Alot of Arabs are completely pig-headed!

[ZekeLuvs1911]

Can you believe these Arabs in denial? It is like calling Ted Bundy the "world's best serial killer." There is no hope for these people.....:banghead:

Arabs Watch Saddam's Demise in Disbelief
By Lucy Fielder

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arabs watched in disbelief on Wednesday as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein described by one Moroccan as the Arab world's "best dictator," lost Baghdad to U.S.-led forces without a fight.

It's like a movie. I can't believe what I'm seeing," said Adel, a lawyer in Beirut. "Why didn't he just give up to start with if this was all the resistance he could muster? Instead of wasting all those lives for nothing."

In Cairo, people gathered around television sets in shops and coffee houses watching U.S. troops toppling a huge statue of Saddam in the heart of Baghdad and Iraqis dancing on it.

"It seemed that Iraqis were all with Saddam, now it looks like many didn't like him. Maybe those destroying the statue are rebels against Saddam's rule," engineer Magdy Tawfiq said as he watched Saddam's statue being toppled by a U.S. tank.

But security guard Waleed Tawfiq said he still did not believe Saddam was out. "I will be upset if it turns out Saddam has lost power. He tried to defend his land. If he is dead he will be a martyr."

Most Arabs have no love for Saddam. But his defiance toward the United States has been met with approval in a region angry at Washington's support for Israel and perceived interference in Arab affairs, and the presence of U.S. forces in Arab countries.

Three weeks of war in Iraq (news - web sites) have sparked anger across the Arab world, and the anger grew as civilian casualties mounted. Protesters at hundreds of rallies have chanted praise for "beloved" Saddam and held his picture aloft.

Rabat perfume shop owner Lahoucine Lanait described Saddam as the Arab world's "best dictator."

But few Arabs had a kind word for him as his 24-year rule collapsed on Wednesday.

"Saddam is not an Arab champion. The war is practically over, did he win? No, and Iraq is destroyed," said Ayman Abdel Rahim, a Cairo butcher.

"Saddam Hussein is proving for the thousandth time that he is stubborn, stupid, idiotic and a terrorist. He is more like the head of a gang and not the president of a respectable state like Iraq," said Sultan Nasser, 49-year-old Saudi bank employee.

STANDING UP TO THE UNITED STATES

Many Arabs liken the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

In Oman, some said Saddam, whose fate is unknown after he was targeted by U.S. planes, symbolized resistance.

"It is irrelevant whether Saddam is dead or not. His memory will live on to inspire many Arabs to stand up against all the injustices committed by the U.S. and its friends in Israel," Belqees Hamood, a university student, said.

"Saddam was not an angel to his own people but he will be missed since many Arabs see him as a leader who was not afraid to challenge the American and Israeli aggressions over Palestinians," said Juma Backer, a businessman.

In Saudi Arabia, Mohsen al-Awajy, a reformist sheik who has been jailed by the country's pro-Western monarchy, said: "No one wanted to fight under Saddam's banner."



"But resistance to occupation has nothing to do with Saddam and just part of the battle is about to end now."

Adel in Beirut disagreed. "So he was the only Arab leader to stand up to the Americans. Look what happened, no one else will dare try that again."

Some said his death at the hands of U.S.-led invaders would make him a martyr. It was a question of honor.

"My hope is that Saddam falls fighting with his own gun. If he flees or surrenders, as many people believe, then he is like other Arab leaders who do not care about honor, it would be a total shame," said Sellami Hidoussi, a Tunis car garage guard.

Fahd Saleh of Saudi Arabia expressed equal dislike for President Bush (news - web sites) and Saddam.

"Saddam is a terrorist but he's not alone. Bush too is a terrorist but Saddam is weak and Bush is strong. That's why he has won, because no one opposes a strong person," said the 33-year-old Saudi government employee.

"How wonderful the world would be without Saddam and without Bush!"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&e=4&u=/nm/20030409/wl_nm/iraq_arabs_saddam_dc_2

Sorry fellas, you're all gonna have to wait 4-5 more years!

