Commentator Mohammed Sid-Ahmed wrote earlier this month of his view of offers of sovereignty presented to Arabs in Iraq and the Palestinian Authority.
Writing that the Middle East is the victim of an Orwellian 1984-like scam, Sid-Ahmed explained that when the West speaks of "sovereignty" for Arab nations, the true meaning is "occupation and subordination".
The most egregious example of this "double-speak", the Al-Ahram article said, is the notion of "a Palestinian state" as endorsed by US President George Bush. This is so, Sid-Ahmed continued, because that proposed state is meant to be demilitarized. Under such a condition, no country can be called truly "sovereign", according to the writer.
Similarly, because some US officials are talking about extending the occupation in Iraq for "a very long time," Sid-Ahmed wrote, the sovereignty proposed there after the June "handover" could be another misdirection.
"Even the Greater Middle East Initiative is an example of doublespeak. Stretching from Pakistan in the east to Morocco in the west, it can hardly qualify as a uniform cultural-political entity whose peoples share the same concerns and aspirations, and whose problems can be solved in the same manner," Sid-Ahmed said.
As examples of the varying problems and their disparate solutions, Sid-Ahmed referred to Kurdistan and Kashmir, writing that while establishing "a Palestinian state" is under discussion, there is no question of allowing the creation of a Kurdish or Kashmiri. "How can there be talk of a homogeneous whole when problems of an apparently similar nature are addressed in such obviously different ways?" he asked.
Writing that the Middle East is the victim of an Orwellian 1984-like scam, Sid-Ahmed explained that when the West speaks of "sovereignty" for Arab nations, the true meaning is "occupation and subordination".
The most egregious example of this "double-speak", the Al-Ahram article said, is the notion of "a Palestinian state" as endorsed by US President George Bush. This is so, Sid-Ahmed continued, because that proposed state is meant to be demilitarized. Under such a condition, no country can be called truly "sovereign", according to the writer.
Similarly, because some US officials are talking about extending the occupation in Iraq for "a very long time," Sid-Ahmed wrote, the sovereignty proposed there after the June "handover" could be another misdirection.
"Even the Greater Middle East Initiative is an example of doublespeak. Stretching from Pakistan in the east to Morocco in the west, it can hardly qualify as a uniform cultural-political entity whose peoples share the same concerns and aspirations, and whose problems can be solved in the same manner," Sid-Ahmed said.
As examples of the varying problems and their disparate solutions, Sid-Ahmed referred to Kurdistan and Kashmir, writing that while establishing "a Palestinian state" is under discussion, there is no question of allowing the creation of a Kurdish or Kashmiri. "How can there be talk of a homogeneous whole when problems of an apparently similar nature are addressed in such obviously different ways?" he asked.