Egypt: Police and Interior Ministry troops open fire on a mass illegal rally by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), killing some 50, wounding some 160. Their manifestation was seen as a provocation by many. Mr. Morsi was elected because Qatar gave some $8 billion to in fluence the election. Once in power, Mr. Morsi failed to bring in secular officials, thus ending any recovery. The self-described 'good Muslims' are using their faith, their din, to bolster their own identities, personal and collective.
Ask any one of them: Do you serve God and Islam? They will say, of course we do.That is not Islam. I cannot help God. God helps me. Why is that reversed with many religious activists? Whenever Islam or any religion is used to bolster and enact egos, group egos, then crimes and divisive talk are not far behind. As soon as a group becomes exclusive, it runs off the rails.
Syria: the UN arms control teams are destroying the Syrian regime's chemical weapons. We were right in our assessment that Syria did not possess large quantities of Sarin and Chlorine., Will this willingness to compromise by the regime lead perhaps to a ceasefire? If Russia wants...
Yemen festers. The army is unable to control Shabwa and Anbar provinces in the south, and the Hadramaut. An attack occurred in Mukalla in late September. Saudi Arabia is constructing a wall to block the transit of Yemen-based extremists, terrorists.
Iraq: Violence in Iraq has been increasing since 2011. Al Qaida is responsible for most bombs. Iranian intelligence is assisting the Shi'a. But under the current imam not much hope for intelligence. Will the Shi'a start bombing Sunnis? They already are.
Both sides blame the Americans for unleashing their mutual hatred. While the US Army was in Iraq, it was a buffer between the various groups, so the violence dropped. Knocking out Saddam blew out the firewall between Iran and Syria.
American media commissioned a group of Iraqi social scientists to figure out how many people, on average, succumbed to Saddam's regime. They said before 30-50,000 per year were killed, not to mention many incidents of torture and imprisonment. US forces killed some 120,000 in the first three months.
Of course competent American analysts, those specialists in the Middle East, bewail the Bush War in Iraq. Very few Americans want the US government to do such things...but that's selfish, cruel, also.
The Arab Spring occurred because progress was not being made. The housing situation in Cairo and Alexandria, and up the Nile, has long been ridiculous. No apartments for singles. Each extended family lives together in two rooms. So much spent on the army, so little on farming communities.
Iran: Every nation in Asia and Africa has a secular government, excepting Iran, perhaps. For 30 years the US and Iranian officials avoided each other. Last week President Obama announced he had a 15 min. talk with President Rohani. Let us hope both are Neo-Mutazalites - adept at using reason to solve problems.
Tunisia: The ruling Ennada Party is stepping down, leaving rule of Tunisia in the hands of the National Salvation Front. The reason is that the Ennada government did not act on the murder of two liberal secular journalists. Support for the Islamists has dropped drastically. Tunisia did not 'bounce back' from the revolution almost 3 years ago. Ennada officials are trained in Qur'an not in the sciences or in technology, so how can they help? We salute their decision to just vacate the offices.
Ask any one of them: Do you serve God and Islam? They will say, of course we do.That is not Islam. I cannot help God. God helps me. Why is that reversed with many religious activists? Whenever Islam or any religion is used to bolster and enact egos, group egos, then crimes and divisive talk are not far behind. As soon as a group becomes exclusive, it runs off the rails.
Syria: the UN arms control teams are destroying the Syrian regime's chemical weapons. We were right in our assessment that Syria did not possess large quantities of Sarin and Chlorine., Will this willingness to compromise by the regime lead perhaps to a ceasefire? If Russia wants...
Yemen festers. The army is unable to control Shabwa and Anbar provinces in the south, and the Hadramaut. An attack occurred in Mukalla in late September. Saudi Arabia is constructing a wall to block the transit of Yemen-based extremists, terrorists.
Iraq: Violence in Iraq has been increasing since 2011. Al Qaida is responsible for most bombs. Iranian intelligence is assisting the Shi'a. But under the current imam not much hope for intelligence. Will the Shi'a start bombing Sunnis? They already are.
Both sides blame the Americans for unleashing their mutual hatred. While the US Army was in Iraq, it was a buffer between the various groups, so the violence dropped. Knocking out Saddam blew out the firewall between Iran and Syria.
American media commissioned a group of Iraqi social scientists to figure out how many people, on average, succumbed to Saddam's regime. They said before 30-50,000 per year were killed, not to mention many incidents of torture and imprisonment. US forces killed some 120,000 in the first three months.
Of course competent American analysts, those specialists in the Middle East, bewail the Bush War in Iraq. Very few Americans want the US government to do such things...but that's selfish, cruel, also.
The Arab Spring occurred because progress was not being made. The housing situation in Cairo and Alexandria, and up the Nile, has long been ridiculous. No apartments for singles. Each extended family lives together in two rooms. So much spent on the army, so little on farming communities.
Iran: Every nation in Asia and Africa has a secular government, excepting Iran, perhaps. For 30 years the US and Iranian officials avoided each other. Last week President Obama announced he had a 15 min. talk with President Rohani. Let us hope both are Neo-Mutazalites - adept at using reason to solve problems.
Tunisia: The ruling Ennada Party is stepping down, leaving rule of Tunisia in the hands of the National Salvation Front. The reason is that the Ennada government did not act on the murder of two liberal secular journalists. Support for the Islamists has dropped drastically. Tunisia did not 'bounce back' from the revolution almost 3 years ago. Ennada officials are trained in Qur'an not in the sciences or in technology, so how can they help? We salute their decision to just vacate the offices.
