Exclusive: When Are We Going to Take a Stand? |
Amr Mohammed Al-Faisal
I read a report last week on the Presidency of Civil Aviation's plan to sign a $1.5 billion agreement with the American company Bechtel for the expansion of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.
We should be aware of the fact that Bechtel is one of the five companies the Bush administration has selected for the reconstruction of Iraq after US forces have destroyed the country.
I don't have words to express my anguish and indignation at this news, which I hope proves to be untrue. Are our national companies incapable of building an airport? Even if we need the assistance of a foreign company, why don't we invite a French or German one?
In the present circumstances, we have to adopt a decisive stand on a country that has dropped its mask and shown its colonialist intent in the region.
The least we can expect is that American companies are barred from winning major contracts in our country in the future. We should offer such contracts to French, German and Belgian companies instead.
If we don't take a stand now, when are we going to do it?
*** ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY ***
I read two interesting but strange stories over the past week. The first report was carried by an international news agency on the progress of the war on Iraq. My attention focused on a statistic: That among the 535 members of the American Congress, only four had children serving the country's armed forces.
The American propaganda machine exaggerated George W. Bush's limited role during the Vietnam War.
The children of rich and well-to-do families in the US are generally reluctant to join the armed forces, as the US Army has become the refuge of the poor and minorities. This also gives us an idea of the thinking of American troops fighting in Iraq now.
So I believe that the strong resistance showed by the Iraqis against the American aggression will soon weaken the morale of US forces when they realize that they are dying for rich Americans, who want to increase their bank balance. The blood of the poor and minorities in the US are being wasted for the sake of rich Americans.
This leads me to another article published by The New York Times on Colin Powell. The paper says Powell must be held responsible for the failure of American foreign policy.
How did Powell become an easy victim of the Bush administration? It's simple. In American cowboy movies, the black characters generally die before the end of the film. Will Powell become the first political victim in this latest American Cowboy movie?
Arab News Opinion 30 March 2003
I read a report last week on the Presidency of Civil Aviation's plan to sign a $1.5 billion agreement with the American company Bechtel for the expansion of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.
We should be aware of the fact that Bechtel is one of the five companies the Bush administration has selected for the reconstruction of Iraq after US forces have destroyed the country.
I don't have words to express my anguish and indignation at this news, which I hope proves to be untrue. Are our national companies incapable of building an airport? Even if we need the assistance of a foreign company, why don't we invite a French or German one?
In the present circumstances, we have to adopt a decisive stand on a country that has dropped its mask and shown its colonialist intent in the region.
The least we can expect is that American companies are barred from winning major contracts in our country in the future. We should offer such contracts to French, German and Belgian companies instead.
If we don't take a stand now, when are we going to do it?
*** ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY ***
I read two interesting but strange stories over the past week. The first report was carried by an international news agency on the progress of the war on Iraq. My attention focused on a statistic: That among the 535 members of the American Congress, only four had children serving the country's armed forces.
The American propaganda machine exaggerated George W. Bush's limited role during the Vietnam War.
The children of rich and well-to-do families in the US are generally reluctant to join the armed forces, as the US Army has become the refuge of the poor and minorities. This also gives us an idea of the thinking of American troops fighting in Iraq now.
So I believe that the strong resistance showed by the Iraqis against the American aggression will soon weaken the morale of US forces when they realize that they are dying for rich Americans, who want to increase their bank balance. The blood of the poor and minorities in the US are being wasted for the sake of rich Americans.
This leads me to another article published by The New York Times on Colin Powell. The paper says Powell must be held responsible for the failure of American foreign policy.
How did Powell become an easy victim of the Bush administration? It's simple. In American cowboy movies, the black characters generally die before the end of the film. Will Powell become the first political victim in this latest American Cowboy movie?
Arab News Opinion 30 March 2003