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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (40581)	4/23/2004 12:32:45 AM
From: D. Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793963

The Saudis are even having second thoughts about "jihad over there". This was predictable enough. At least to anyone that understands that orgs like Hamas are moved by individuals - they aren't some amorphous, disembodied, self-perpetuating abstraction. The old boys are dead, and the Saudis don't know the measure of the new guys. So they hesitate. worldtribune.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Post-Yassin Hamas in cash flow crisis as Saudis withhold funds SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Thursday, April 22, 2004 GAZA CITY – Saudi Arabia has withheld its pledge for millions of dollars to Hamas in a move that threatens operations of the Islamic insurgency movement. Palestinian sources said the Hamas leadership had been expecting payment of between $2 million and $5 million from Saudi Arabia in February 2004. They said the Saudis suspended payment amid U.S. pressure and the subsequent assassination of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin. "Hamas envoys have been literally begging the Saudis to honor their pledge," a Palestinian source close to Hamas said. "The Saudis are nervous about giving Hamas money after Yassin's death. They don't know who they're dealing with anymore." Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz has headed the kingdom's fund for the Palestinian war against Israel, Middle East Newsline reported. Most of the money from the fund has gone to Hamas, the sources said. Western diplomatic sources who follow Saudi Arabia confirmed that Riyad has suspended the transfer of millions of dollar to Hamas. But the sources cited U.S. pressure on the Saudi kingdom to end support for groups deemed by the State Department as terrorist. "There's been a lot of U.S. pressure on the Saudis and that has held things up," a Western diplomatic source said. "I think the Saudis are using the chaos in Hamas as an excuse to delay." The Palestinian sources said the Saudi failure has resulted in a financial crisis within Hamas. They said Hamas could begin cutbacks in social welfare services as early as May. Saudi Arabia was estimated to relay more than $30 million a year to Hamas. A U.S. official who deals in counter-terrorism said the kingdom increased funding to Hamas in 2002 and 2003 to nearly $80 million a year. The Hamas crisis has deepened in wake of the Israeli assassination of Yassin's successor, Abdul Aziz Rantisi. Under orders of political bureau chief Khaled Masha'al, Hamas has appointed a secret leadership believed headed by Mahmoud A-Zahar and Ismail Haniya. The sources said Masha'al has appealed to Iran to compensate for the Saudi funds. They said Iran has agreed to send aid over the next few weeks. Prominent Hamas members have acknowledged a crisis within the movement in the aftermath of the assassination of Yassin and Rantisi. They said Hamas has lost its entire leadership in the West Bank and most of its leadership in the Gaza Strip. On Tuesday, Israel's military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, said Hamas has been hurled into anarchy. He said Hamas's ability to attack Israel has been reduced over the last few weeks. The Egyptian state-owned daily said Hamas would meet on Wednesday to formally select a leadership. On late Saturday, Masha'al announced that Hamas's branch in the Gaza Strip had appointed a new leader, but said his name would remain secret to avoid any Israeli assassination attempt.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (40581)	4/23/2004 12:34:50 AM
From: Nadine Carroll	Respond to of 793963

From a new Egyptian blog: We don’t deserve it Events in Basra today and the breakup of the ceasefire in Fallujah forced me once again to start believing that the US and its coalition lost the war. No, no, I don’t mean loosing the war militarily, but loosing the war over the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. I feel so sorry for the US and I can’t express anything but deep appreciation for their efforts to do the impossible, which is to fight a guerilla war and reconstruct a country at the same time. It is so difficult to build and fight an all out war at the same time. The Marshal Plan came after the end of World War 2 and not right in its middle. The coalition is loosing the hearts and minds simply because Al-Jazerah focuses upon how many civilians were killed and how many mosques were blown up. It totally ignores stories such as the new power station that employs hundreds of Iraqis or the new women rights group that the coalition helped to organize. In addition, Iraqis, just like everyone else in the region, are taught that no westerner will offer any help without sucking something back and no educated Iraqi dares to offer an alternative view lest he be shot at his house doorstep. The situation is very grim because if the US lost the hearts and minds of the shias, its game over. Al-Jazerah knows that very well, this is why they dispatched their most radical correspondent to Fallujah and gave Sadr more airtime than their ads. Today I watched as angry Iraqis pelted British army vehicles with stones as they rushed to the bombing area. They did that because they believe that they coalition is not doing enough to offer security. This attitude troubles me because if the coalition reacted somehow to provide security, they would also start complaining about the violence. Offering security entails going into houses, seeing women (as if those women are Sharon Stone!), shooting at bad guys, etc. Those actions would definitely further alienate the same Iraqis who pelted the British soldiers for failing to provide security. I don’t know but I feel that Saddam is laughing in his prison cell right now saying “suckers, I told you idiots, those people deserve someone like me. I, and only I, can keep the lid on. I can keep the lid on those crazy religious leaders who think that Allah ordered them to force His laws on earth, I can keep the lid on anything the “disturbs the peace”. Gamal Abdul Nasser kept the lid on by leading a one-party draconian regime, Hafez El Asad kept the lid on by slaughtering 20,000 people in Hama, King Hussein kept the lid on by crushing a Palestinian challenge to his rule, and I kept the lid on by filling mass graves and killing any damn being who dared to cause trouble”. I am so sorry for my negative attitude; I hope I can turn positive sometime soon. But I am really depressed because everyday I become convinced that we Arabs deserve Saddam and we cannot live without Saddam. bigpharaoh.blogspot.com