Opinion Archives - Page 6 of 8

Arabs Wake Up!

marwan
October 4, 2024

Dr. Muhammad Turki Bani Salama

In light of the ongoing brutal Israeli aggression on Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, the Arab and Islamic media arenas are crowded with official statements of condemnation and denunciation yet the situation remains the same. These expressions of concern and repeated warnings have become, in essence, part of a farcical and repetitive political play that does not provide any tangible support or actual assistance to the afflicted peoples. Rather they are empty words to alleviate popular pressures without any actual intention to take effective steps on the ground.

It is ironic these Arab and Islamic countries do not miss an opportunity to declare their support for Palestine and Lebanon in international forums. They are content with a monotonous diplomatic theatrical performance of statements of condemnation and warning without taking any real steps on the ground.

This is despite the number of dead, wounded and displaced who are increasing daily. These countries, especially the ones who normalized with Israel, are not even bothering to sever relations with Jewish state, or even think of imposing any significant economic sanctions on the entity.

On the contrary, some of these countries have increased the volume of trade and economic exchange with Israel since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle since last October, as if they fear upsetting their new trading partner, while continue to present themselves to the world as protectors of Arab, Islamic and humanitarian principles and values.

This blatant contradiction between political rhetoric and action on the ground cannot but arouse the astonishment of the Arab and Islamic peoples. How can these countries claim to adhere to the values of Arabism, Islam and humanity, while they turn a blind eye to Israeli violations against the Arab populations of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen?

How can this support and these hollow words be considered real solidarity? The Arab peoples are asking: Where are the actions that reflect these resonant statements on the ground?

What is even more bizarre in this absurd scene is that even the drug dealers in the Maghreb have taken a more serious stance than those countries. By their decision to stop drug smuggling to Israel, they have demonstrated a greater understanding of effective action than many of the nation’s leaders.

أ.د. محمد تركي بني سلامة: النفاق الدولي والخذلان العربي: العدوان الإسرائيلي ومعاناة الشعوب العربية https://t.co/Gu0eQyR0RM pic.twitter.com/gwjfQxk97C
— راي اليوم (@raialyoum1) October 4, 2024

Those who operate in an illegal field have taken a stance that shows that real action can be more effective than any diplomatic statements at Arab summits. If only Arab leaders would learn a lesson from the drug dealers on how to provide support, relief to the distressed and rescue the oppressed.

As for banking on international law and the international community to stop the Israeli aggression, it is a losing bet by all standards. Israel is fully supported by the West, led by the Zionist United States, the head of the snake, and which no longer hides its explicit loyalty to the Zionist project.

While Washington sings the praises of human rights on every occasion, it adopts double-standard policies, turns a blind eye to the flagrant violations of Arab rights, and supplies Israel on daily basis the latest lethal weapons to continue its aggression against the Arab people without deterrence.

Relying on the Security Council or the United Nations for justice and/or stop the aggression is just an illusion and a mirage, closer to waiting for the impossible, because these institutions have proven time and again, they are unable to take any serious position when it comes to Israel.

So the fundamental question here is: Will the Arabs continue to play the role of spectators or will they decide to take serious positions to protect themselves and their interests first before thinking about protecting the rights of the peoples of Palestine and Lebanon?

And can the Arabs ever go beyond mere statements and take actual steps that restore balance in the face of Israeli arrogance? Or have the Arabs left history, geography and the entire political equation, and no benefit can be expected of them?

Only the coming days will reveal the answer but what is for certain now is Arab peoples can no longer tolerate more empty promises and hollow statements. They are waiting for real action that embody a strong political will capable of bringing about change.

In the end, the aggression continues, and with it the official Arab and international silence remains, at a time when the suffering of the Arab peoples in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere increases. These people have no choice but to resist, without expecting someone to appear in this lunatic world to take bold positions and truly stand for justice and humanity, in the face of the Zionist-American barbarism, brutal aggression and ongoing injustice.

