Ayoon Wa Azan (Intellect Is In a Slumber, If Not a Coma)

The United States recently called on Britain to remain a member of the European Union. On the following day, British Prime Minister David Cameron said something to the effect that it would be madness for Britain to exit the EU. But the U.S. position gave me some measure of solace. Indeed, in the past two years alone, the U.S. administration declared that Hosni Mubarak must step down, then changed its mind and decided that he should stay, before doing an about turn again and decided that he should leave his post. Similarly, the U.S. demanded that Muammar Gaddafi step down, and now wants Bashar al-Assad to leave, and has expressed similar stances on every Arab country between the Atlantic Ocean and the Arabian Gulf. Well, I have always objected to every U.S. administration appointing itself as a hegemon over our affairs. Only the people of every respective Arab nation have the right to decide whether their leader should leave or remain. Now, the U.S. is making decisions on behalf of Britain. In other words, the former colony is deciding on behalf of the country that was for centuries its colonial master, which gives me some solace about our Arab situation where the U.S. administration decides for us what to do and what not to do. All the above is taking place while worldwide technology authorities and even the U.S. intelligence community is in agreement that the world’s technological center of gravity is shifting eastwards, with Asia snatching seven out of ten top spots in terms of patents, according to Al-Hayat’s story on the topic by science editor Ahmad Moghrabi, a few days ago. There was also a report in The Guardian this week about the exodus of Western academicians to the East. Well this time, I found no solace, as modern technology zips from the West to the East, and flies over our heads in the Middle East without stopping over, not even to refuel for the long journey. Where have we been while this happened? Perhaps modern technology crossed in the afternoon, while we were taking a siesta. Some say that we were asleep even as our eyes were open, because the intellect is in a slumber, if not a coma. For its part, the U.S. Congress does not sleep. It is the self-appointed watchful eye, along with the administration, that safeguards world peace and the interests of the peoples of the earth. This Congress has been bought and pocketed by the Israel lobby. While the whole world was preoccupied with the fiscal cliff, the Congress issued the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act, to counter Iran’s so called growing hostile presence and activity in the West, and asked the U.S. State Department to stand up to Iran. Iran is not powerful enough to harass the Western world. Nevertheless, Iran does indeed maintain a presence in our countries, and I condemn its pan-Persian policies that target all Gulf countries, its meddling in the internal affairs of Yemen, its hegemony in Iraq, and its proxy presence in Lebanon, as well as its attempt to rival Egypt over leadership of the region, when it represents a religious minority both in the region and the world. I thus say to both the U.S. House and the Senate, “with all due respect,” that it has issued an Israeli-motivated act that ultimately condemns U.S. policy, not Iran. Further to the above, I read an article full of Likudnik intonations in the New York Times titled “How to Halt the Terrorist Money Train.” Well, the answer is that the train will stop once the U.S., which is nearly insolvent, stops giving 3 billion dollars each year in economic and military aid to Israeli terrorism, in addition to other undeclared billions – and stops protecting this terrorism with its veto power at the UN Security Council. I believe that this is the only possible truthful answer to the question raised in the article’s title. But the writer spoke instead about Mexican drug money, Iran, and Hezbollah, and everything under the sun except terrorist Israel which is at the root of all other terror. Perhaps if Americans did not buy Mexican drugs, then the Mexican people would have been content with tacos and fajitas instead. Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yemen, brother Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, was in London last week, to attend a conference on Yemen. I agreed with colleague Ghassan Charbel, editor of Al-Hayat, to have lunch with the Minister and the Ambassador of Yemen brother Abdullah al-Radi, to review developments in Yemen and the nation. I told the minister that Sky News claimed that Yemen has oil reserves on par with those in Saudi Arabia, and that there is an undeclared international competition over his country. Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi had heard about this, and it did not seem that he believed the details. I told him that I hope I will be to Yemen’s oil what Calouste Gulbenkian was to Iraq's oil, that is, “Mr. Five Percent.” The Minister did not mind, possibly because he does not believe the news about oil to begin with. I promise every reader that if I became Yemen’s Gulbenkian, then we will all be rich. Say God Willing. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.