The new identities of Iraq

“It may turn out that the civil war that destroyed Lebanon was a pilot project for the whole region, and that with very few exceptions states will disintegrate into chaos of squabbling, feuding, fighting sects, tribes and regions. “ Bernard Lewis, Mideast states, pawns no longer in Imperial games. Essay. 1991

What’s happening in The Middle East today, In Darfour, Lebanon and particularly in Iraq is exactly what Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis wrote about 16 years ago in the aftermath of the first Gulf war, and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Lewis words are eerie prophetic giving the amount of slaughter, hatred, tribal and sectarian violence fueling the passions in Iraq. Iraq has, more or less, been redrawn and subdivided based on religious sects and ethnicities. The Shias a religious sect stood to reap the fruits of the American invasion and occupation their country leaving others to fight it out and fight them as well. The Kurds have for all intents and purposes carved out a country of their own in the north of what soon to be called “ the former Iraq” while the Sunnis are left to set themselves up some kind of a country in western Iraq.

Ever since the removal of Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, Iraq and the Iraqis are going through profound changes in their political, economic, religious and social lives.

For certain segments of the Iraqi society, this change is welcomed for others it brought doom, but the one thing for sure is that all components of the Iraqi society share, that is a country reduced from an advanced industrious one into a heap of wreckage, a shell of its former self.


In 1991, the first Bush administration opted to leave Iraq without a fight, after liberating Kuwait and therefore leaving it intact. The second Bush administration, however, came into this war with a plan.

But why do Iraqis who share a common heritage, common ethnic stock for the most part, and have lived together in some political configuration or another for thousands of years.
Yet they have transformed their own country into an inferno of killing each other off based on one’s membership of a certain religious sect or ethnicity.

The current occurring of slaughter and hatred has to do with the breakdown of the Iraqi national identity that was the glue that held all Iraqis together regardless of their sects or ethnic groups. Iraqis see each other today differently. Your next-door neighbor has all of the sudden become the enemy, simply because he is not a member of your sect or tribe or ethnic group.

Through Iranian influence and the work of Iranian Ayatollah, Ali Sistani, Iraqi Shias are increasingly embracing their new identity of being just “ Shia” while Iran in the mean time has emerged as the bigger winner since dismantling the previous Iraqi order. The Shias of Iraq look for Iran for support, guidance, and of course weapons and money. Iran for its part had created, trained and equipped thousands of Iraqi Shia precisely for the day they take over their former enemy’s country in some kind of political arrangement that will swallow the oil-rich southern chunk of it under the guise of Shia confederation.

Abdel-Aziz Al Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, SCIRI, an Iranian-sponsored outfit, has called for the establishing of an all- Shia enclave in the south. This, if it happened will be the second practical step to divide Iraq. Kurdistan being the first.
( Hakim)

To facilitate this, Iranians are living in Iraq by the hundred of thousands, particularly in the south and in the city of Najaf area, an unthinkable feat just few years past. Other Arab states stand powerless to influence these events in Iraq, even America is powerless in this regard and there is nothing it can do to change it.

Vali Nasr, Iranian author of the “ Shia Revival” a Mediocre book of polemics touting Shia-Persian nationalism as a new basis of identity for Arab and Pakistani Shias under the leadership of Iran, describes the smashing of the former Iraqi state and establishing a new “ Shia” order by using the term “opening” of Iraq, an old Islamic term used when conquering new territories. According to this view which is being fermented in the halls of power in Tehran and the religious seminaries in Qom and Najaf, other Arab countries are at risk of being “ opened” or conquered particularly those countries with restive Shia populations, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, whom Nasr described its ruling family as a “ Sunni settlers” alluding to Iran’s territorial claims and ambitions for the Island country.

For " Sunnis" in Iraq, they would still identify themselves in Iraqi national terms and its overlapping larger sense of identity of being "Arabs" and "Muslims", and with the rest of Arabs in other Arab countries, without the narrow secterian bagage.

Israel stands to be the other beneficiary of the new Shia order in Iraq and the emerging Shia nationalism.

For Israel, Iraq has been removed as a powerful Arab country, now reduced to rubbles, thanks in part to the Iraqi Shias who rode America’s military might and enabled Israel in addition to Iran, to eliminate the possibilities of Iraq becoming a powerful industrial State.

Zbigniew Brzeninsky, President Carter former national security advisor, testified on February 1,at a hearing of the Senate Foreign relations committee said that in responding to Senator Joseph Biden that he can imagine several hidden motives for the war in Iraq:

“ One would be to gain American domination over the region’s oil, to put it very simplistically. Another could be to help maximize Israel security by removing a powerful Arab state. Another one could have been simply to get rid of an obnoxious regime with which the United States had accounts to settle going to back to 91 including the alleged assassination attempt against president Bush senior, there could be a variety of motives. But the official motives were weapons of mass destruction.”