The author is a Jordanian academic and a full professor who contributed this opinion in Arabic to Raialyoum.com

Opinion

Dialectic of Converging Interests

Dr Khairi Janbek
September 29, 2024

By Dr Khairi Janbek

One’s experience has always been in peace building and not war mongering, therefore try to understand that to make a paradigm shift can make one fall into the transition gap.

From the start I can say I have been wondering about the daily carnage, murder and destruction in the Middle East. Point one, how come a country like Israel, well-endowed with superior technology, can pinpoint the time and space accurately of the Hezbollah leaderships, same with Hamas, and assassinates them with impunity, fails to see the coming of 7 October from merely across the border?

Some said that Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for a long time which enabled it to organize infiltrations and plans for assassinations, but isn’t its war against Hamas has been just for the same length of time?

So can Israelis accuse their own state with negligence, or is this so-called negligence carries notions that are more than meets the eye?

Now, what about Israel carrying out land operations across the border into Lebanon, for all intents and purposes, this would be the ideal time with the Hezbollah command in disarray? Or is it really that fact that Israel has no intention of doing so a priori?

To explain what I mean bluntly, after all the expected new leader of Hezbollah is Hashem Safi el Deen; he is through and through Iran’s man, his brother is also the bureau chief of Hezbollah in Tehran, all the top ranking commanders of the Iran allied groups in Syria and Iraq will be also through and through Tehran’s men and strictly under its direct command.

Therefore, the most logical conclusion is that Iran neither sold out Hezbollah nor any other its allies, but rather sold out the leaderships of those allied organizations in order to end their autonomy.

Which could mean also, Israel’s intentions are not actually the elimination of the allied organisations of Iran, but rather the elimination of their leaders in a dialectical formula of convergence with its Iranian enemy

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian writer based in Paris and the above opinion is that of the author and doesn’t reflect crossfirearabia.com.

Opinion

Domination Space For Common Space

Dr Khairi Janbek
September 27, 2024

By Dr Khairi Janbek

When we think of contemporary Iran, one always believes that the Arab Middle East had always been dominated by the three Non-Arab American allies; Iran under of the Shah, Turkey and Israel.

One thinks that those “neighborhood police stations’ were the guarantors of stability through their convergence, and at times contradictions, in the age of Cold War and oil. However, the Shah of Iran was deposed and the Anti-communist Cold War ended, but that didn’t mean that oil stopped becoming important nor that Russia and China were no longer threats.

One would say, that the rehabilitation of Iran and possibly turning it into a negotiations partner aims at keeping the third angle of the police stations triangle going, because non of the Arab countries, no matter how much they tried, could never replace Iran, because no Arab police station is permitted to emerge as a third angle.

Having said that, it would be beyond naive to think that the expansion of Iran’s power and influence happened by stealth or escaped the notice of the US and NATO.

As the butcher of Gaza, Netanyahu, address the UN, Israel has launched a massive military strike in Beirut. Mobilize the working class against the escalating US-Israeli war in the Middle East, backed by the Democrats & Republicans! Stop the genocide in Gaza! #Lebanon #StopTheWar pic.twitter.com/KJ4LZWLdmF
— Joseph Kishore (@jkishore) September 27, 2024

After after all Iran grew to become a Red Sea country through its influence on the Houthis in Yemen, a Mediterranean country through its influence in Syria as well Lebanon through Hezbullah and the major Gulf country through its supporters in Iraq.

In fact this Iranian domination of space is what has created a common space between all its long-arm organisations in the region.

Essentially, if we compare Iran to an octopus, all those various groups are its tentacles, and they all serve the purpose of Iran’s strategic interests, albeit not through a push-button approach, but through not taking any action which would not please their Persian master.

Of course, this puts Iran in a strong position to be a major player in the region and an inescapable negotiations partner for the US, which is also convenient for the Americans, in order to remind their Arab allies who is their protector in a region policed by Turkey, Israel and Iran.

