21 March 2011 By Tariq Alhomayed Amidst America's contradictory comments regarding
the events in our region, one particular statement
always stands out, namely the call for restraint. The
day before yesterday, the Americans reiterated this
same statement, when commenting on the Joint Peninsula
Shield Force entering Manama, at the request of
Bahrain. The fact is that the U.S. administration must now
unify its stances, for the contradictory statements
coming out of Washington have become more than just a
perplexing matter, they are also suspicious. How can
the U.S. Defense Secretary say that Bahrain must enact
quick reforms to put an end to Iranian interference –
as if reform was a political tactic – whilst the
Americans are also issuing statements saying that
protests in Yemen are not the solution, and that there
must be dialogue? Why does the government of Bahrain
have to act immediately, whilst the demonstrators in
Yemen have to wait? This is not right, and it raises
both suspicion and doubt. Furthermore, here we see
Colonel Gaddafi using aircraft to bombard his own
people, and the U.S. administration does not see the
urgent need to impose a no fly zone over Libya, but
instead it is busy pressurizing Bahrain. Meanwhile,
Gaddafi is threatening the international community,
saying he will team up with al-Qaeda, yet at the same
time the Libyan leader accuses the revolutionaries of
being agents of the same terrorist organization! As I said above, the United States – rather than
trying to understand what is happening in our region –
continues to distribute statements, and media leaks
right and left. Sometimes Washington criticizes the
Saudi media, other times it claims that the Saudis are
taking things personally. Then the US returns to say
that Bahrain should accelerate its reform, and that
America supports international values, whilst ignoring
what is happening in Libya, and demanding that the
demonstrators in Yemen be rational. This is not to
mention the fact that the US is ignoring what is
happening in Iran, where the state oppresses its
minorities. The Iranian opposition has been trying to
come out and protest in Tehran, only to be subjected
to oppression, with its key figures being arrested.
This is a perplexing matter indeed, but it clearly
tells us something, namely that Washington does not
have a true grasp of what is going on in the region,
and its current assessment of the situation makes it
too weak to act. In the past, Washington ignored the threat that the
Huthis were being financed from Iran, and the matter
ended with Saudi security forces clashing with them.
Today the US believes that what is happening in
Bahrain is a democratic demand, whilst ignoring the
fact that Bahrain is not a purely Shiite state, there
are also Sunnis. The US has also ignored Iranian
statements, not far from suggesting that Bahrain is
part of the history of Iran. Washington has concluded
a truce with Iran, and acquiesced to its nuclear
program, despite the fact that the threat of Iran
possessing a nuclear weapon is not the only issue, but
it is enough to look at what has happened recently in
Japan. This is one of the world's most advanced
countries, when it comes to dealing with earthquakes
and natural disasters, but now the world is nervous,
fearing the consequences of nuclear power. What would
happen in Iran, an area already prone to earthquakes,
where there is no real infrastructure to deal with
such disasters? This is not an attempt to avoid reform, or
democracy - under which Washington effectively handed
Iraq over to Tehran, and left us with the
Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is
unacceptable to hand over our necks and our futures to
Iran. It is up to the U.S. administration itself to
coordinate its statements, rather than demanding
restraint from the Gulf.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, the youngest
person to be appointed that position. He holds a BA degree in Media studies from
King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also completed his Introductory
courses towards a Master's degree from George Washington University in
Washington D.C. He is based in London.
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