"Arabs"? Are the Lebanese "Arabs"? Are the Iraqis "Arabs"?
Yes and yes. You are an Arab if Arabic is your first language. It's a linguistic/cultural definition. Do you have a point?
I was talking about the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf, where there are two major powers, one Arab, Iraq, and one non-Arab, Iran. Every so often one makes a try for regional domination. Fortunately, Iran is in no shape for such a try right now, though they are making lots of mischief. There are three natural 'centers' of the Arab world: Egypt, with half the population, Saudi Arabia, with the oil money and Mecca, and Iraq, with population, industry, the strongest military and Baghdad, through most of Arab history the greatest Arab city, the seat of the caliphate. There is always contention between these three centers. Saddam did everything he could to claim the mastery of the Arab world, and he was utterly ruthless and feared by all. If he had been freed from sanctions (which was coming), it was only a matter of time til Saudi Arabia fell or surrendered, that regime is rotten. Then Saddam would have had 2/3rds of the worlds oil reserves, an excellent weapon to take his revenge on America with. The other small states would have bowed to him. Your advice was to sit and wait for it.
Now, can you or can you not perceive that having Saddam Hussein, free from sanctions, re-armed, and dominating the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf, would be a threat to the United States? |
