Between the lines
Lord Butler's report on London's decision to participate in the war on Iraq has generated a wide- ranging debate about the motives behind Tony Blair's decision with Blair himself having conceded that he must "accept it seems increasingly clear that Saddam did not have stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons". It is now clearer than ever that when Bush and Blair resolved to wage war on Iraq their motives were very different from those announced. This most Macchiavelian of wars was the means to several ends, not least the control of oil reserves and the establishing of a military presence near perceived threats in Iran and the Persian Gulf. It was intended to redraw the political map of the region, in collaboration with strategic allies such as Israel and, it increasingly seems, Turkey.
Similarly, to understand Sharon's actions in the occupied territories -- assassinations, displacement, the building of the wall -- we must look beyond any official Israeli explanation. Sharon's real goal is to abort even the possibility of a meaningful Palestinian state. The declared aims of those terrorist organisations that purport to speak for Islam -- that spread terror on the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi and Saudi cities, beheading civilian hostages and claiming innocent citizens as their victims -- must also be subjected to a similar reading.
And then there are those Arab regimes determined to restrict the freedom of their citizens, institutions and civil society, and that engage in systematic persecution on the pretext that internal and external threats will undermine stability. Urgently needed reforms are thus endlessly deferred, the reason being self-perpetuation, the excuse the preservation of stability. The indefinite suspension of urgent issues though-- the Palestinian question is simply the most obvious -- is simply intended to perpetuate regimes that benefit from complications in the peace process.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/700/ed.htm