Of course this takes us to the point of saying that, for all intents and purposes, for the Americans a trusted adversary is more important than distrusted friends, and that it would be absurd to think that all those long arms of Iran in the Arab world can be amputated by military means; they certainly can be weakened, but without the consent of Iran and without the right price, so long as it remains behind them, nothing much can change.

At this point, from what one can only see, is that no one in their right mind or otherwise, will permit a war to emerge in which Israel is pitted against Iran and the US as well as NATO putting all their weight behind Israel and forcing the Arabs to choose their camp.

That would be the scenario of the end of the world as we know it, or with major civil wars in the Arab countries controlled by the tentacles of Iran, and which no one wants.

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian writer based in Paris, France

Opinion

Yitzhak Brik: Israel is Being Led to Ruin

CrossFireArabia
September 26, 2024

Retired Israeli General Yitzhak Brik said the political and military bosses are leading Israel “toward ruin through a path with no exit.”

Brik explained despite the tactical achievements against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel’s strategic situation is deteriorating in terms of security and economy, as well as its relations with the countries of the world.

He added that Hezbollah, despite the targeting of its weapons and leaders, its missiles continue to destroy every part of northern Israel without stopping.

"جيشنا مهترئ وينشر الأوهام، ولن يتمكن من هزيمة #حماس".. لواء احتياط في الجيش الإسرائيلي يحذر من انهيار دولة إسرائيل على خلفية #حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/1Xfl5hmRDi
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) May 31, 2024

Brik stressed that the only way forward for Israel is to reach an exchange deal and stop the war in the Gaza Strip, in the hope that Hezbollah will stop firing.

It is noteworthy that since Monday morning, the Israeli army launched the most violent and extensive attack on Lebanon since the beginning of the confrontations with Hezbollah about a year ago, and the bombing resulted in the killing of more than 600 people, including children and women, and the wounding of more than 2,500, while official estimates indicate that about 400,000 people have been displaced according to Al Jazeera.

In return, Hezbollah launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli military bases and airports and areas in the Galilee, Safed, Haifa and others, causing material and human losses and the outbreak of fires.

The Israeli occupation army continues its aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 11th consecutive month, which has left 41,495 martyrs, in addition to 96,006 wounded, in addition to an unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis.

Opinion

Nasrallah: ‘No Lebanon-Gaza Separation’

CrossFireArabia
September 25, 2024

CEOSSFIREARABIA – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his military establishment led by Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi are determined to separate the Lebanese and the Gaza fronts.

To do that the Israelis are bombing Lebanon in all sorts of directions right, left and center, in the south of the country, its east and of course, southern Beirut – considered the prime Hezbollah stronghold – as hard as they can to achieve their illusive objectives which are nowhere near to being realized.

Israeli air raids, bombings, killing of civilians and murder of claimed Hezbollah fighters have increased in the last 48 hours with death knocking on the door of the Lebanese. Last Monday alone Israeli warplanes killed 274 people and injured 1024 in 1100 air raids all over Lebanon with the number of those killed rising daily.

“Regards for Beirut”

Palestinians create a large sand drawing on Gaza Beach, in support of the Lebanese civilians. pic.twitter.com/5AEXzpGbsZ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 24, 2024

But in contrast, Hezbollah attacks – through missiles and drones – have been tough on northern Israel including its cities like Haifa, Tel Aviv, in the Galilee, Safad, Jewish colonies/settlements and military bases have continued non-stop where reports of fires, deaths and hundreds of thousands hiding in underground shelters.

Secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah has been very clear in his approach. In this escalation which started last week through the so-called pager and wireless massacre when Israeli killed around 3000 people in the southern neighborhood of Beirut, Hezbollah quickly regrouped and started firing on the north and center of Israel in unexpected moves.

He said there will be no separation between the Lebanese and Gaza fronts until the Israeli military machine stops bombing Gaza once-and-for-all. Hezbollah and Gaza has long become an unparalleled equation, he maintains. The war must stop in Gaza so that Fadi I, Fadi II and more recently Fadi III as well as more missiles stop landing on the different and sensitive areas of Israel.

