Following are excerpts
from an address delivered by Dubai police
chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim at the GCC national and regional security conference
in Bahrain, which was posted on the Internet on January 20, 2012:
Dahi
Khalfan Tamim: “Allow me to avoid diplomatic language. I am not
a diplomat. I am a security official, and I will talk about the domestic
and foreign security threats. My words might be embarrassing to people
home and abroad, but I have come to this conference in order to say
what I feel as a security official. With no further ado, I will try
to present to you 38 different threats to the security of the Gulf.
[...]
Let me begin with threat
number one. In my opinion, US policy in the region is the number one
security threat. Our American friends might not like this, but experience
has taught us that the Americans do not have friends. On the contrary,
they are quick to wash their hands of their friends. Therefore, US policy
in the Gulf constitutes a threat, because they have ulterior motives:
to overthrow the regimes. In the past, they used to talk about imposing
democracy, but when they failed in their efforts to impose it on Iraq
and Afghanistan, they took a new tack – to export the revolution.
They adopted the path and ideology of Khomeini. They embraced the same
idea, and began to export the revolution. It is not me who says this,
but American writers and thinkers say so themselves. They say: We are
exporting the revolution to the Arab world. If their aim is indeed
to export the revolution, they subscribe to the same mentality as Khomeini.
Bringing new regimes
to power is in keeping with the American doctrine regarding the transition
of power. It began in Tunisia, was exported to Egypt, and from there
to Libya, to Yemen, and now to Syria – and who will be next? That
is the reality of things.
Let us now examine US
policy in the region. Iran failed in its efforts to topple Saddam, but
America realized this dream for the Iranians. Iran failed to gain influence
in Iraq, but America generated a significant Iranian presence in Iraq.
Iran failed in its efforts to export the revolution, but America was
successful in exporting the revolution in the region. It seems that
the US has realized all the dreams of Iran. Imagine that!
US policy is based upon
the realization of interests, not upon the realization of rights. They
say: We want the people to obtain their rights. No my brothers. If that
is indeed the case, [they should demand] the rights of the Arab Palestinian
people, which are violated more than the rights of any other people.
So how come the US does not take action, and recognize the right of
the Palestinian people to establish a state? The US has declared its
rejection of a state for the Palestinian people. When the US says it
has good intentions towards the peoples, it is not speaking the truth,
I am sad to say.
The Iranian nuclear program
presents a second threat to the security of the Gulf. They say that
this program is for peaceful purposes. I don’t believe this. I might
be wrong. But even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, the Iranian
nuclear program could experience a malfunction. They are no better than
the Russians when it comes to technology and science, and the Russians
suffered a huge nuclear leak.The [Iranians] lack spare parts for their
airplanes, which crash into their cities, so what is to be expected
if they build such huge plants?
Indeed, they pose a threat
to us, even if their program is for peaceful purposes. We are talking
about a threat to the Gulf region. As you can see, Bushehr is very close
to us. Moreover, Iran has [territorial] aspirations in the Gulf. This
is another threat. Their designs are endless.
[...]
Why use diplomatic language
and say that all the threats to the Gulf are external ones? No, there
are people who threaten the Gulf from within. I’m referring to those
who act on their own. Don’t ask me who. You all know who I am talking
about.
Iraq’s subordination
to Iran is the fifth threat to us as Gulf states.
[...]
The sixth threat is the
deteriorating situation in Yemen. The Yemenis were wrong in staging
a revolution against Ali Abdallah Saleh. I don’t know the man, and
I have nothing to do with him, but I was hoping they would stage a revolution
against the qat [amphetamine-like plant], which is the number-one
killer that holds them back. If you go to Yemen during work hours, you
will see that the people do not work. As long as they use qat,
Yemen will continue to be a burden on the Gulf states. Do not give them
aid, unless they declare a revolution against the qat. Otherwise,
our money will be going down the drain.
The seventh threat is
Iran’s confrontation with America. If it turns out that America intends
to start a confrontation with Iran, we, the Gulf states, must avoid
at all costs being dragged after the US into its war with Iran. We have
absolutely no interest in doing so. Therefore, we must not be dragged
into it.
The Americans dragged
us into Afghanistan. They took our young men to fight as mujahideen,
and when they returned, they called them “terrorists.” They pinned
allegations of terrorism on us, and our people found themselves in trouble.
Therefore, under no circumstances will I support the Arab countries
in [fighting] Iran. Even if it turns out that they have a secret nuclear
program, we should not fight Iran, because it is not in our best interest
to do so.
Let’s turn to domestic
matters and talk about developing the Gulf regimes. We inherited dynastic
rule and have not made developments. If you ask me how this happened,
this would require a long explanation, but we are marching in place.
We must... Let me give one example: A life-long ruler is no longer conceivable.
[...]
Wherever the Muslim Brotherhood
are to be found in the Gulf states, they will grow stronger and will
become... They are already talking about this, and therefore, they are
of concern to us. America is now embracing them. Foreign interference
into Gulf affairs [poses another threat]. When the Iranian public took
to the streets, the people were trodden on, crushed, beaten, and thrown
into prison, but when the public in the Gulf took action, [the Iranians
said]: “No, that’s a good thing. We welcome this.” Look at this
paradox, at this difference in mentality. You think it is ok for my
public to revolt against me, but you do not accept it when your public
revolts against you. That’s peculiar.