 

[Airwolf]

More along the same lines...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64349-2003Apr9.html

Arab Media Confront the 'New Rules of the Game'

By Jefferson Morley
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 9, 2003; 12:39 PM

As U.S. forces took control of Baghdad, the opinion makers of the Arab world, almost unanimously opposed to war, confronted their impotence with realism and rage, denial and bitterness, and occasionally chastened hope.

The Arab television networks that came to prominence during the war with coverage emphasizing Iraqi resistance and civilian casualties are not flinching from showing the scenes of U.S. forces vanquishing the last vestiges of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The Arabic language Web site of the government-run Bahrain News Agency features a photo of an Arab giving a thumbs up to U.S. soldier on a tank.

The Kuwait News site shows a car dragging a statue of Saddam Hussein.

Al Jazeera's Web site features Baghdad residents waving to American soldiers.

Todays's editorial reaction reflected the dismay and disbelief behind the images of the ongoing Iraqi collapse.
John Bradley, the managing editor of the Arab News, acknowledges delusions along with defeat.

"The pride the Arabs felt in the initial stages of the invasion, before those legendary 'pockets of resistance' halting the advance of the world's only superpower were revealed as a myth, has been replaced by immense shame and humiliation. The images of US soldiers taking a picnic in the heart of Baghdad will haunt the Arab psyche for generations to come "

"America now rules the world, either directly or by proxy; and there is nothing anyone can do about it," he concludes.

"Nothing, that is, but wait for history to take its course, for Fortune's wheel to turn as it inexorably does, crushing underneath those who once danced on top of it. But not in our lifetime. Yes, there will be more terrorism, and Osama Bin Laden - or at least his infamous voice - was heard once more yesterday, calling for suicide attacks and thus giving more easy justification, as he did on Sept. 11, to America's imperial ambition. Thanks, Osama, you've done us all about as much good as George W. Bush. Both are two sides of the same coin."

Samir Ragad, chairman of the board of the Egyptian Gazette suggests the Americans won only because of treachery.

"Frankly, we believed that Baghdad would remain Iraq's impregnable citadel. We thought that Baghdad's walls would turn into swords to decapitate the invaders. Saddam Hussein had misled us into believing that the invaders would never take Baghdad. But the home of five million people collapsed in record time."

The blame, he says, lies with the Iraqi military failure.
"Why did the Iraqis not blow up the bridges over the Tigris and Euphrates to prevent the invaders from reaching their planned targets?" he asks.

"It is a disgrace that these huge Iraqi troops relaxed idly and woke up to the roar of gunfire on all sides. It is now clear that the traitors are many and those who gave in to the Satan temptation outnumber them."

Some fulminated right up to the end, as if some outsiders might rescue Hussein's regime from the inevitable. In the government-controlled Syria Times, columnist M. Agha declared "The US-British aggression seems to be worse than the Nazis."

"In the Second World War, the West stood in confrontation of Hitler. Now, Bush is acting worse than Hitler. . . .The West, China, Japan and other freedom-loving nations elsewhere must close ranks to stop the Chief Cowboy, Bush. We believe that this Cowboy is not able to light his cigar without putting the whole forest on fire!!! Don't let this war criminal at large!"

But others sought to adjust to new political order in the Middle East.

Ramy Khoury, editor of the Daily Star in Beirut, Lebanon writes that "a realistic reading of the policy must conclude that the sacking of Baghdad is designed to send signals to all other Middle Eastern and Asian regimes that the U.S. finds annoying, threatening, distasteful, worrisome, or even just a little strange.

Khoury explicated what he said are "the new rules of the game now being explained to the world through the televised display of Mesopotamian show-and-tell."

"If Washington merely suspects that terrorists may one day emerge from your land, or that you might in future threaten your neighbors, you have only two options: You change course and shape up, or you are finished as a governing regime. If you behave as Baghdad behaved, defying the new rules of the game, you suffer the same fate as Baghdad is suffering."

