For UAE, now everything in the Iranian garden is lovely

The United Arab Emirates would have liked to feed me to its camels because of my views on Iran.

They thought I was an ayatollah cheerleader for not applauding their vehement opposition to Iran. The fact is I didn't feel comfortable borrowing the US nonsense of Iran being evil or terrorist. Talking to other people I didn't sense anyone was looking forward to a war with Iran. Even the UAE officials were well aware of the catastrophic consequences if the Pentagon started a military adventure against Iran. But it's Washington that dictates the wider security policy of the region and Arab "allies" just have to follow the Pentagon script.

It's no secret that the Pentagon views the control of energy-rich western and central Asia as absolutely vital to its global domination. Manipulating small Arab states with docile populations is  key to US wars in the region.

Mind you, I didn't express those views very openly but only occasionally talked about UAE policies in private conversations when I used to work in that country. In any case, they heavily monitor phones of journalists and keep a wide network of informers to find out what people (especially those in media, government, finance etc) say in private.

The business hub of Dubai and the big brother capital Abu Dhabi do not seem to have a unified approach towards Iran. Goods and money flow between Dubai and Iran with ease. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi being a major exporter of oil doesn't care much about the relative small amounts of money Dubai earns through its re-export trade with Iran.

Prodded by Uncle Sam, Baba Saudi and European Union aunties, the UAE pursued a belligerent policy towards Iran for many years.

It became such a regional centre of propaganda against Iran that even normal trade and tourism activities seemed like serious criminal offenses.

If a country is so big a threat to your security why not just cut off all relations. No, you could not expect such forthrightness from the UAE, which wasn't prepared to lose money yet wanted to please the United States and Europeans.

Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Department of Treasury, visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi to warn local companies against trading with Iran.

The level of rhetoric from the US official was so alarming that a UAE cabinet minister contacted reporters to get details of  his statements at a 2007 press conference.

I mention these incidents to show how viciously Iran was being targeted not long ago. Iraq was already under Western control and they were salivating at the thought of grabbing another energy fruit in Iran.

An Iranian-born author connected with a Zionist network wrote fiery columns against the Iranian government and his word was considered sacred in Gulf Arab establishments.

In 2008, UAE-based banks had mostly stopped issuing letters of credit for Iran trade amid escalating Washington-Tehran tensions.

This was happening despite:

- the UAE's $12 billion annual trade with Iran;

- Iranians being among top buyers of Dubai property;

- UAE companies craving for access to a market of 70 million in the neighborhood;

- 250 weekly flights catering to a heavy flow of people between the two countries;

- almost half a million Iranians living in the UAE.

(These figures are from five years ago)

Taking all this into account, it was deceptive on the part of UAE officials to indulge in regular anti-Iranian rhetoric.

Now compare the sudden changes in the UAE's policy since the US and Iran agreed on a nuclear deal in November 2013. What official hocus-pocus will be delivered to justify this change of tack?

The UAE has started pursuing Iran like a besotted lover at the highest level.

An Abu Dhabi-based hotel company may become the first foreign hotelier to enter Iran since Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution toppled the US puppet Pahlavi in 1979.

At UAE airports, staff greet Iranian visitors with "khosh amadid". Possibly immigration guys are also putting their name cards in the passports of Iranian girls.

The UAE is known to frequently use its dispute over three islands in the Persian Gulf (historically accurate name) in piling pressure on Tehran at regional conferences.

What a ruckus the UAE caused when Iranian president Ahmadinejad visited one of the contested islands in 2012:

- the UAE government summoned the Iranian ambassador and called back its own from Tehran;

- foreign minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan held meetings in Abu Dhabi with ambassadors representing UN Security Council members to condemn the 'provocative visit';

- foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council called a special meeting to discuss the row.

One can now expect a different tune as Abu Dhabi tries to build bridges with Tehran. However, the UAE is yet to show it has a cohesive and long-term Iran policy.

Iran has a lot to offer its neighbors if they can develop reliable partnerships. Greater regional engagement will make it a more reasonable country. Iran on its part has to prove that it can remain responsible even in serious situations. We all acknowledge Iran's rich cultural heritage, but its officials are better off not acting proud as a peacock when interacting with their Arab counterparts.

If the outsider US has pursued disastrous policies in the region, playing one country against another, Iran also cannot escape its part in the violence and conflicts that have destabilized some places. Its ongoing support for the genocidal Assad war against Syrians cannot be justified under any pretext.

If I were in the UAE today (hypothetically speaking because I'll never live in an Arab authoritarian state again), I would not be saying nice things about Iran's role in Syria's bloodshed and constant interference in Iraq.

But then the UAE would throw me in front of its camels for not being in tune with its fickleness, its new love for Iran.

Are we seeing 'vicarious revenge' by Mubarak's old friends in Egypt?

Egyptians continue to mourn their loss of freedom and dignity since last year's military coup.