So Iran interferes [in
our affairs] – and not just from today. I am an officer who has been
in security for 42 years. Iran interferes not only in the affairs of
Bahrain, but in the affairs of all Gulf states. We must be realistic,
people. The 11th threat is that some Gulf regimes support and embrace
extremist Islamic movements. That’s right. Some Gulf states support
extremists.
[...]
Every Gulf state the
embraces Salafis, Shiites, Muslim Brotherhood members, or members of
any other Islamist organization – these organizations will turn against
them and bite off the hand that fed them. Efforts have been made with
these organizations in the past, and the Gulf states have given them
everything they needed, but ultimately, they turned against whoever
cooperated with them. I ask all the Gulf states not to accept Islamist
organizations as governments.
[...]
The 14th threat is the
growing gap between the ruler and his subjects.
[...]
The 15th threat is the
rise in unemployment in the Gulf states. I am astounded at the fact
that although we Gulf states have economic resources and oil, Allah
be praised, we have had rising unemployment during the last decade.
Aren’t our governments supposed to be reducing the level of unemployment?
I said that America is the number one threat, but what does America
have to do with our unemployment? We ourselves are to blame. The shortcomings
are in our governments. Therefore, we must invest an effort in alleviating
the problem of unemployment. Unemployment is a dangerous ticking bomb.
The 16th threat is the
loss of social justice.
[...]
The 17th security threat
is the absence of rule of law. A regular person is placed on trial,
whereas for an influential person, they set up a committee, and get
him out of the [court’s] back door. Some people in Bahrain, for example,
believe that those who wreaked destruction and destroyed civilian cars
should not face trial. This is unacceptable. If there is no rule of
law, you can be sure... In Egypt, they completely crushed the officers
of the law. Today, if you are robbed, you can try to file a complaint.
You don’t stand a chance. You won’t find anyone to respond to you.
They stomped on the law, and now they are looking for someone to protect
them.
[...]
The 18th threat is the
financial and administrative corruption that is spreading in the government.
[...]
The 19th threat is the
repression of liberties. In the Gulf states, I am sad to say, there
are people who say: Don’t write, don’t speak. Freedom of speech
and the freedom to write should be available to the people. The more
we restrict these liberties, the more we can expect the people whose
freedoms we restrict to revolt against us.
[...]
The 21st threat is the
arbitrariness and tyranny of the security agencies. Let nobody tell
us that we have angels working in the security agencies of the Gulf
states. We have people who act with arbitrariness, and who violate the
law. Whenever we expose them, we must punish them to the full extent
of the law, because these people are harmful.
[...]
The 22nd threat is the
stagnation in the job market. Even if someone is unsuitable for the
job... Governmental positions are always reserved for certain families
and certain people.
[…]
The 25th threat is that
the rich get richer while the poor citizens get poorer. They declare
that there are billions in the state treasury, but some people have
been unable to get housing for years. Then the West invents a financial
crisis for us, and 50-60 percent of the interest in our savings in the
West go down the drain. It would be better if you first built housing
for citizens, so that they could live in happiness.
[…]
The 36th threat comes
from Iran’s reckless declarations. I have counted how many threats
it has made over the past six months. The daily average is one or two
threats. They [threaten] to close, to attack, to destroy... Therefore,
I am sad to say, we face a reckless neighbor. Why do the Iranian threats
pose a threat to the region? They say to the Americans: Don’t come
back here. We won’t warn you twice. The Americans have a cowboy mentality
– they draw their pistols and shoot. We do now want the Gulf to turn
into a battling ground between extremists and cowboys.
[…]
The 38th threat to the
security of the Gulf is the absence of a Gulf Union.
[ …]
There is a conflict between
Sunnis and Shiites. The Shiites are now talking about something called
“Greater Bahrain.” It includes all of you. They posted on the
internet a map of the region, on which they wrote “Shia State.”
The ancient Bahrain of pre-Islamic times extended from Kazma, in modern
day Kuwait, all the way to Dubai. Today, they are talking about reaching
Qatar, but when they reach Qatar, they will continue...
[…]
This requires us to establish
a Gulf Union, because Iran can urge those Shiites... Not all the Shiites
are alike. There are reasonable Shiites, who fit in with Gulf society
and feel they belong to this land. But there are also some who
go in the opposite direction.
[…]
America is no longer
an ally. On the contrary, it has become an intimidating party. Get that
into your heads, weigh it, and you will see. Russia has become a capitalist
country, so why can’t it become a new ally? The Americans used to
scare us by saying that the Russians are Communists, but now Communism
is gone. But now they have become more capitalist than the capitalists.
We must reach an agreement with the Russians, and form ties with them.
Think about it, and you will see. China is a friend from whom we have
only seen good things throughout history, so why shouldn’t we strengthen
our ties with is?
[…]