The U.S. military victory, he predicts, will be followed by a "much more complicated political battle, in which the rest of the world tries to confront the US in a different arena:. . . who manages and pays for reconstruction in Iraq."

The editors of the Riyadh Daily warn that "the US cannot control a devastated country with promises of food and medicine shipments, while keeping all the transactions for itself.

Iraq, they note, has the most skilled population of any Arab country, including 4 million people working outside the country. These "human resources represent a valuable asset, provided that they are invested properly. The same can be said about the Palestinians. Arabs and Muslims have a lot of sympathy for them. But if Iraq becomes another Palestine, then matters will get out of control. If the US wants to secure the trust of Muslims and the world, it has to set aside its unilateral view of its coalition with Israel and look for its interests, regardless of the course of current events."

 

[MK11]

I find the Arab reaction fascinating. The comments from the fellow at that Daily Star paper are dead on.

 

[10-Ring]

I heard a very interesting comment today....that most Arabs act the way they do towards the US as a reaction to their jealousy of life as an American. The way we live, the rights we have, the freedoms we share and country EVERYONE wants to live in & imitate. Don't know how accurate that statement was, but it was interesting to think about.

 

[Dannyboy]

Rabat perfume shop owner Lahoucine Lanait described Saddam as the Arab world's "best dictator."

This is one of the best quotes I have ever read.

 

[TallPine]

"So he was the only Arab leader to stand up to the Americans. Look what happened, no one else will dare try that again."

"If Washington merely suspects that terrorists may one day emerge from your land, or that you might in future threaten your neighbors, you have only two options: You change course and shape up, or you are finished as a governing regime. If you behave as Baghdad behaved, defying the new rules of the game, you suffer the same fate as Baghdad is suffering."

So ... it is NOT true that "violence never solves anything"

 

[Bruce H]

Take the Arab part out and substitute the last presidential election. Different people same results.

 

[4v50 Gary]

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Remember, these folks watching TV are little different from our own bliss ninnies. They believe what the media tells them to believe. It doesn't matter if Saddam butchered his own people for over 20 years, he's their butcher. They also live under the same constraints that wedo. It's not P.C. to say "America is right" or that what we did benefitted an Islamic people. To do so risks ostracism or perhaps even mob violence.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Never pick a fight with somebody who's considerably larger, more experienced, and smarter.

 

[MonkeyMan]

Arabs pig-headed?

Interesting choice of words Zeke.

Old Arab saying:

Me against my brother,
Me and my brother against my cousin,
Me and my cousin against the world.

If you can't reason with someone then your options are severely limited.

 

[TallPine]

This thread should be locked because it is insulting to pigs.

 

[OF]

"So he was the only Arab leader to stand up to the Americans. Look what happened, no one else will dare try that again."

And that, my friend, is worth the price of admission.

- Gabe

 

[Justin Moore]

They believe what the media tells them to believe.

Look at the countries they live in. Most of them a ruled by dictators. Egypty, Saudi, and Syria to name a few. They are ALL opressive to their populations. And, who runs the media? The governments.

 

[TheEgg]

A humble suggestion.

Could not the title:

Alot of Arabs are completely pig-headed!

be

A lot of people are completely pig-headed! Some of them happen to be Arabs!

Or am I being too PC!

IMHO I am seeing more variety of opinion in the Arab world over the fall of Baghdad than I expected.

 

[Tamara]

Hey, so are a surprising amount of Americans.

I was enjoying watching those folks in Baghdad partying like it was 1999... er, again, while eating lunch at a restaurant yesterday.

The young couple at the next table over seemed stunned. Where was the blood in the streets? The jihad? Weren't we "pausing"? They were genuinely baffled.

Me? I just raised my beer in toast to a bunch of really happy people.

How do you sing "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead" in Arabic?

 

[OF]

How do you sing "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead" in Arabic?

From what I can tell it sounds something like "Thank you Bush!"



What a great day to be an American.

- Gabe

 

[jmbg29]

And a lot of Arabs and Kurds are dancing in the streets today waving Iraqi and American flags thanking the almighty that they are free. Their opinion is the one that counts for me. The other idiots are living on very borrowed time.

