Obama and the Middle East

The speech given by Obama about the Middle East and Israel

What a story!

Dominique Strauss Kahn in jail in New York City. Who would have guessed that the (former?) general manager of the International Monetary Fund would be put in jail, in the infamous Rikers Island prison in NYC? Well it is the reality of the American judiciary system which doesn't make any difference between poor and rich. In a way it is a great system. What is the story? DSK, as everybody knows him, was in an hotel room in NYC before taking off to Europe for a meeting of the IMF, on Saturday May 14th. A housemaid entered the room to clean and he would have tried to rape her, and he practiced sex without her consent. She escaped and was taken to hospital and then to the police. DSK was localized in a plane to Paris and the police delayed without his knowledge the departure until they took him in it.
From there the judiciary system started working: precinct, lawyers, judge and on Monday the latter decided to hear the story in front of a Grand Jury on Friday 20th and refused to release him on bail. He could very well fly to France where he would be untouchable by the American law. So he is in Rikers Island until the Grand Jury decision. Well if it is sad that he, a potential candidate and winner of next year presidential election in France, has been involved in a sexual affair, as it happened in NYC, he has to live with the US judiciary system. And all French who criticize it should be happy that in the US anyone having committed or suspected of a crime is treated equally. Although it is sad for him and his family, he should have been more cautious and wise. Let's see what the Grand Jury will decide.

Arab countries

Unrest hasn't stopped yet and fortunately because it shows that the people are not impressed by the deaths and the inflexibility of their rulers. Recently the Tunisians have announced that former president Ben Ali will be judged by a military court. He is not in Tunisia but that means that his fate in his country is sealed. He won't go back there anymore. In Egypt, former president Moubarak is also under a warrant and should also be judged. It is a beginning but it has to go on further. Syrian ruler and his entourage should also be judged but for the moment he is still in power and his army is killing his own people. The good news is that noting will ever be the same in Syria even if he wins this time. Even if he stays in power. It shouldn't be for a long time, not any more. But what about the other Arab countries? Their rulers are still running the country the way it's their property. Algeria, Morocco and the Gulf states are, for the moment, rather quiet. Some demonstrations in Morocco and Algeria did happen but nothing more. When will their rulers understand that if they don't change their regime now, it'll be too late very soon.

Unrest in Arab countries

The Arab countries did not stop showing their leaders that they are fed up by them. Now it is the turn of Syria where the leader responds with his army. He is killing his people without hesitation. But where this will lead him and his regime? Syrian people might stop because of the deaths that are growing every day. But that doesn't mean that the regime is or will be saved from unrests. And one can only think about how this will end? And when? How many deaths till something will happen that would stop bloodshed? Is it enough from western countries to impose sanctions on Assad and his men? And what about Yemen? When those rulers, those dictators will understand that they are finished?
But there is one last thing that we should think about. What will happen after? Let's say that Assad contains the unrest and take over as it was before. But will he be able to rule his country like he has been doing for years and like his father did too? In a way we could say that he is finished because he will not be taken seriously and his ties with the international community should be like they were before. Let's just hope that it will end quickly, without any more deaths and violent.

France is showing its true face?

What is surprising in France today, is the fact that racism against Arabs and Africans is not only growing in the country but not any more in hiding. There is not one single week that passes by without some incredible news about how Arabs and Africans are not welcome anymore here. If they had ever been really well received in France. And this racism, xenophobia and to a certain extend even antisemitic attitudes by French people is clear, high and loud. But the main problem is that the government and its chief are amongst the people who clearly proclaim that those two, and sometimes even Jewish, are not part of the country. No one can forget that a few months ago, a member of the current majority in the parliament said that one potential candidate to next year presidential election cannot be president because of his background (he is a well known Jewish politician, French Jewish). And unfortunately only a few people criticized this statement. And almost none from the government. But the irony, is that France desperately needs Arab and African countries for its development and I to think that Americans should take advantage of it to take market shares in those regions of the world.

And Now?

After the US raid that killed Bin Laden, what is going to happen? Will Al Qaeda conduct or try to conduct attacks against Americans or other western countries? It seems unlikely as the terrorist organization stopped being as dangerous as in the 90s and the beginning of 2000. It has divided into various let's say branches, each working in a specific area, the more active being the Al Qaeda Maghreb, north African one. It has taken hostages from some European countries. With the end of its chief and mastermind of a lot of attacks in the world (the worst being the September 11th one in New York) there are still a lot of questions being asked but without answers yet. Apparently, the SEAL commando who conducted the raid has ceased documents and computers in Bin Laden's house. Hopefully they will give a lot of valuable information to the CIA and other US intelligence agencies. With those information, they might be able to understand better the organization and how it works today. They might also get information about the main people who are still heading Al Qaeda and eventually some operations that might have been programmed in the world. In any case, it should reveal a lot of interesting facts about it and on how it works. There is no better way to secure one's country than with information from organizations that plan attacks against it. Once again, it is a good thing that he has been eliminated. I don't understand people who think that he should have been taken prisoner.

What will happen now?

Once we digest the news of Bin Laden's death, it is wise to wonder what possibly could happen now? I don't think that anyone have a clear answer but we can only speculate. One thing is sure: his nefarious influence amongst extremists was already in decline. He, through his people, has been threatening the world and mainly the US for more than 10 years, but fortunately very few actions have been taken. At least against the Americans. Since September 11th, he didn't stop sending messages of hate and violence but he didn't conduct terrorists attacks against the US. I do think that the September 11th attack was his last real action. Yes he succeeded by killing a lot of innocent people. But he couldn't do more and in fact he started living in hiding since then. For someone who claimed his superiority and the war against the West, it was rather ridiculous. Finally what did he gain? Apart from the deaths of people who didn't have anything to do with the world's politics, nothing. So what will happen now? I don't see a lot of things, at least bad. In fact maybe, but it is a speculation, he helped the rise of Arab population against their dictators in various countries. But one thing is sure. If Bin Laden was head of state in any country, he would have been a dictator, like so many heads of state (Ben Ali, in Tunisia, Moubarak in Egypt, Gadafi in Lybia). So his loss is a no loss for Arabs, for Muslims and for the world.

Death of a terrorist

Finally Osama Bin Laden has been eliminated by the US forces in Pakistan. Although his influence has been limited during the recent years, his name was still a symbol. Symbol of hate, violence and death. His most infamous and famous action was the organization of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack against the US, in New York. Since then has been looked for by various secret services, mainly the Americans. And for a perfect reason: he was proud of what has happened in New York and Washington on that day. And while hidden, he went on organizing other attacks against the whole modern world. Against Arabs and Muslims as everybody was his enemy. Every person who did not think and act like him was an enemy. Well, now it is over and we can only congratulate the CIA and its Pakistani counterpart who conducted the operation. Well done guys. I am proud of you. God Bless America.