one of the vilest public intellectuals on the American landscape, but I have to agree with this column endorsing amnesty for Iraqi Sunni insurgents:

In Iraq, amnesty will necessarily be part of any co-optation strategy in which insurgents lay down their arms. And it would not apply to the foreign jihadists, who, unlike the Sunni insurgents who would join the new Iraq, dream of an Islamic state built on the ruins of the current order. There is nothing to discuss with such people. The only way to defeat them is to kill them, as we did Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

But killing them requires depriving them of their sanctuary. Reconciliation-cum-amnesty gets disaffected Iraqi Sunni tribes to come over to the government’s side, drying up the sea in which the jihadists swim. After all, we found Zarqawi in heavily Sunni territory by means of intelligence given to us by local Iraqis.

If you ignore the routine attacks on Democrats, the column makes a decent argument — the only solution to an ugly situation, really.

Arab democracy in The Economist

There’s a good overview of the backtracking on democracy by Arab regimes in this week’s Economist. Read it while it’s free.

One issue I have with the article is regarding Morocco, which I would argue is an exception to the rule described in the article. The “announcement” that the country would move towards democracy was made in the 1990s, partially carried out and given new impetus with the accession of Muhammad VI. It did not particularly stem from US pressure and the general pretense of democratization that has come about in the last four years. And it had already become clear by 2003 or 2004 that despite the talk, there was actually little concrete democratizing (constitutional reform, judicial reform, security reform) being done. While the achievements of the new moudawana and the Equity and Reconciliation Commission should be recognized, there is a distinct sense of disappointment that things have not changed as much as many once believed they would. So while Morocco remains a comparatively better model than many Arab states, in terms of actual reform accomplished (especially on political issues) it has stagnated for the past few years, or, some would even argue, backtracked.

More generally, I do think there are two standards to which Arab countries (or any others) have to be held to. One is a universal one of democracy, not necessarily on any particular model but as enshrined in common sense, political rights and principles such as those found in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and other international legal documents (many of which have been signed by Arab countries) that define a bare minimum for human dignity. The other is an individual one, where improvements are measured in terms of domestic expectations, promises by governments, the pace of change and its evolution over time. Morocco cannot be held up to the same standard as Tunisia, since in that case it will always appear like it’s doing a lot better. It has to be held up to its own past. Likewise, political expectations of change in Egypt are quite different than those in Libya, etc. A regional comparison is actually not that helpful, except as a political tool to promote change by example — such as the (for now) failed neo-con policy with regards to Iraq.

Speculative fiction and the IP conflict

Speculative fiction, a sub-genre of science-ficton of fantastic fiction, is generally really about the present than the future. The idea is to represent an alternate history or imagined future that really tells us about the present. I read two examples of this recently, both related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that I found quite moving and intriguing recently.

Correction: I originally attributed the second story to Israel Shahak rather than Israel Shamir, its actual author. There’s a big difference — see the link in the comments or the above bios. Mea culpa and thanks for Ethan for taking the time to correct me.

Continue reading Speculative fiction and the IP conflict

Egypt newspapers to go on strike Sunday

A dozen opposition party and independent newspapers have announced they will not appear next Sunday to protest the government’s new press laws: these include not only the predictably anti-government weeklies such as Al Sawt Al Umma (whose editor Wael Al Ibrashi was recently put on trial) and the Nasserist Al Arabi, both on which normally come out on Sundays, but also independent newspapers in some cases backed by businessmen close to the regime, such as Nahdet Misr and Al Alam Al Youm (both owned by Emad Adib, who ran the PR for Mubarak’s re-election last year) or Al Masri Al Youm, which is financed by a several apolitical but well-connected businessmen. The bizarre weekly that is Al Osboa — in some ways cozy with the security services, but stridently critical of the regime in other respects — is also joining in, as are lesser tabloids such as Adel Hammouda’s Al Fagr. I suppose that for press barons, it’s easier to allow a strike that doesn’t cost them much then upset editors and journalists.

Continue reading Egypt newspapers to go on strike Sunday

98 MB detainees to be released

The Muslim Brotherhood’s official English website reported that State Security prosecutor ordered the release of 98 Muslim Brothers detainees. The detainees, however refused to pay the LE200 bail “set by the Prosecution to be paid by each detainees before being released, (MB lawyer 3abdel Mon3eim) Abdel Maqsoud deplored this attitude on the part of the prosecution enjoining the detainees to pay a bail while they should be compensated for the period they spent in detention without charges.”
The Arabist was the first news outlet to publish the full list of MB detainees last Sunday, after obtaining it from the IkhwanWeb editors, Mr. El-Sa3id Ramadan and Mr. Khaled Salam. We are kindly asking them to update us with the names of those released.
We hope all the rest of the MB detainees would be free soon, together with our friends Sharqawi and Sha3er.

