In the Arab world, Frankenstein’s monster turns on its masters
By: Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya
Friday, 29 August 2014
A bloodthirsty bunch of crazed head-hunters are on the rampage in Syria and Iraq and not only threaten to disperse their poisonous ideology throughout the Middle East region but also to Western capitals. Sounds like a bad fairy-tale doesn’t it, except there is no fairy godmother in this story to banish this bloodthirsty horde. This is real and it is happening. And what are the self-appointed guardians of our world doing about it other than dropping bombs here and there to defend their own interests, issuing threats and distributing care packages?
Are we seriously to believe the explosive conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and what remains of the Libyan state are mere happenstance? Or could it be that a grand plan to destabilize the region using extremists is underway so as to slice-up Arab countries into easily manipulated weak entities whose natural resources will be ripe for plunder?
I believe “scientists” in suits bore a creature that was nurtured and assisted to develop its murderous skills in the same way that al-Qaeda was born and is now known as ISIS. But the creature grew so militarily, financially and ideologically powerful that it now threatens its creators’ existence; a monster that is terrorizing the world with inhuman atrocities under the banner of Islam, the religion of tolerance and peace.
The reptilian creature, that’s announced a caliphate across northern Syria and Iraq with its sights set towards Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, has shed its skin and is now spewing its venom against its masters. It was manufactured in Syria as a Western tool to jeopardize the Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) growing popularity throughout the Arab World and its honorable cause with the result Assad’s initially fictitious argument that he’s battling terrorists has been bolstered.
The slaughter paraded on our screens, perpetrated by masked men driving around in identical brand new Humvees, are not the work of amateurs. And neither is the serpent’s propaganda machine which uses sophisticated messages on social media to reach out to vulnerable, gullible or disaffected young Muslims in the U.S. and Europe who view the establishment of a caliphate as an affirmation of their identity whereas a caliphate built on rivers of blood, mountains of severed heads and girls sold as slaves is nothing but an evil abomination.
There is evidence to suggest it was covertly trained by the regional and Western powers, which abandoned the legitimate opposition, the brave men of the Free Syrian Army. Had the Leader of the Free World, President Obama, done the right thing several years ago by heeding the just demands of the FSA, tens of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi lives would have been saved, the American journalist would have been spared and the region and beyond wouldn’t be facing this menace. The FSA didn’t ask Obama for boots on the ground or to engage in a full scale war against the regime. He was merely requested to provide the FSA with air cover, heavy weapons and ammunition to assist its fight. But no, Western weapons mysteriously found their way into the hands of extremists like Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS which turned their guns on the FSA.
Thoroughly probed
The U.S. president should be thoroughly probed by a congressional committee for his role in worsening the carnage in Syria and for fomenting the sectarian conflicts and lawlessness plaguing the Middle East. His intervention in Libya has brought division and destruction; his failure to respond to appeals for assistance from the Iraqi government last year has resulted in black flags fluttering over one third of the country. Moreover, his support of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt over the will of the Egyptian people would have ignited a bloody civil war if the people and the army weren’t united. Congress should investigate whether or not his actions or non-actions were in keeping with U.S. interests and the real reasons behind his seeming support for religious extremists over moderates.
“The governments of the UK and France should be placed under a microscope for acting as America’s mini-me’s on foreign policy”
Khalaf Ahmad al- Habtoor
Furthermore, how can one explain the sudden flirtation between Iran and the West when for decades the United Nations, the U.S. and Europe have applied anti-Iranian sanctions to no real effect. If Iran had been an Arab country, I’ve no doubt in my mind that it would have been invaded long ago to remove the threat, even without concrete proof that it was, indeed, developing a nuclear weapons capability, as we witnessed when “shock and awe” was delivered to Iraq.
The governments of the UK and France should also be placed under a microscope for acting as America’s mini-me’s on foreign policy. They have spectacularly failed at tamping down on the monster’s recruiting drives. The British press, in particular, is packed with news about jihadists openly touting their ideology on high streets, in universities and via UK-based media outlets; they’ve even been handing out leaflets on London’s Oxford Street but rather than face arrest, the police announced they needed to check on what laws may have been broken!
The BBC regularly interviews young British Muslims praising the so-called caliphate. At least 500 – some say the figure is near 2,000 – British citizens, apparently including would-be Jihadist brides, have travelled to Syria to take-up arms targeting Sunnis who reject ideological slavery as well as Christians and other minorities. Hundreds more have flocked there from the U.S., Canada and Australia. ISIS welcomed over 6,000 new recruits in July alone, including 1,100 foreigners. The idea is catching on. Boko Haram has announced its own caliphate in an area of Nigeria. Where next?
Anyone with even half a brain cannot fail to wonder why no firm action has been taken to prevent this tide, which will sooner or later return to hit Western shores with a violent tsunami of cataclysmic proportions, under the pretense of free expression and respect for individual freedoms. Former UK Foreign Minister Kim Howells believes home grown terrorists may be planning a spectacular attack on the NATO summit to be held in Cardiff next month.
Why are terrorists boasting of their exploits or encouraging their children to proudly display severed heads on the internet being given a free pass when purveyors of child pornography are so easily be rounded up, not to mention celebrities accused of crimes committed thirty years ago?
A question that demands urgent answering is this: Are the implosions and explosions throughout the Arab world caused by internal circumstances or random acts of fate – or have they been deliberately orchestrated by unseen hands? I’ve come to my own conclusions; I’ll leave you to ponder on yours.