Bob Inglis breaks with neo-cons

Published: Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 2:00 am , Greenville News, South Carolina

Inglis made a courageous break with the 'neo-cons'

Iraq is worse off today, with U.S. helping shape the country into Iran's banana republic.

By Ali Alarabi

Fourth District Congressman Bob Inglis' decision to vote in favor of a nonbinding resolution against sending more U.S. soldiers to Iraq, and the controversy that erupted afterward here in Greenville, highlights the growing and healthy debate over the war in Iraq.

When I met Congressman Inglis late last year to discuss with him his opinion on issues of the Middle East, he showed genuine desire for a stable, safe and democratic Iraq and real concern for the safety and well being of American troops fighting there especially after he himself went to visit with the U.S. troops in Iraq last year.

He was an enthusiastic supporter of democracy and freedom in Iraq, and I am sure he still is. Congressman Inglis, however, deserves our full support for his courageous decision to break with the neo-cons over this war that has, as he put it," led us to slaughter." There is no need for more young American soldiers to die in this un-winnable war.

Untold billions of U.S. dollars went towards shoddy reconstruction projects. More billions of Iraqi oil money were looted by the new Iraqi Shia leaders who turned out to be even worse than Saddam ever was. Before this war, Iraq had no terrorist presence on its soil and was a secular modern state despite Saddam's brutality and criminality.

Today, sad to say, Iraq has become a medieval, intolerant republic of hatred and horror ruled by anachronistic ayatollahs, and it has become a proving ground for terrorists of all kinds. Al-Qaida terrorists operate a daily horror show by killing innocent civilians, both Shias and Sunni. Shia death squads and terrorist groups such as the Mahdi Army and Badr Brigades rape Muslim women and destroy Muslim mosques.

Iraqi government troops and security forces also rape women, and engage in kidnapping, murder and slaughtering of innocent civilians. The reason for the proliferation of terrorism in Iraq is that the United States supported a sectarian Shia rule in Iraq instead of maintaining an Iraqi national identity that is not based on religious and ethnic background. After the fog of war had subsided and Saddam's regime had collapsed, the Shia organizations descended upon Iraq (from Iran) like vandals looting the booty.

Nowhere on their mind was rebuilding a democratic Iraq and reconciliation. Judging by their performance in the past three years, revenge and blood was their mantra. The major problem with sending American soldiers into harm's way is that they are going to support an Iraqi government that sees itself as strictly Shia government beholden only to Iran next door.
The sectarian Shia rule in Iraq has more or less become the United State's Achilles' heel.


On Dec. 12, 1983, terrorists bombed the U.S. and French embassies, along with other facilities in Kuwait City. Seventeen people were arrested and as it turned out that they were from an Iraqi Shia terrorist group called Al-Dawa that bombed the U.S. embassy on behalf of Iran. Al-Dawa Shia party is the current Iraqi Prime minister Nouri Maliki's ruling party in power in Iraq today.

Recent U.S. news reports uncovered that one of those terrorists convicted in that bombing is a current member of the Iraqi parliament. This does not even stop there, other Shia groups such as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), headed by Abdel Aziz- Al Hakim, is another organization in power in Iraq, that was founded and financed, and its militias trained and equipped, by Iran.

Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army is another Shia terrorist group that has killed Arabs, Muslims and Christians, and bombed mosques. These actions serve the narrow sectarian Shia interests and eventually the interests of their pay masters in Tehran.


Perhaps one would find so many moral arguments in favor of removing Saddam Hussein from power, and rightly so. However, according to recent published U.N. report on the war in Iraq, it said that over 750,000 Iraqis were killed as a direct result of war, ethnic and religious violence. Moreover, there are over 2 million Iraqi refugees in neighboring Syria and Jordan.

Millions of other Iraqis can barely make ends meet, while their leaders loot the riches of their country. The situation today is far worst than it was under Saddam's regime. What needs to be done in Iraq today is for the U.S. government to stop the ongoing process of transforming Iraq into Iran's banana republic, or the "Iranification of Iraq," and thus force the Iraqi Shia leadership to dissolve their own militias and terrorists groups and rebuild Iraq for all Iraqis -- Arabs and Kurds, Muslims and Christians.

The revenge of the Shia

( Muqtada Sadr)


Outrage could be the word to summarize the reaction of Arabs and Muslims across the Arab world and beyond to Saddam's gruesome execution by the Iraqi Shia leadership.

Images of Saddam being taunted as he was being led to his death by men loyal to Muqtada Sadr, leader of anti-Arab and Muslim death squads were audible and broadcasted across the Arab world on Aljazeera and on the internet.

