In a July 9, 2013 op-ed in the English-language daily Arab News, titled "Arab Spring: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall," Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, former Saudi navy commodore and U.S. liaison officer, called the Arab Spring a "very bad joke," stating that Arabs "hate each other more than we hate the outside enemy," and that Israel, which serves as a "moneymaking machine for Arab dictators and... corrupt Palestinian officials," treats, in its hospitals, the wounds that the Syrians inflict on each other. He adds that the Arab Spring was not "about a search for democracy, social justice and better standards of living" but rather "about hate and sectarian violence."
Al-Mulhim's position reflects to a great extent the position of the Saudi establishment regarding the Arab Spring and its consequences, as well as its deep fear of the Islamist circles opposing Wahhabism that since the Arab Spring have become stronger in Egypt and Syria. As will be recalled, after the Egyptian army ousted Mursi on July 3, 2013, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait hastened to offer the new Egyptian regime $12 billion in aid, in order to enable it to prevent a major economic crisis in Egypt. .
The following are excerpts from Al-Mulhim's op-ed:[1]
"The Arab World Never Looks At Mirrors... Because Mirrors Don't Lie And We Don't Want To Know The Truth"
"...According to news media, the Arab Spring caught the world by surprise on December 18, 2010. I will, however, add that the Arab Spring didn't come out of the blue. It is an accumulation of years of political corruption, human rights violations, sectarianism, poor education systems, and unemployment. To sum it all up, the Arabs were not fighting the enemy, they were sleeping with it. This is why it is impossible to analyze and forecast the outcome of the Arab Spring.
"The Arab world never looks at mirrors. We don't like to say mirror, mirror on the wall because mirrors don't lie and we don't want to know the truth. We can't handle it.
"During the Arab Spring, I read a lot of analyses about the root of the Arab Spring – it is decades of hiding from reality, chasing a mirage [made up] of enemies, conspiracies and blaming the outside world. We never blamed our systems for the many failures [to take opportunities] to develop the Arab mind. We talk about Sykes-Picot, imperialism and Zionism, but we never look at the mirrors on the wall. Some people, however, did."
"Israel Is A Moneymaking Machine For Arab Dictators And For Many Corrupt Palestinian Officials"
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"On June 15, 2013, a Saudi columnist whom I have never met wrote an article in the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq titled 'Israel, the Everlasting Arab treasure.' The columnist, Abdusalam Alwael, is a very highly educated Saudi who earned a bachelor's degree from a Saudi university, his master's degree from a university in California, and his doctorate degree from a university in Virginia. He basically said that Israel was a bounty for Arab dictators who use the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to control their countries and to make a lot of money, merely by issuing hollow threats to Israel.
"Israel is a moneymaking machine for Arab dictators and for many corrupt Palestinian officials. In other words, the Arab dictators have forgotten to develop their countries, and innocent people have paid for it with their own lives. This is the reality of the Arab Spring."
"We Hate Each Other More Than We Hate The Outside Enemy... This Is The Real Arab Spring; Syrians Hurt Syrians, And The Israelis Treat The Syrian Wounds"
"Everyone knows the truth, but we won't admit it. During the Arab Spring, we saw our real faces in the mirrors. It showed that the Arabs were never united, and are now divided beyond anybody's imagination. We hate each other more than we hate the outside enemy.
"This is why no one in the Arab world showed any sympathy to the Syrians when Israeli planes attacked Syrian targets a few weeks ago. As a matter of fact, even hardcore anti-Israelis wished the Israeli planes had continued eastward and attacked the Syrian presidential palace and killed an Arab leader named Bashar Assad. In other words, many in the Arab world sided with Israel against an Arab country.
"After the attack, we saw many Syrians approach the Israeli-fortified checkpoints in the Golan Heights, not to attack Israeli soldiers, but to seek refuge and get medical attention. I am not talking about simple medical care. I am talking about major surgeries like the four-year-old Syrian girl who got a heart transplant at Wolfson Hospital in Holon, Israel.
"This is the real Arab Spring. Syrians hurt Syrians, and the Israelis treat the Syrian wounds. Yes, the Arab Spring is a joke and I mean a very bad joke. The Arab Spring is not about seeking democracy, it is about Arabs killing Arabs. And this is why Israeli soldiers are busy on the Golan Heights. They are not busy with loading ammunition; they are busy picking cherries and other fruit. What is more, they are also busy giving guided tours to show the world Syrian planes targeting civilians, Scud missiles destroying villages, and tanks attacking schools and mosques.
"The Arab Spring Is Not About A Search For Democracy, Social Justice And Better Standards Of Living – The Arab Spring Is All About Hate And Sectarian Violence"
"What goes inside Syria is more horrific. Syrian men humiliate Syrian women in front of their relatives, raping and killing them. It is not only the killing that is ugly. We saw a Syrian kill another Syrian and then open his chest with a knife and take a bite of his heart. It can't get any uglier.
"Now, mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the ugliest of them all? Well, they are all ugly. It has turned out that the Arab Spring is not about a search for democracy, social justice and better standards of living. The Arab Spring is all about hate and sectarian violence. The world didn't hear anything about rebuilding the countries or eradicating poverty. The talk is all about fighting among the same people from the same country.
"Just look at the land of one of the oldest civilizations, Egypt – a country that failed to produce one – just one – iconic figure like Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. These are individuals who talk about peace and harmony and are respected the world over – not individuals who enjoy destroying their own country and killing their own people."
Endnote:
[1] The English has been lightly edited for clarity.