This is an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for all those who celebrated the birth of a new Egypt in January 2011 after Hosni Mubarak's decades-old tyrannical regime fell.

In the euphoria that followed the uprising, we forgot that two key backers of Mubarak's dictatorship treated the Egyptian revolt as their own defeat in that country.

Though restrained in their emotions in public, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were sad, angry and upset.

There was a feeling of helplessness in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi; they had created a network in which the Mubarak regime became crucial to the well being of the Gulf states' own systems.

When General Abdel Fattah El Sisi toppled Egypt's first democratically-elected president in July 2013, Mubarak's old Gulf buddies were quick to welcome the military coup.

They soon pledged billions of dollars to support the military rulers of Egypt.

The role of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates must never be forgotten in the restoration of dictatorship in Egypt. The moneybags funneled cash to those who worked to revive the mukhabarat state. And look at the result!

Speaking on Al Jazeera on 25 January 2014, political analyst Omar Ashour said: "It's going to be worse than Mubarak's era."

There are many explanations and points of analysis about Saudi and Emirates politics, which is governed by bedouin codes.

The bedouin code of honor prescribes "vicarious revenge for seven generations" (I am quoting from an essay written by an Aligarh professor).

Therefore, we may not have seen their full revenge against the Egyptian people for bringing down Mubarak.

It's not clear how far Saudi Arabia and UAE are prepared to go to maintain a regime of their choice in Egypt.

Egypt is a bloodied, brutal and fractured society under Sisi.

It must not suffer for the sake of perceived or real insult or offense to the honor of Mubarak's old friends.

Indonesian people show they care for Gaza

Indonesia's people have donated $15 million to build a hospital in Gaza.

This is real solidarity with a people forced to live in extreme misery under a savage Israeli military siege.

Compare these caring Indonesians with rich Arab states and their playboy billionaires who waste millions of dollars on parties, hosting European entertainers, exploding fireworks and doing other pompous activities.

The dictatorships will still make a show of helping Palestinians if people come to these moneybags and beg, pledge allegiance, kiss their shoulders, hands, knees and toes in abject obeisance.

Arab rulers give funds to Palestinian authorities to buy their loyalty and encourage corruption. The primary aim is not to build strong infrastructure projects. Arab officials also announce aid to Palestinians to increase their prestige in the eyes of their pro-Palestinian populations.

Next to Gaza is Egypt where the military rulers whip up anti-Palestinian sentiments. The junta need not be so hateful in enforcing the siege of Gaza but it seems such propaganda strangely increases the Pharaoh's political stock.

Israel can create concentration camp conditions in Gaza only with the connivance of Arab potentates. And when it unleashes its war machine against Palestinians it also wants to makes sure the injured will not get medial assistance and the dead will not find a place in morgues.

In this context, the project Indonesia's aid has created is worth much more than the price price tag it carries.

USA and Obama's Drone Civilization

Barack Obama's Pentagon war machine killed 17 people going to a wedding in Yemen on December 12 -- illegal and cold-blooded murders where the killers were not even face to face with their victims. The United States of America can act with impunity and at will where it wants to unleash its Drone Civilization.

Lawless, hate-filled and dangerously armed, the USA has shown how it has no peers when when it comes to abusing power, authority and technology. Today it uses drone technology with total mindlessness, tomorrow it may use far more deadlier weapons and genocidal technologies. If the US doesn't believe in any restraint or limits on its power, what's there to stop them from causing havoc anywhere in the world?

The US wiped out two Japanese cities with nuclear weapons, it devastated Vietnam with illegal warfare, it caused mayhem in Iraq and conducted a long genocidal campaign of sanctions there, its foreign politics is geared towards resource loot, it uses its intelligence apparatus to undermine democratic governments around the world, and it partners with Israel to annihilate Palestinians.

Drone murders seem to be Obama's favorite instrument to extend US hegemonic power. People can be killed while going to weddings, in schools, in homes, in markets. No due process of law is allowed. Why do American officials not give details of their operations if these can be described as legitimate (even using a gangster's logic)? Unfortunately, the US (and its warlike friends) find it easy to violate sovereignty of others by bribing or threatening pissant leaders with undeveloped minds (especially Arab potentates).

We don't hear much discussion about these things in a big section of the media owned by crooks and run by rascals.

Watch out for Israeli goods 'Made in Jordan'

A joint industrial park is to be established along the Israeli-Jordanian border, giving Israeli companies the ability to tap into Arab markets, as their products will bear the misleading label 'Made in Jordan,' reports Lebanon's Al Akhbar newspaper.

Once these Israeli goods reach other Arab markets, they can be easily re-exported to countries that have no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.

You can be sure that Israel will try to flood Dubai with its 'Made in Jordan' products.

So we have a situation when Arab states can be used as Trojan Horses by Israel to infiltrate markets that ban Israeli goods.

Arab countries, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), are deliberately dishonest about their relations with Israel.

It's important for the countries that boycott Israel to ask for specific mechanisms to bar Israeli-origin goods with deceptive Arab labels.