However he tried to be reasonable saying that if a settlement is reached within the Palestinian groups and be acceptable to them his party would stop firing on Israel. Nasarallah couldn’t be more clearer than that.

Meanwhile the ‘trading over the border escalation’ between Hezbollah and the Israeli warplanes continues with missile swaps and bombs continuing. Despite the war utterings from certain quarters, Israel doesn’t want a northern front as their leaders keep saying and is not expected to start a ground troop offensive into southern Lebanon because of what is being termed as their ‘debilitating’ ability and exhaustion of their soldiers after their nearly 12 months of fighting in Gaza.

But in this respect too, Nasrallah has been clear too saying if the Israeli army wants to enter south Lebanon, Hezbollah would be ready for them, going all the way of inviting them to invade and see the real force of the resistance in Lebanon that had been fighting Israel, albeit on a ‘low level’ since Israel started its war and onslaught on the Gaza Strip soon after 7 October, 2023.

🔹 Land and natural resources

There’s a physical separation between Palestinians living in Gaza and those in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel bars any movement between these areas.

🔗: https://t.co/Y3bWM5O6Zs pic.twitter.com/JYqluUYDRD
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 15, 2024

All indications suggest Israeli will not be able to separate this front from the Gaza one. Though Israeli planes are in a state of bombing momentum believing if they bomb certain regions of Lebanon fiercely enough, and aim to kill their top caders by bombing south Beirut, Hezbollah will eventually give up by themselves and wrap up the war.

But the situation is particularly fluid, neither side is budging from their positions. With Hezbollah termed to be recruiting 40,000 fighters from Iraq, Syria and Yemen, it insists that this front is their to support Gaza while Netanyahu refuses to accept a ceasefire deal on the enclave.

Both parties are in “military deadlock”, while a third party, the Biden administration, is walking in the middle. Its officials right from US president Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other lowley staff stated many times they want a deal on Gaza, and don’t want the war to spread to the region, to Lebanon, possibly Iraq, Syria and even Yemen which have been up till now low key operators.

In this war first on Gaza, and now developing into Lebanon, the US has been a constant behind-the-scene player, politicking in Lebanon through its special envoy and Qatar and Egypt acting as mediators in the past months to work a ceasefire that didn’t work mainly through Israeli intransigence, Washington must take much of the blame.

This is because Washington has been a constant supplier of weapons to the Israelis in this war right after 7 October, 2023 through an active air and sea bridge to Tel Aviv. It has, till this day, been providing Israeli with technical advice on the conduct of the war with at least 2000 US military personell and many would argue, the United States has not been forceful enough with Netanyahu who worked to disrupt the talks and make sure the war on Gaza continues.

With the war switching to the Lebanese-Israeli border, it seems that the US would continue to supply Israel with weapons, increase its intransigence even further, keep up the Hamas-Hezbollah ante up and suck the regional into an even bigger regional war.

Opinion

A Middle East Powder Keg

Dr Khairi Janbek
September 25, 2024

By Dr Khairi Janbek

Like Dorian Grey in Oscar Wild’s novel, we hated the face of Arab political realism in the 20th century when we saw it, and hated it more in the 21st century when we stopped seeing it.

Without much ado, the current ongoing war, or perhaps more accurately wars, in the Middle East, started by opportunists for opportunistic goals that converged. Hamas with its 7th October attacks knowing only too well that Israel has the most right-wing and racist government in its history, and must have known that the its retaliation would be most severe.

It stands the reason to think the more severe the better, because this is likely to involve what is called as the axis of resistance in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and as a bonus Iran as well. But closer to home, Israel by making Gaza uninhabitable to the people is expected to cause an exodus towards Egypt thus bringing it into the conflict, and the inevitable thought of Israel moving into the West Bank, and the likely push out of the Palestinians towards Jordan will bring the country into the conflict as well.

