Post by peterd on Aug 6, 2013 7:28:04 GMT -8
Expressing The Saudi Position On The Arab Spring, Former Saudi Navy Commodore Abdulateef Al-Mulhim States: The Arab Spring 'Is Not About A Search For Democracy [Or] Social Justice' – But Is 'All About Hate And Sectarian Violence'
In a July 9, 2013 op-ed in the English-language daily Arab News, titled "Arab Spring: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall," Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, former Saudi navy commodore and U.S. liaison officer, called the Arab Spring a "very bad joke," stating that Arabs "hate each other more than we hate the outside enemy," and that Israel, which serves as a "moneymaking machine for Arab dictators and... corrupt Palestinian officials," treats, in its hospitals, the wounds that the Syrians inflict on each other. He adds that the Arab Spring was not "about a search for democracy, social justice and better standards of living" but rather "about hate and sectarian violence."
Al-Mulhim's position reflects to a great extent the position of the Saudi establishment regarding the Arab Spring and its consequences, as well as its deep fear of the Islamist circles opposing Wahhabism that since the Arab Spring have become stronger in Egypt and Syria. As will be recalled, after the Egyptian army ousted Mursi on July 3, 2013, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait hastened to offer the new Egyptian regime $12 billion in aid, in order to enable it to prevent a major economic crisis in Egypt. .
The following are excerpts from Al-Mulhim's op-ed:[1]
www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7329.htm
In a July 9, 2013 op-ed in the English-language daily Arab News, titled "Arab Spring: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall," Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, former Saudi navy commodore and U.S. liaison officer, called the Arab Spring a "very bad joke," stating that Arabs "hate each other more than we hate the outside enemy," and that Israel, which serves as a "moneymaking machine for Arab dictators and... corrupt Palestinian officials," treats, in its hospitals, the wounds that the Syrians inflict on each other. He adds that the Arab Spring was not "about a search for democracy, social justice and better standards of living" but rather "about hate and sectarian violence."
Al-Mulhim's position reflects to a great extent the position of the Saudi establishment regarding the Arab Spring and its consequences, as well as its deep fear of the Islamist circles opposing Wahhabism that since the Arab Spring have become stronger in Egypt and Syria. As will be recalled, after the Egyptian army ousted Mursi on July 3, 2013, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait hastened to offer the new Egyptian regime $12 billion in aid, in order to enable it to prevent a major economic crisis in Egypt. .
The following are excerpts from Al-Mulhim's op-ed:[1]
www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/7329.htm