CIA disbands bin Laden hunt team

The CIA has decided to disband the Osama Bin Laden Unit, that was set up back in 1996 to hunt the Saudi-born militant. The unit’s agents will be distributed to different departments working on militant Islamist groups. One US intelligence official quoted in this report said:

“Al-Qaeda is no longer the hierarchical organisation that it was before 9/11. Three-quarters of its senior leaders have been killed or captured,” the official said.
“What you have had since 9/11 is growth in the Islamic jihadist movement around the world among groups and individuals who may be associated with al-Qaeda, and may have financial and operation links with al-Qaeda, but have no command and control relationship with it,” he added.

With the start of the “war on terror” Bush officials and self-described counterterrorism experts tried to picture Al-Qa3da as an professional army, with bin Laden as its commander in chief. The discourse of the US intelligence community was to change later, to allow room for recognizing that the Al-Qa3da was more of a network, or more accurately an “idea,” than it being an organization. Dissolving bin Laden’s office marks the official end of this stupid view.
A good book I recommend on Al-Qa3da is Jason Burke’s “Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror.”
Here’s also another article on the decentralization of Al-Qa3da: Crusaders and Allah’s Soldiers

Police ban pro-Gaza demo

Police banned a solidarity demo with the Palestinians that had been scheduled today noon in front of the Arab League HQ.
Central Security Forces trucks were all over Tahrir Sq since early morning, and in Ramsis St close to the lawyers’ and journalists’ syndicates. More troops were also stationed behind the Mugama3 near the US embassy. While CSF conscripts mostly remained inside their trucks, Tahrir was swarmed with uniformed and plainclothes police officers, State Security agents, and the paramilitary brigades of criminal thugs whom the police are increasingly depending on to keep “law and order� in the street. There was also a battalion of thugs stationed around the corner of the Egyptian Museum on the side of 3abdel Mon3eim Riyad Sq (I’m sure Western tourists on their way into the museum felt safer and secure with such a lovely sight.)
A handful of activists who showed up early (11:40am) in front of the Arab League HQ were soon surrounded by thugs, plainclothes State Security officers, who ordered them to leave. The activists had formed a delegation that was to get into the Arab League HQ to present a message to its secretariat, denouncing the League’s (as always) weak response to the Israeli attacks.
Mohamed Waked, one of the activists present in the scene, told me the State Security officers intimidated and pushed nine activists inside the HQ, saying they could either get into the League’s building swiftly to meet the assistant secretary general, or get into the prisoners’ trucks. The police was very nervous, and did not want a crowd that can draw more attention of the people in the square. Waked, who was not part of the delegation, said he was pushed by the officers inside against his will. Others included, Kamal Abu 3eita, Mohamed 3abdel Quddos and Ahmad Rami, MB activist at the pharmacists’ syndicate.
The activists were met by Ahmad Bin Hilla, 3amr Moussa’s assistant. They protested their treatment by the police, but Bin Hilla said this was an “Egyptian internal affair� that the League did not want to intervene in. The activists presented him with a statement, denouncing the League’s weak stand and lack of support for the Palestinians. Bin Hilla replied, giving them the expected we-are-doing-our-best diplomatic crap.
Meanwhile, small scattered groups of activists were trying to assemble in Tahrir, but were intimidated by the police, who threatened them with arrest, and were pushing them across the streets to disperse. The activists, mainly socialists and Nasserists from the Karama faction, were exponentially outnumbered by the police, who kept on shoving them all the way from Tahrir Sq to Tal3at Harb sq. The scene was bizarre, and reminded me of the Labor Day demo, where security intimidation against an exponentially outnumbered activists meant run for-your-life kinda situation. After being cornered in Tal3at Harb, around 20 activists decided to head to the Press Syndicate. They were marching in the street, and sometimes running, followed by at least 300 plainclothes security. Whenever any activist stopped walking, even to light a cigarette, battalions of security agents would start pushing him or her to move. The security also kidnapped Wael 3abass in Qasr el-Nil St, and kept him in custody for few minutes, before the rest of the activists assembled and started screaming and shouting till he was released. The same situation happened few minutes later with another activist from the Karama faction who raised Nasser’s poster while walking. The activists decided then if they can’t demonstrate or chant, the least they could do is to raise their hands up with V signs to attract attention of the public, as they ran for refuge at the press syndicate.
It was around 1:15pm that the CSF conscripts were moved to surround the syndicate, but did not bar those who wanted to get in. Under Cairo’s burning July sun, 30 or 40 at best, activists stood with banners denouncing the US, Israel and Mubarak, waiving Palestinian flags, and chanting. They were joined by Kamal Abu 3eita and Mohamed 3abdel Quddos after they were “released� from the Arab League HQ.