For Israel, with its most extremist right wing and racist government, the attacks couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The situation presented them with the opportunity of attempting to put what were merely theoretical ideas in their minds, into practical policies. Of course the root of what became a policy, is the rejection of an independent Palestinian state and the death of the two-state solution, by starting with breaking the Hamas grip in Gaza and transforming the area into a buffer zone with possible rebuilding of colonies/settlements on the area.

Here’s a little reminder for when you hear things like, Israel has shown “restraint” or its indiscriminate bombing and terror attacks in Lebanon are “self defense.”

Over 80% of the attacks between Israel and Hezbollah after October were carried out by Israel. pic.twitter.com/jcvQDMn37I
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) September 24, 2024

This is while the Gazans can be completely dependent on the good will of Israel for their survival, however, if the Arabs want to rebuild Gaza then by all means, but let them this time protect their investments by keeping actively the peace, and if Egypt can be persuaded to voluntarily taken in some Gazan refugees all the better!

Of course all eyes are also on the West Bank. Here Israel’s aim, one would say, is to turn the area into a “bantustan” totally dependent on Israel, with the trimmings of municipal power to the PNA to manage internal affairs while real control of the economic, political domains remain in Israel’s hands.

The Palestinians here would also be dependent on the Israeli economy, and relations between the West Bank and Jordan would be only possible with Israeli consent. If of course, Jordan would accept taking displaced Palestinians from the West Bank voluntarily, all the better as well.

Having said all that, where do we stand now after so much recent death and destruction? A total war? Whatever does that actually mean when Jordan has already its own war against drugs, Egypt and its problems with Ethiopia, Somalia, Syria between the hammer of Israel and the anvil of Iran, Iraq a soup for Americans, Iranian partisans and a non-descript government, Yemen teetering on the brink of losing the existential battle, while Iran obsessed with its nuclear programme. One would hazard a guess that total war means, the killing of Israeli civilians by Hezbollah.

Dr Janbek is a Jordanian writer based in Paris, France

Opinion

Yossi Hadar: ‘Netanyahu Lost The War to Hamas’

CrossFireArabia
September 21, 2024

Israeli political analyst Yossi Hadar, in the Jewish Maariv newspaper, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost the war to Hamas, and instead of signing a prisoner exchange deal with it, he is trying to drag Israel into a war of attrition that will keep him in power.

The analyst harshly criticized Netanyahu for trying to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Galant, describing it as a political move to preserve his position, ignoring the military failures in the Hamas attack of 7 October, 2023.

L’éminent chroniqueur du journal Maariv, Yossi Hadar, a déclaré que #Netanyahu avait perdu la guerre contre le #Hamas 🔻#Guerre_de_Gaza #GazaGenocide #GazaHolocaust pic.twitter.com/eQlAKmTKPw
— Le Centre Palestinien D'Information (@PalinfoFr) September 20, 2024

The writer began his article by referring to the operation attributed to Israel of blowing up the wireless devices in Lebanon and Syria, which resulted in the death of 32 Lebanese and the wounding of hundreds, according to the latest statistics.

“If the attribution of this operation to Israel is correct, it reveals another aspect of Israel’s enormous military capabilities, but at the same time it could bring us closer to a real war with Hezbollah, while the war in Gaza continues, the Houthis attacks on Israel, and Iranian threats continue, with operations growing in the West Bank and inside Israel,” he added.

The analyst accused Netanyahu of deliberately prolonging the war for political reasons, ignoring the serious security implications for Israel, and described him as the most failed prime minister in Israel, and that he “is leading an approach of political baseness and exhaustion and implementing a Machiavellian plot aimed at tightening control over the country by pushing the public to despair.”

Hadar stressed that Netanyahu’s escalation in the north is “the way Netanyahu seeks to maintain his rule, not in order to do something beneficial for the citizens of Israel, but only for his personal and political interests, just so he can continue to exhaust us.”

