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December 10, 2003 Special Dispatch No. 626

Editor of Kuwaiti Daily: 'The U.S. is not going to Quit… It will Convert Poles of Jihadi Flags into Arrows to Pierce the Hearts of Terrorists'

December 10, 2003
Kuwait, The Gulf | Special Dispatch No. 626

On November 23, 2003, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, the Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwaiti dailies Al-Siyassa and Arab Times, praised the U.S. fight against Jihad fighters. The following are excerpts from the article: [1]

"Any resistance that depends on suicide bombers to destroy its target is a desperate and futile movement. Such a resistance hasn't succeeded in evicting Jews from Palestine or ending the misery of Palestinians. It has also failed to curtail the political authority of Jews over Palestinians. Those who still employ this method - covered by slogans of Jihad and promises of a place in heaven for the suicide bomber - wrongly believe it is an effective method.

"They are living in the past and they can see only the history of the United States. They think America is the same country that withdrew from regions where it incurred heavy casualties, such as Vietnam, Beirut in 1982, and Somalia. They refuse to see the recent history of the US in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and in the war to liberate Kuwait. Americans weren't fazed by suicide bombings. Trucks laden with deadly bombs and driven by suicide bombers failed to scare them. Instead, such attempts have steeled their resolve to accomplish their mission in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.

"Regrettably, some myopic Arab leaders can see only the negative side of the U.S. army's history. All their speeches are stale and full of lies and their people are sick and tired of their meaningless slogans. These leaders delude themselves trying to lead their people towards mass suicide. They are not aware history is changing and they don't realize any self-respecting military will learn from its past mistakes. The U.S. has chosen to take terrorism head on by launching a war on terror. Nobody, except these handful of Arab leaders, are surprised by America's resolve to fight terrorism.

"Saudi Arabia - which was earlier ambivalent towards terrorism - has been forced to join the war on terror. The tone of Saudi media has changed and they want to eliminate the dangers of international terrorism. They now proclaim terrorists violate the teachings of Islam. Kuwait and Egypt have also been fighting terrorism for a long time. The latest victim of terrorism is Turkey where a number of innocent civilians were killed… "This will only result in an international war on terrorism which will have legitimate reasons to continue till the fountainheads of terrorism are smashed. Those who lead revenge operations - for their defeats in Kabul and Baghdad - in the name of resistance are unwittingly strengthening the resolve of the United States to face and defeat terrorism. The United States is not going to quit. Instead, it will convert poles of Jihadi flags into arrows to pierce the hearts of terrorists - who ultimately will be consigned to the dustbin of history."


[1] Arab Times (Kuwait), November 23, 2003.

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