 

[carp killer]

Arab society is all about posturing. They talk like the school yard bully but one punch in the nose and they run. But be careful, they will stab you in the back if they can (Saudi Arabia comes to mind).

 

[mtnbkr]

Arab society is all about posturing. They talk like the school yard bully but one punch in the nose and they run. But be careful, they will stab you in the back if they can (Saudi Arabia comes to mind).

That's what I'm worried about. Yeah, the Iraqis are celebrating our arrival, but how much of it is sincere? After all, we are the recognized victors. Would they necessarily protest in the streets without anyone to protect them?

These are the same people that proclaimed Saddam's greatness just a month ago. I think they'll pledge allegence to any show of strength greater than their own.

Chris

 

[Art Eatman]

mtnbkr, I think your comment, "These are the same people that proclaimed Saddam's greatness just a month ago. I think they'll pledge allegence to any show of strength greater than their own." misses the mark.

If speaking against Dubya's greatness meant you would be tortured to death after being forced to watch your wife and children tortured to death, I'll just bet you'd be proclaiming Dubya's greatness.

While the factionalism among the Iraqis will not make things easier, I believe that what they want to proclaim is the greatness of a government that works as best it can for the benefit of all Iraqis. That would be worth a pledge of allegiance. For sure, it would be a change.

, Art

 

[hops]

Let's not limit pig-headedness to Arabs. We've got quite a few pig heads in our country - many of them in Hollyweird.

Humans are not the most rational of the planet's spieces'.

 

[Sean Smith]

The title of this topic is, of course, generalizing and inflamatory.

Still, look around the world... especially the Middle East... and you will see a certain intellectual disease.

America is rich and powerful because we WORKED AT IT for a couple of centuries. But this simple, self-evident fact is impossible for great masses of people to grasp. Instead, they assume we are rich because we stole it from them... which neatly relieves them of any responsibility for their worthless societies and resulting sorry-*** state in life. The fact that we pay them for the stuff they have that we want is overlooked. Thus, they are free to do nothing but whine about "American Imperialism," beat their wives, and generally be unproductive schmucks. Meanwhile, America has individual women that produce more wealth than entire Arab countries.

And I'm not even counting Oprah yet...

Of course, the fault is their own, not ours. You don't see Japanese or Finns conducting suicide bombings or blaming everything on Israel, because their societies aren't comical failures. You can babble about "cultural relativism" all you want, but per capita GDP doesn't lie. The failed countries of the world will suck forever unless they learn to quit blaming everything in the universe on the U.S. and get a job.

 

[Tamara]

Not to sound too fawning or anything...

You don't see Japanese or Finns conducting suicide bombings or blaming everything on Israel, because their societies aren't comical failures. You can babble about "cultural relativism" all you want, but per capita GDP doesn't lie. The failed countries of the world will suck forever unless they learn to quit blaming everything in the universe on the U.S. and get a job.

...but that is the soundbite of the week, Sean!

 

[Sean Smith]

How does the saying go? Even a blind duck can find an acorn in a van down by the river when the cows come home every once in a blue moon...

 

[Bahadur]

You don't see Japanese or Finns conducting suicide bombings or blaming everything on Israel, because their societies aren't comical failures.

I remember that there was a time when the Japanese were launching wars of naked aggression and the Finns had no (independent) country. How times change.

You can babble about "cultural relativism" all you want, but per capita GDP doesn't lie.

The GDP per capita of several Gulf states are quite high, but that doesn't make them successful civilizations now, does it?

The failed countries of the world will suck forever unless they learn to quit blaming everything in the universe on the U.S. and get a job.

The losers always blame the winner. That's been the case since the Hittites kicked everyone's behind with iron weapons, and likely long before that.

We have the best, the most prosperous and the most free society on earth... for now. Enjoy it, preserve it and appreciate it. But don't think that such a thing is preordained or somehow specially set aside for certain people by fate. History is replete with the downfall of hegemons.