Political Maneuver

The writer then went on to assert that Netanyahu’s attempt to dismiss Galant is part of a political maneuver aimed at strengthening his power, rather than addressing the military failures that were evident in the 7 October attack, which puts Israel in a weak position in the face of the growing threats.

“All this does not prevent Netanyahu from hatching a plot to overthrow the defense minister at this critical moment for the security of the state, and in the midst of a war that could expand,” he said.

He explained Netanyahu’s move as a bid to replace his defense minister because of his opposition to the Haredi conscription law that the Orthodox parties insist on, in exchange for appointing the head of the Right-wing Israel Party, Gideon Sa’ar, because the latter will pass this law, referring to Sa’ar’s volatility, who was previously quoted as saying, “If you want Netanyahu as prime minister, don’t vote for me.”

Hadar also denied Netanyahu’s followers’ marketing of the reason for Galant’s dismissal as a “weak leftist,” saying that Galant himself offered, just four days after the 7 October attack, to attack Hezbollah as a preemptive move, but Netanyahu refused, in a state of panic over the events.

The writer recalled that Netanyahu is the one who divided Israel by leading “an attempted coup against the judicial system that he created before 7 October,” and he is the one who brought upon Israel “the catastrophe of 7 October,” and now he is dragging another catastrophe by dragging Israel into a war of attrition.

He said, “Instead of waging a short and intense war, he chose a dangerous and failed war of attrition that goes against all strategic logic, and dragged Israel into the worst state it has been since its founding, because what matters is only the logic of political survival,” according to Jordan24.

Opinion

Lebanon Will Never Break

CrossFireArabia
September 19, 2024

Dyab Abou Jahjah is a leading Lebanese author, speaker and an activist who lives in the southern part of the country with an open website. This is a reprinted comment he made recently on Lebanon and the Lebanese people, their sorrow but also their love for life and defiance.

This is a somewhat of a personal post, so please indulge me. As a Lebanese, especially coming from South Lebanon, today and yesterday are painful days. There is no denying it. We feel sorrow, and there is no shame in that.

But if there’s one thing about our people, it’s that we don’t break easily. If you ask about us, you’ll understand. We are the children of Canaan, our roots intertwined through faiths that have shaped us—whether in the name of Jesus or Muhammad. That connection makes us one with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, who, like us, have endured so much, yet remain unbroken.

We’re a people who love life. We laugh, we sing, we create art. Some might say we’re a bit romantic, even soft at times. But all our enemies—especially those who’ve tried to occupy us—know how we fight when we have to. There’s a strength in us that comes out in the hardest of times, a resilience that refuses to bend.

This is a somewhat personal post, so please indulge me. As a Lebanese, especially coming from South Lebanon, today and yesterday are painful days. There is no denying it. We feel sorrow, and there is no shame in that.
But if there’s one thing about our people, it’s that we don’t… pic.twitter.com/9nbBCcWdms
— Dyab Abou Jahjah (@Aboujahjah) September 18, 2024

Israel’s anger towards us is because we don’t just speak in support of Palestine—we act. Whether we’re part of the resistance or find other ways to contribute, we do what we can. Even in moments when there’s not much we can do, we at least raise our voices and stand by justice. For those of us from South Lebanon, our connection to Palestine runs deep.

It’s something we feel in our bones, a bond that nothing can break. We’ve drawn their wrath, not just because we’ve resisted, but because we’ve made an impact. And though it may bring consequences, we won’t stop. Our support for Palestine is something personal, something that feels right in every sense—as a duty to our kin, to our faiths, and to the shared humanity that binds us.

We don’t glorify war, nor do we seek it. We value life, every bit of it. But when the choice is between humiliation or standing tall, even if it means death, we’ll face it with dignity. And in doing so, we’ll ensure that whoever invades our little country will perish or live to regret. May God protect Lebanon and Palestine, and may the eyes of the cowards never sleep.

