[iwar] [fc:Arab-Leaders-May-Be-The-Ultimate-Victims-Of-This-Terrorist-Assault]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-12 15:33:01
Next message: Fred Cohen: "[iwar] [fc:Attacks-On-Symbols-Of-U.S.-Power-Mark-A-Second-'Day-Of-Infamy']"
Previous message: Fred Cohen: "[iwar] [fc:Israel-Calls-For-War-Against-Terrorism]"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]
Message-Id: <200109122233.PAA05220@big.all.net>
To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List)
Organization: I'm not allowed to say
From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com
Precedence: bulk
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 15:33:01 -0700 (PDT)
Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [iwar] [fc:Arab-Leaders-May-Be-The-Ultimate-Victims-Of-This-Terrorist-Assault]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

London Times
September 12, 2001
Arab Leaders May Be The Ultimate Victims Of This Terrorist Assault
By Michael Binyon
Any Middle East leader who has ties to America must today be fearing for his
throne. The worst terrorist attack in history has demonstrated not only a
ruthlessness and co-ordination unseen so far in the many terrorist
atrocities spawned by the Middle East; it has also highlighted the
powerlessness and irrelevance of moderation and diplomacy in the face of
naked hatred and thirst for revenge. 
The Arab rulers who have embraced the peace process are as shocked and
fearful as any world leader, and have more to lose. For the target of the
suicide hijackers was not just the Twin Towers and the Pentagon; it was the
whole framework of peace with Israel and its embrace by political leaders
within the Middle East. The only people strengthened - temporarily - by
yesterday's terror are the radical anti-Western leaders of Iraq, Libya and
Syria who have encouraged attacks, verbal or physical, on America. 
They may, in the long run, pay a heavy price. America will have few qualms
now about striking at any government tainted by terrorism, even those such
as Syria and Libya which claim to have renounced their terrorist past and
now embrace "moderation". President Saddam Hussein of Iraq may be rejoicing
in this mother of all catastrophes, basking in the acclaim of the militants
now cheering the outrage in New York. But George W. Bush may not now wait
for an excuse to complete his father's Gulf War business and bomb the man
seen as responsible for backing America's enemies. 
More immediate panic will be felt by the Arab moderates - many of whom have
become remote from their people and unable to reflect the anti-Israel
passions that have been brewing for a year. Both Egypt and Jordan still have
Israeli Ambassadors on their soil, despite growing popular demands for their
expulsion. President Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan are seen by
Islamic radicals as American puppets, leaders who are unable to sway opinion
in Washington and unwilling to confront America over its support for the
Sharon Government in Israel. 
They will need all their skills, and intelligence services, to hold in check
the extremes of emotion unleashed by yesterday's cataclysms. They will not
be protected by any understanding that they have repeatedly warned
Washington of the dangers of drift; instead, they will feel the need to
protect themselves and their peoples on the one hand from an outpouring of
anti-American vitriol and on the other from possible American retaliation
against any targets in their own countries. 
Other rulers too will be aghast. The Gulf states, whose economies depend on
oil sales to the West and which have long been the target of Islamic
extremism, will want to distance themselves from a wounded America, even as
they express abhorrence for the terrorism and sympathy for the many
casualties. 
The link between terrorism, anti-Americanism and Islamic extremism has not
yet been proved. But the suspicion that the perpetrators will have been
motivated by religious as well as political zeal will make it all the harder
for moderate Arab rulers to keep a balance. No country will salute the men
who carried out such actions; but many people in the Arab world will be
privately rejoicing that America has at last been made to suffer for what
most Arabs regards as its blinkered pro-Israel policy. 
The rulers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and most of the Gulf states now
face a painful unmasking as men unable to influence events or stop the cycle
of violence and counter-violence that has led to such a terrible disaster.
Most Arab countries, while urging America to get involved in the region,
were also doing their best to stay uninvolved, knowing that any escalation
could lead to war and that any war could lead to their own defeat. 
Only last week King Abdullah II spoke of his country's ability to survive,
relatively unscathed, despite the turmoil and killing on the other side of
the River Jordan. His security services have tried to enforce calm in his
kingdom, just as President Mubarak has clamped down on any signs of trouble
in Egypt. But both men must now fear that the coalition of anti-Western
forces, co-ordinated with such deadly effect for this operation, may prove a
powerful motivating factor within their own countries. They cannot remain
unscathed for long. 
The Arab leaders know that the only answer to a Hydra-headed terrorism,
generating new cells with every retaliatory strike, is the old and stale
formula of a just and comprehensive peace. There is no prospect of that for
the moment, and no point in urging it on America. The United States is not
in a mood to listen to the Arabs, even to its Arab friends. They must fend
for themselves, bowing to the mood even as they send their police to round
up all known radicals, extremists and those preaching jihad against America.
They, and all the Middle East, have much to fear from yesterday's
atrocities.

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Secure all your Web servers now: Get your FREE Guide and learn to: DEPLOY THE LATEST ENCRYPTION,
DELIVER TRANSPARENT PROTECTION, and More!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/k0k.gC/nT7CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

------------------
http://all.net/ 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Next message: Fred Cohen: "[iwar] [fc:Attacks-On-Symbols-Of-U.S.-Power-Mark-A-Second-'Day-Of-Infamy']"
Previous message: Fred Cohen: "[iwar] [fc:Israel-Calls-For-War-Against-Terrorism]"
Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-09-29 21:08:42 PDT