As Israelis face growing boycott calls over their occupation of Palestinian territories and brutal subjugation of Palestinians, they will use all sorts of deceptive schemes to enter barred markets.

Give me money, more money: Dubai's Islamic dream

Dubai has found something new to polish its rusty chain of ambitions with: Islamic finance.

How will the two mix? Islamic finance is about ethical use of money -- for example, investment in gambling, arms trade and alcohol business is prohibited.

Does this Arab emirate represent similar ethical values?

Can Dubai or the United Arab Emirates create high regulatory standards to ensure that Islamic banks and financial institutions operate in a proper environment?

In a country where the line between private and public affairs of officials is difficult to make out, only an inveterate optimist can trust its ambitious plans.

If Dubai wants to be taken seriously in the Islamic financial sector, it must avoid the temptation of doing business the way it runs its real estate sector.

The out of control property sector when it went bust about four years ago destroyed the lives of countless home buyers, and the UAE banking system was able to avoid a major crisis only after the central bank provided huge bailout cash.

We know what a shady business Dubai’s property was, with unscrupulous companies cheating people by promising them non-existent assets.

Let us hope that Islamic banks and financial institutions, whose business practices won them so much respect during the Wall Street-produced global financial crisis, will never be part of speculative UAE property schemes.

Islamic finance is about community, service, promotion of honest industry and healthy commerce. No one should abuse the system for exploitation and speculation.

Dubai is used by many Wall Street and London players for their regional operations and they are notorious for breaking laws and manipulating systems to make money.

Regulators must create systems that will ensure the highest degree of compliance with a degree of openness that will not hinder good people from exposing corruption and malpractices.

In a place where the prevailing motto is money and more money, such standards will be hard to achieve.

'There is such a thing as Gulfization'

Asad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese-American professor of political science, responded to an attempt by United Arab Emirates political science professor  Abdulkhaleq Abdulla to glorify autocratic Gulf regimes and their odd deeds.

Abdulkhaleq, once thought to be 'different' in the sense that he occasionally raised his concern about the erosion of Emirati identity amid uncontrolled construction and an influx of foreigners, doesn't seem to miss an opportunity these days to echo Dubai and Abu Dhabi's official line on issues.

It was no surprise that he wrote a piece commending an article by Sultan al-Qassemi, an officially-sanctioned Emirati intellectual who comes up with meaningless arguments in false debates on Arab issues.

In his article 'Khaleeji Cities Are Present, Future', Abdulkhaleq writes: "Sultan al-Qassemi makes a compelling case in his "Gulf Cities Emerge as New Centers of Arab World" for the Arab Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi as the new commercial, cultural, educational, media and diplomatic centers of the Arab world. He asserts that the traditional Arab metropolises of Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad are fading away as centers of creativity."

Neither Abdulkhaleq Abdulla nor his fellow commentator would ever talk about the role the Gulf regimes have played in destroying Arab countries and their culture.

Their audacity to compare the Gulf cities to historic regional centers deserves scorn.

Asad Abu Khalil's response (culled from his blog) fits the bill:

[Gulfization of the Arab world: my response

So Abdulkaleq said:  "The Gulf moment indicates that the Arab Gulf states are today the net exporter of soft influence as well as hard power. This has set in motion a unique process of Gulfization/Khaleejization  (خلجنة) of the Arab world. Khaleejization simply means that at this moment the influence of the part (the Arab Gulf states) on the whole (the rest of the Arab world) is greater than the influence of the whole on the part. " 

And I say: yes, there is such an impact by Gulf potentates and their rentier culture on the Arab world, and it can be detected: 1) the promotion of the acceptance of polygamy as a modern phenomenon that does not have to be discarded; 2) the elevation of the vulgar and cheesy aesthetics of Las Vegas as the ultimate model of beauty and standards; 3) the promotion of sleaze in all manifestation of Arab culture, according to the taste of oil and gas princes and sheikhs; 4) the enforcement of various degrees of gender segregation; 5) the relegation of Asian labor to the lower part of the hiearchy; 5) the fetishism of money as the ultimate measure of success; 6) the worship of the White Man and the juridical enforcement of his superiority in contracts and in wages; 7) the propagation of themes of class obedience by the poor toward the rich; 8) the adoption of an ideology of hostility toward all manners of progressive and leftist thought; 9) the notion that politics and political representation don't matter as long as the ruling dynasties provide a generous program of social welfare; 10)  the standardization of commercialization and of sexual commodification of females; 11) the establishment of artistic and literary awards in order to ban a free culture and of the expression of views and opinions counter to the tyranny of Arab potentates; 12) the notion that problems--all problems--can be solved with money; 13) the notion that intellectuals can, and should, be bought and sponsored by an oil or gas prince to prevent the existence of free public intellectuals; 14) the export of rigid personality cults around the ruling Gulf potentates.  So in that sense, Abdulkhaleq is right.  There is such a thing as Gulfization.]