In the movie Lawrence of Arabia, there is a scene where Sharif Hussein Bin Ali who has rebelled against the rule of the Ottoman Turks in 1916 and becomes the ruler of the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) says to Colonel Lawrence, do the British think of us as a little people? Sharif Hussein sensed that he was a only one of the many pieces of the puzzle in the Great Game being played by European powers in the Middle-East as the Ottoman Empire was crumbling. The europeans believed that the Arabs having been ruled by the Turks for 500 years would not mind being ruled now by Europe, mostly Britain and France. That analysis proved in the 20th century to be completely wrong.
Sharif Hussien bin Ali, Emir of Mecca, King of the Arabs (1853-1931)
Looking at what has been happening in around the Arab world in the last month and how many western governments and China have shuffled their feet and looked at ways of salvaging their contracts on oil and trade, one thinks of that question of Sharif Hussein.
The proposals being made now by Washington to have sanctions against Libya or a no fly zone, can they really make a difference when the regime as lost control of the country? Ghaddafi is isolated mostly in Tripoli with his body guards and a few loyal soldiers. What would sanctions achieve now? Would they not punish the very people who rebelled against him. Ghaddafi today has nothing to loose, he can be as murderous as he wants, it really does not matter to him or to his future. People who talk about a trial and punishment are out of touch, what difference would it actually make when you look at all the cruelties he has inflicted on his people and the world. What is also interesting is how many politicians now are caught in the glare, yes they accepted gifts from Ghaddafi and yes in return they said nice things about him, he was suppose to have changed and wanted to mend his ways. His son Seif al Islam was the reformer and nice guy. Now after 3 speeches on Libyan TV this is all blown away. Was Tony Blair that naive or just venal? He was certainly not the only politician to forget and forgive.
If the Lybian saga continues for more than just a few days until Ghaddafi and his family and cronies are gone, we risk another failed State. However the Arabs will never again believe our speeches on Democracy and Human Rights after the way in which we did not respond to their revolt and grasp for freedom. No one in the Western World will be able to claim that we showed the way. They did it themselves and in many cases with their bare hands. If one was to answer Sharif Hussein bin Ali, I would say to him, no the Arabs are not a little people, they have struggled for a long time against difficult odds but never lost sight of their goal to rule themselves without our help.
Looking at what has been happening in around the Arab world in the last month and how many western governments and China have shuffled their feet and looked at ways of salvaging their contracts on oil and trade, one thinks of that question of Sharif Hussein.
The proposals being made now by Washington to have sanctions against Libya or a no fly zone, can they really make a difference when the regime as lost control of the country? Ghaddafi is isolated mostly in Tripoli with his body guards and a few loyal soldiers. What would sanctions achieve now? Would they not punish the very people who rebelled against him. Ghaddafi today has nothing to loose, he can be as murderous as he wants, it really does not matter to him or to his future. People who talk about a trial and punishment are out of touch, what difference would it actually make when you look at all the cruelties he has inflicted on his people and the world. What is also interesting is how many politicians now are caught in the glare, yes they accepted gifts from Ghaddafi and yes in return they said nice things about him, he was suppose to have changed and wanted to mend his ways. His son Seif al Islam was the reformer and nice guy. Now after 3 speeches on Libyan TV this is all blown away. Was Tony Blair that naive or just venal? He was certainly not the only politician to forget and forgive.
If the Lybian saga continues for more than just a few days until Ghaddafi and his family and cronies are gone, we risk another failed State. However the Arabs will never again believe our speeches on Democracy and Human Rights after the way in which we did not respond to their revolt and grasp for freedom. No one in the Western World will be able to claim that we showed the way. They did it themselves and in many cases with their bare hands. If one was to answer Sharif Hussein bin Ali, I would say to him, no the Arabs are not a little people, they have struggled for a long time against difficult odds but never lost sight of their goal to rule themselves without our help.
that sounds very hopeful.
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