If It Were I In Obama’s Place! …
While the advent of Barack Obama onto the American political scene has done wonders for America’s global image, in Kuwait, which is regarded as a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, Obama’s appearance has done little to allay suspicion in many quarters about ‘Zionist control’ of the United States.
This fascinating and disturbing op-ed article from Kuwait’s Arabic-language Al Seyassah, which is an explanation of how a ‘Kuwaiti Arab Muslim’ candidate would have to go about winning public office America, reflects the impotence Arabs feel about influencing the United States – especially vis-a-vis Israel.
In the form of a letter to his son and to a close friend, Dr. Hammoud Al-Hattadd writes for Al Seyassah:
“So how could an Arab candidate succeed when wanting to win an election in a superpower like the United States of America? … What does it mean for a candidate to champion Arab causes in the United States? It means the failure of that candidate: From the moment he announces his run, he will receive no support from any U.S. institution with influence over administering the elections.”
And why is this, in Dr. Al-Hattadd’s opinion? He goes on:
“Israel is everything in an American election; America’s domestic situation is an extension of the desire of World Zionism to control the world and absorb the global economy – including America’s. Proclaiming support for Israel herald’s the start of every U.S. presidential election. This is not the wish of every American, and isn’t necessarily popular either. Rather, it is primarily the wish of the institutions that fund the elections and is done to secure their own continuity, since they’re part of a Zionist organization with a broader plan to devour the world and the United States with it. … The Arabs know that they’re at the bottom of the list of priorities; they are lazy people without a successful educational system, they aren’t led by successful democracies, they have no health-care system to save them and they are numbered among the planet’s beggars in terms of knowledge and global civilization.”
By Dr. Hammoud Al- Hattadd
Translated By James Jacobson and Nicolas Dagher
June 9, 2008
Kuwait – Al Seyassah- Original Article (Arabic)
Don’t rebuke me, Tarek, my son, nor you my dear colleague Tareq Idris, when I tell you the position I would have to take to win an election in the United States as a Kuwaiti Arab Muslim candidate, or perhaps as a Salafi [the most traditional form of Islam ], a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or of the Tabligh [a Muslim Missionary 'revival' movement ].
So how does one succeed when wanting to win an election in a superpower like the United States of America? What would your slogan be: Of the Arabs, by the Arabs and for the Arabs? If so, then it would be better for you to stay at home than do what some of the female candidates in the Kuwaiti National Assembly have done.
[Editor's Note: The author refers to an episode last year when female members of parliament came to the Assembly chamber without headscarves. He is saying that if you want to run for office in America and champion Arab causes, you might as well stay home - just like those female Parliamentarians who refused to wear headscarves should have stayed home].
What does it mean for a candidate to champion Arab causes in the United States? It means the failure of that candidate: From the moment he announces his run, he will receive no support from any U.S. institution with influence over administering the elections.
Israel is everything in an American election; America’s domestic situation is an extension of the desire of World Zionism to control the world and absorb the global economy – including America’s. Proclaiming support for Israel herald’s the start of every U.S. presidential election. This is not the wish of every American, and isn’t necessarily popular either. Rather, it is primarily the wish of the institutions that fund the elections and is done to secure their own continuity, since they’re part of a Zionist organization with a broader plan to devour the world and the United States with it.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the U.S. elections and how our country is perceived by the rest of the world.
6 Responses to “If It Were I In Obama’s Place! …”
with oil nearing 140 dollars a barrel, i am sick of these anti jewish arabs whining about zionist control of world politics
eff em
Blaming the author of op-ed for oil prices makesabout the same sense as his fears of Zionist control.
[...] [...]
Surely the price of oil has sky-rocketed. This is not solely the fault of arabs or other oil producers. People all over and from all countries are manupulating the financial system; that is what is the main cause. On the other hand the arabs do have a commodity that everyone needs and they are selling it and enjoying the benefits. But they should not be solely held responsible. The consumers have been using oil products and continue to do so. Every factor contributes to the high oil prices.
The issue of how arabs perceive the US is another thing that we should have an open mind about. It is as if Israel can do no wrong. America backs it, whatever the case. Meanwhile some wrong things are taking place as a result of Israel's policies. Having said that, the attitudes against and attacks on the Israelis have created this reaction against arabs. It takes a bold american president to tell the Israelis to back off and cool off at times. But how can they cool off when they are being attacked. This whole thing is very complicated and cannot be easily solved. Each of the two groups have right to their existence.
I do not see how any american president cannot support Israel. The jewish lobby and power in the US is very strong. The political interests of the US also is embedded in the physical presence of Israel. What can however be done by any american president is to be upfront with the Israelis on matters, which are considered against human rights and contrary to civilized behavior. But again who defines rights or civility? Obama has a chance to change the way diplomacy is played. If he is president, he should change the impression that the US blindly supports Israel. There is a possibliity that may even reduce terrorism.
What it means to be pro-Israel is a question debated in Israel much like the question is debated here regarding what it means to be patriotic. Even some of the arguments used are the same.
To the right wing, if you don't agree with certain policies, you are anti-Istael (unamerican), and support the enemy (terrorists). , It's a difficult argument to win, because every mortar attack on Israel or every terrorist plot in the West, riles
emotions, and reason is cowed.
Americans often ascerbate the problem because many don't even realize that there is an internal debate in Israel. The right wing's AIPAC, aided by people like sen. Lieberman, have been so succesful in raising funds and dominating the narrative, that US policies have also been skewed to reflect their side of the debate. As a result, the US is actually meddling in Israeli politics, and that's not good for anybody. We can't influence Israel's enemies if we are perceived to be Israel's surrogate, and, especially, the right wing's surrogate.
Neither Israel, nor the US initiated paranoia about Zionism, Neither has considered enough how best to combat it. Doing nothing to dowse the flames amounts, in a way, to encouraign the fire to continue.
Both we and Israel need to rethink our strategy for dealing with strife and violence. We continue to act as if our military posturing and saber rattling, and ultimately our militarism will have better results in the future than it has in the past. Please, take a look at this picture, and try to understand that this type of disparity in opportunities and quality-of-life will always fuel envy, hatred, strife and war.
We need to remember and utilize all of our resources wisely. Currently, we consider only our military resources, and experience the frustration that no matter how much we are willing to trash our budget and sacrifice our ideals, we cannot stop the strife and violence by force. We simply can't. It's time for us to remember that we Americans are resourceful and we have resources far greater than our military. We have shown poor leadership under Bush, but we are capable of visionary leadership (recalcitrant hawks aside) and could lead Israel to rethink its strategies. Or maybe we could learn from them, as they DO negotiate with enemies such as Syria, rather than making a political football out of something that can yield real results.