English Blog

Britain is witnessing a real shake up of its political system that may lead to the greatest realignment of its internal politics in generations. There are two indicators to justify such a statement – the Referendum on Europe and the intended Bill of Rights mentioned in the Queen’s speech. Today I will deal with the Referendum issue.

A long time has passed since the UK joined the Common Market (the predecessor of the EU) after the demise of de Gaulle and removal of his veto. The new generation of Brits know very little about life in the turbulent years between 1967 and 1975. The current prosperity is taken for granted and no one can assert whether or not the UK would have been better off had it stayed outside the EU. Economics is not a precise science and thus just as it was impossible in 1973 to determine the pros and cons of joining, it is equally impossible today to decide whether to leave or remain in the EU. (more…)

Is it not audacious of the US, which has not only refused to recognized the ICC but had in fact legislated to punish anyone or State cooperating with the Court,…

Many states contracted post WWII to set up the United Nations in order to settle disputes among nations; eliminate wars and maintain peace, order and cooperation amongst them. The Charter that was adopted set out the terms of that contract between states and identified the remit of the Security Council to implement these terms. Although the victors of WWII with the veto powers wanted to ensure that their activities were not shackled by real judicial scrutiny and thus the International Court of Justice was not given such authority, it remained true to say that at no place in the Charter was there any intention to give the Security Council any judicial authority. Furthermore, respecting the sovereignty of member states constituted the heart of the charter, which entailed that the Security Council was prevented from intervening in the internal affairs of any member state. To a large extent, these realties were maintained during the Cold War era.

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The problem with most writings on the conflict in the Muslim world today revolves around two facts. Firstly, it is almost impossible to find Muslim writers who have enough objectivity to present faithfully what is happening to enable the reader to make his own conclusion. Secondly, and invariably, the best of the Orientalists lack a true understanding of political Islam. It is not surprising in view of the above two facts that people in the world find it difficult to follow and understand what is happening in the Muslim/Arab world today.

I do not intend to take the reader through the development of political Islam as no such matter could be covered in one article or even one book. However, I would like to clarify a few matters for the independent mind to enable him to make a better understanding of what is happening.

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Ali As-Sistani, the most influential Shi’a cleric, recently issued one of the most controversial and contentious Fatwas that may have far more repercussions than ever thought. Although several attempts have since been made to moderate the language and purpose of that Fatwa, the damage had already been done. The ‘Jihad Fatwa’ called on able Shi’a men to take arms and fight the attack of Sunni Selafis against the Government in advancing from Mousil south towards Baghdad. The Fatwa has created a polarization the like of which Iraq has never experienced before as waves of Shi’a mob took arms and marched through cities in Iraq intimidating Sunnis.  But in order to understand the value of the Fatwa and its possible repercussion, a few words need to be said about the meaning of Shi’a hierarchy.

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Waco Siege – A Town in Texas

“A fifty-one-day siege by Federal Agents of the Branch Davidian religious group’s commune headquarters outside Waco, Texas, in early 1993. The siege, which began after a botched and bloody attempt on 28 February 1993 to arrest the group’s leader, David Koresh, on a weapons charge, ended in the deaths of four federal agents and seventy-eight Branch Davidians. The stalemate ended when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the use of force on 19 April. Soon after Federal Agents moved in, fire engulfed the compound, killing 72 (including 20 children), provoking controversy over the use of force in dealing with dissident sects. Although some surviving members of the sect were acquitted of manslaughter, they received harsh sentences when convicted on lesser charges. In August 1999, new documents surfaced indicating that the FBI had fired three flammable tear gas canisters during the raid on the compound. Following a ten- month investigation, Senator John C. Danforth released a report concluding that although Federal Agents had mishandled evidence, they had neither started the fire nor improperly employed force.”

The Trial of Saddam Hussein, p. 359

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Anyone who has spent some time looking into the British Government’s archives would find that even before the end of WWI and the birth of modern political Iraq, the Imperialist British were weary of the potential of a united Iraq threatening their future interest.

It would not be surprising that when Iraq did indeed become a potential economic, military and political entity it was time to attack it and put it a century or so back. It was in the light of this reality that the war in 1991 and the invasion and occupation of 2003 should be seen. For the sceptics I would like to pose the following question: In view of the fact that over 100 innocent people are killed or injured in Iraq every day, why are Western politicians and media totally silent when they were very concerned about the death of a few ducks in Southern Iraq in the 1990s?

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This week witnessed another attempt by the imperialists to create a legal framework for military action against Syria. France put a draft proposal to the Security Council seeking to transfer the Syrian civil war to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The true purpose of the proposed resolution is not to be able to indict people before the ICC but rather to be able to activate Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This would enable any country later to launch military action against Syria claiming legitimacy in acting to uphold the UN Charter. The world has seen this between 1990 and 2003 when all genocide and military action against Iraq was carried out under that same pretext.

I do not intend here to discuss the position of Security Council resolutions vis-à-vis International Law as the topic is too involved and very technical and matters little in a world dominated by power politics that side-step law whenever it is expedient to do so.

But I would like to draw the attention of anyone interested to one simple fact in the proceedings in the above proposal that goes to show how International Law could become a ploy in the hands of the Imperialist Zionists when the Security Council discusses some international serious matter.

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