Algiers: May 29, 2017
I inform the honorable readers that I sent this text to an American diplomat from the United States Embassy in Algeria. I drafted this reading of His Excellency President Trump’s speech in Riyadh.
“I stand before you as a representative of the American People, to deliver a message of friendship and hope.” [2]
What message of friendship and hope comes with a $100 billion arms deal?
The people need not weapons but development, justice, and democracy.
“I pledged to strengthen America’s oldest friendships, and to build new partnerships in pursuit of peace.” What kind of peace? That is the question.
The peace of arms — we have seen the catastrophic model of Iraq. The monster of Daesh or ISIS was fed by the so-called liberation of Iraq by the U.S. Army.
“I also promised that America will not seek to impose our way of life on others, but to outstretch our hands in the spirit of cooperation and trust.”
Indeed, our way of life is extremely different from the way of life in America. Religious values play a predominant role in our lives, and we have a strict moral code that we cannot exceed in the name of universalism. Every country has its own religious, social, historical, economic, cultural, and political specificity.
This phrase also has a worrisome aspect: Does this mean that President Trump has given carte blanche to Arab world dictators to act with impunity and without the slightest respect for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
“Our vision is one of peace, security, and prosperity—in this region, and in the world.”
What vision and what peace? The minimum has not been achieved in Palestine, neither now nor in the future. The law prevailing in Palestine is that of the strongest. And what security? With a wall dividing one people on its own territory, Palestine. What prosperity? When the number of the disenfranchised reaches hundreds of millions, including the underprivileged classes in the Gulf countries? With injustice, corruption, and plagues that undermine the right to self-determination of Arab-Muslim peoples.
“Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God.”
Extremism is a plague that spreads wherever there is dictatorship, repression, oppression, poverty, and ignorance. It is not with weapons that extremism is eradicated, but by investing in education, economic development, respecting the dignity and sovereignty of peoples and their cultural and religious affiliations, and strengthening democracy through the three branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—and by supporting civil society work.
“But this future can only be achieved through defeating terrorism and the ideology that drives it.”
Radicalism is fed primarily by injustice.
“We are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership – based on shared interests and values – to pursue a better future for us all.”
In this specific case, how come Mr. Rex Tillerson, during his press conference with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh, lectured Iran on how it treats its citizens: “We also hope that he restores the rights of Iranians to freedom of speech, to freedom of organization, so that Iranians can live the life that they deserve.”
Isn’t this a flagrant contradiction between President Trump’s speech and the Secretary of State?
We do not need lessons from the USA in the field of human rights, as each country has its own specificity, norms, and particular treatment. The parameters of the UN and NGOs cannot be applied to all peoples in the same way.
A sharing of interests and values must be closely examined—what interests, when you are primarily advancing Israel’s interests? What values?
Values that separate religion from the state cannot integrate into our space because Islam is not dissociated from political, cultural, social, and economic rights.
What needs to be challenged is the extremist interpretation of religion, not Islam. How can you explain the use of this adjective by the present American administration: “Islamic terrorism”?
Islam has absolutely nothing to do with terror or murder. It is the human interpretation of sacred texts that must be analyzed and corrected, and this is the exclusive work of religious schools and scholars, who must do so without any constraint.
“This agreement will help the Saudi military to take a greater role in security operations.”
What is the purpose of American weapons in Yemen? Has the Saudi army pacified Yemen? Far from it. To achieve security, one must think of dialogue and compromise, where all concerned parties are involved. The tribal system in Yemen and Sudan cannot be eradicated by airstrikes but by an open and dialogical policy. Neither the international community, NATO, nor Washington has the right to dictate which president should leave power, as in the case of Syria. The people’s sovereign vote and ballot boxes decide the fate of any president and government.
“The true toll of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and so many others must be counted not only in the number of dead. It must also be counted in generations of vanished dreams.”
President Trump equated ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah. The blindness he demonstrated is unforgivable. We all know that Hamas is a Palestinian political and military party born from the will of the Palestinian people. Hezbollah is also a Lebanese political and military party born from the will of the Lebanese people. Resisting Israeli occupation is not a crime; it is a duty and a right of legitimate defense recognized by the international community at the UN.
“Terrorists do not worship God; they worship death.”
I completely agree on this point, which is why it is vital to separate Islam from terrorism and stop using the term “Islamic terrorism.”
“When we see the scenes of destruction in the wake of terror, we see no signs that those murdered were Jewish or Christian, Shia or Sunni.”
The adjectives “Sunni” or “Shia” do not exist in Islam; we simply say “Muslim.”
“America is prepared to stand with you—in pursuit of shared interests and common security.”
Common security—what does common security mean when Israel strikes Gaza or Syria with impunity? What security when Israel rejects the November 29, 1947, UN Partition Plan? What security when, to resolve an open conflict in Yemen, innocent people are bombed?
How can we explain the 3100 innocent people killed by fatal blunders committed by the international coalition against ISIS? What security when isolated populations suffer from both terrorists and the international coalition? What does security mean—political, economic, or other?
“But the nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them.”
This point is very important. To defeat terrorism, we need not a military coalition like NATO but justice, freedom, and equal opportunities for all. A security-focused approach has never solved anything anywhere.
“We are adopting a Principled Realism, rooted in common values and shared interests.”
What common values? In the USA, life is sacred. In Egypt, more than a thousand people were coldly murdered in Rabaa Square, and torture is common in the prisons of repressive regimes.
What shared interests?
President Trump secured an arms deal worth over $100 billion. The interests of the region’s peoples lie elsewhere. Peace and prosperity cannot be won by selling weapons and making deals that only serve the interests of the U.S. military-industrial complex.
“Religious leaders must make this absolutely clear: Barbarism will deliver you no glory—piety to evil will bring you no dignity. If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and YOUR SOUL WILL BE CONDEMNED.”
The task of every Muslim leader or scholar is to preach good and condemn evil. It is not for President Trump to lecture our scholars and religious leaders. On the contrary, our scholars are obliged to peacefully fight against injustice and government oppression. What happened to Sheikh Baqir Al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia? He was sentenced to death and executed. As for Sheikh Qaradawi, president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, he was tried for saying no to the military coup against President Morsi in July 2013.
It is the unjust and repressive actions of governments that are primarily responsible for the existence of ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
“Bahrain too is working to undermine recruitment and radicalism.”
President Trump praised the worst regimes in the region: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. These are repressive governments par excellence. Relying on such dictatorships does not honor the USA and tarnishes its image.
“It is a regime that is responsible for so much instability in the region. I am speaking, of course, of Iran.” Frankly, this is delusional. The main culprit for instability in the region is the Arab dictatorial regime, the American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel’s occupation of Palestine. One must have the courage to address these issues first, but I do not believe that President Trump has the courage or clarity of mind necessary to do so.
“Assad has committed unspeakable crimes.”
What about the extermination of Native American tribes?
What about Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
What about Vietnam?
What about Iraq and Afghanistan?
What about Gaza, bombed with prohibited weapons? This does not in any way excuse the crimes of the Assad regime or the Syrian opposition.
“Until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace, all nations of conscience must work together to isolate Iran.” As Algerians, we do not allow anyone, least of all President Trump, to dictate our foreign policy. Iran is our strategic partner, and we rely on its influence and strategic role in the region and the Arab-Muslim world.
There you have it, I have tried to summarize and share my thoughts. President Trump’s speech brought nothing concrete.
He did not address the real issues, and unfortunately, we are still far from finding a solution.
Sincerely,
Afaf Aniba
[2] https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/05/271005.htm