Opinion

Bibi-Gallant: Israeli Politics in Atrocious State

CrossFireArabia
September 18, 2024

CROSSFIREARABIA – Former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon lashed out at the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over the estranged relations between the two men despite Israel’s critical war in Gaza and north of the country.

Netanyahu is under pressure to sack Gallant but somehow he can’t bring himself to do so, fearing a political backlash from his own Likud party. Yet he is under constant pressure from the extreme rightwing like Itamar Ben-Gavir and Bezalel Smotrich who keep threatening to leaving his government and thus bring it down if the war doesn’t continue and Hamas is brought down which many believe is an impossible task.

Meanwhile the United States wants to keep Yoav Gallant who they believe he is more moderate than his prime minister. This emanates from his utterings that the Israel army must not state in the Philadelphia axis but need to withdraw to the back of the Gaza Strip.

Another bone of contention is the fact that Gallant does not widen Israel’s war into Lebanon before the issue of the dwindling hostages – put now at 100-or-so – is resolved. Netanyahu wants the exhausted Israeli army to switch directions and go into Lebanon and thus widen the war and keep it going.

This is something that is against the interests of the United States which believes that the war must be contained within the framework of Israel and Gaza rather then moving to other territories and is continually push for a political solution.

Opinion

First Mrs President!

Saleem Ayoub Quna
August 22, 2024

By Saleem Ayoub Quna

June 28 of this year was not a good day for the leadership of the Democratic Party or their supporters in the US.

Across the board, they were disappointed and perplexed by the performance of incumbent (D) President Joe Biden, as he faced the more aggressive and outspoken (R) nominee Donald Trump, in their first TV debate, before empty chairs in the room, for the 2024 presidential elections.

The Trump camp and republican sympathizers, at the close of the debate, felt reassured that the gates to the White House, this time, were sliding more towards their direction!

As a matter of fact, for both sides, the results of the race, at that moment, were almost decided. It was simply a matter of time!

When asked about his options, President Biden kept saying that he was not going anywhere, and was looking for the next debate!

Not old movies!

As if watching one of those boring classical movies, where the end is so predictable, the American public and observers around the globe, were bracing themselves for the imperative sequence of this version of presidential race in similar disenchanted mood!

It took Joe Biden nearly a month, precisely on July 21 to, bravely, announce that he was withdrawing from the race to the benefit of his VP Kamala Harris.

The boring classical movie then suddenly took a new unexpected turn and the spectators started queuing again for new refreshments and popcorn!

Overnight, the morbid atmosphere within the ranks and file of the Democratic Party got energized; a reminiscent of a wounded eagle, which starts flapping its wings, after receiving a magic dose of injection, capable of waking up even a sleeping dinosaur!

Fundraising machines were set back in motion; volunteers started enlisting; chapters’ committees regrouped and the whole scene transformed into action, enthusiasm and optimism.

A dramatic shift that would surprise allies, rivals and neutrals alike! As for the republican rivals, represented by their notorious nominee, Donald Trump, the atmosphere took a gloomier turn as new polls started showing alarming percentages of approval and disapproval for one camp and the other!

The tie was dramatically shifting in favor of the new nominee of the Democrats, Mrs. Harris! The personality who remained, for four years, in the shade of Biden’s 50 years long legacy in politics.

Without much to talk about financial largesse or political experience, and coming from a mixed blend of immigrants to the US, Mrs. Harris today, is standing tall in face of Trump, the life-long tycoon of wealth and affluence.

A factor that will definitely add to the wrath and chagrin of Trump, who upon hearing the nomination of his substitute rival in the presidential race, in clear and typical insinuation to her ethnical origin, clumsily asked: “When did she become black”?

Well, Mr. ex-President, Trump, ready your staff next January to draft a descent congratulatory note to the first ever Mrs. 47th President of the US!

This opinion was especially written for Crossfire Arabia by Saleem Ayoub Quna who is a Jordanian author writing on local, regional and international affairs and has two books published. He has a BA in English Literature from Jordan University, a diploma from Paris and an MA from Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He also has working knowledge of French and German.