The Region of Pierced Umbrellas
Ghassan Charbel Al-Hayat - 14/11/05//
Distress is biting at the Middle East. The Arab-Israeli conflict is no longer the only source of fears and tensions. The fire has sneaked into the capitals and homes. Many dues have piled up in a short time. The region seemed totally exposed to the hot winds that either blew on it or from it. The old umbrellas are no longer suitable. The international and local developments have caused some deadly holes. The old security valves are no longer operational. The international resolutions are not enough to provide reassurance. The US terror itself is undergoing a daily test on the Iraqi territory. The Arab League is a pharmacy that owns nothing but good intentions, old drugs, and expired bandages.
Distress is biting at the Middle East. The countries are scared. Opening the windows is an omen predicting that the winds will enter. Keeping them closed speeds up the explosion date. Speeding up the reform could open the gate of the downfall. Slowing the process deepens the feelings of frustration and compounds the lure of violence. Countries are frightened at their international borders and in capitals too. A timed bomb is planted somewhere. A man is getting ready to blow up. The governments are concerned. There is an unprecedented smell of tension at the demarcation lines between nationalisms and sects. There are signs of a huge fire.
The hotels' massacre in Amman is a blatant message. Zarqawi was not late in confirming his signature. Their atrocity is not the most painful aspect. The announcement that the executors are Iraqis compounds the seriousness of the message. When the US military machine wiped out Saddam Hussein's regime, Al Qaeda rushed in to seize its golden opportunity. It is an exemplar platform for clashes with the Americans on an Islamic Arab territory, over oil fields. Upon the echo of this clash with the US occupation, it is possible for "Al Qaeda" to attract new generations to replicate the "Arab Afghan" experience.
"Al Qaeda's" success in settling in the Iraqi Sunnite triangle has increased its appetite to launch its major program: sparking off a civil war, with a regional lure and the re-export of fighters to expand the clash area. The hotels' bombings in Amman reflect the executors' yearning to disrupt the stability of this country. The long-term goal is to find a spot on the demarcation line with Israel. By clashing with the Israelis, "Al Qaeda" will seize a legitimacy, the clash with the Americans was short of providing. It is possible to say that the lava of the Iraqi volcano are threatening to rocket in more than one direction. Zarqawi's "school" warns of breeding more suicide bombers.
The stability umbrella has fallen down. The developments smashed them causing deadly holes and cracks. The crises rainbow is extending from Tehran to Beirut. The Syrian-Lebanese divorce has expanded the zone of distress. The divorce detonated in tune with the thunderous international resolutions and the earthquake stirred by the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri. The longest Arab union has collapsed because it lacked the necessary basis to shield it and the mechanisms of reform, balance, and mistakes solving. Syria, fearing isolation, has gone back to the dictionary of radicalism and confrontation. Its relation with Lebanon seems to be ruled by the bitterness of the past more than the building of a future that does not resemble it. Syria is entrusting itself with a confrontation that is beyond its stamina. Lebanon is facing files that are beyond its power. Both Damascus and Beirut did not succeed in finding a language liable to alleviate the damages of the divorce. There is a sort of return to the rhetoric of clash where old sensitivities are mixed with present fears.
The Middle East awaits something more subtle. The international resolutions require US canines. The US terror is wounded due to the Iraqi quagmire. Zarqawi is fishing in highly troubled waters. The international borders have been wiped out by the export of crises, fears, and suicide bombers. It is the season of resolutions, bombs, and fears in the absence of security valves.
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