Later on it was revealed by Iraqi sources that Muqtada himself was present at the execution along with Muwafaq Rubie, who allegedly was the one who taped Saddam's execution on his cell phone. Rubie is the national security adviser to Nouri Maliki.

Despite the fact that the Iraqi law says that the president and/or his vice president should sign the death warrant of Saddam and that the condemned should not be executed on a holiday.

But It was the Prime Minister, however, Nouri Maliki, who signed off on Saddam execution and sent him into the hands of the feared death squads of the Mahdi Army on a revered Muslim holiday.

The presence of non-government personal at the execution were clear violations of the new Iraqi law put forth to govern the Iraqis by Paul Bremer the former American ruler of Iraq.

The irony of all this was that the Iraqi Shia's leadership has committed exactly the same atrocities they accused Saddam of, and by some accounts it has committed in the span of 3 years far more crimes, mass murder, and religious and ethnic cleansing against Muslims and Arabs in Iraq, than the entire Baath party rule of Iraq which lasted over 35 years.

For example, according to US figures and press reports, Muqtada Sadr's Shia Army has killed thousands of Arabs and Muslim Iraqis,and acts of rape, and blowing up of Mosques were the bread and butter of the Mahdi Army.

Press accounts has also reported that Iraqi PM has asked and gotten the permission of the Shia religious class. Men like Ali Sistani, the Iranian religious leader who exerts an almost total control over Iraq. Sistani's power is such that no current Iraqi official can take a major step without consulting with the Iranian Ayatollah, thus making him a de facto ruler of the new Iraq.

In the midst of Shias boisterous celebrations over the execution of Saddam, Iraqi PM Maliki and other Shia leaders were quick to declare that they hoped for a closure and that the execution was necessary for Iraq to move forward!

The problem with Malikià assertions, however, is that Saddam had been in Jail for three years and Iraq had moved forward ever since Iraqi Shia changed its national character from a national state, that is an Arab and a Muslim one, into just a Shia state, anti Arab and anti Muslim. A state bent on revenge and destruction so as to hasten the return of the Mahdi,a messianic figure, who will come back at the end of days.

According to Shia political theology, Imam Mahdi is the 12th and the last descendent of Imam Ali and will reappear at the end of days to rule Earth with Justice, and restore the rule of the Shia over all others. Imam Mahdi, according to the historical record, was 8 years old when he disappeared.

As fr as the popular sentiments across the Arab and Muslim world, the feelings were those of a great insult and trauma in that to see a former head of an Arab state being treated in such humiliating manner and hanged in a manner of pure act of vengeance, not Justice. Despite that Saddam did not have many people in the Arab world who thought kindly of him. But the way he was executed by his Shia executioners were repulsive enough to instill anti-Shia sentiments across the Arab and Muslim world.

The ramifications of this, in historic terms, would be in the way Shias will be viewed and treated in other countries were they are minorities in places such as Pakistan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.


Its worth noting that it was only Iran, Israel, Hezbollah and Australia who cheered and supported the manner of Saddam execution.

The US government,and George Bush himself had rebuked the Iraqi government over its handling of Saddam's execution.

For Iraqi Shias, however, It was a sense of maximum triumphalism, The feelings as seen on TV screens across the Arab world, were almost as if they were killing the ancient Muslim ruler Muawaieh, a reviled figure in Shia religious thought and who and Imam Ali fought over political power in the 7th century.

Imam Ali, a member prophet Mohammad clan and his son-in-law, Shias hold that he and his sons were appointed by God to rule over all Muslims and by extension over Planet Earth.

Those ancient anti-Muslim, anti Arab sentiments were expressed by many Iraqi officials. Sadeq Mousawi an Iraqi PR official,based in London, declared on Aljazeera, on the Opposite Direction show, in the week after the execution, that Iraq will always remain an Alid ( or Aliwite) state in other words Mousawi was saying Iraq is now finally a Shia state, a non-Muslim, non Arab state.



Despite that Shiaism was a political movement in its origins which in later on acquired a theology and intellectual argument centuries after the death of Ali and his sons Hasan and Hussein.

Interestingly,Mousawi statement has revealed yet another famous Shia doctrine,that is Concealment in that Shias are authorized according to their religious beliefs to lie and conceal their true motives and opinion. The Arabic word for this doctrine is Taqiyya.

Surly Saddam's regime did not accord any shred of dignified death to his countless innocent victims, Shias and Sunnis, nor did he have any mercy over his subjects, but the New Iraq was born, supposedly,to rid the country and Iraqis from the same legacy they are committing now. Acts of terrorism, rape and murder in the name of Ali and Hussein are being committed on daily basis in Iraq.

Interesting facts about Saddam's execution:

It's worth noting that Saddam place of execution was the headquarters of Fifth Military intelligence Unit, which in his days was responsible for anti-Iranian counter intelligence, and espionage operations in Iraq. In other words the choice of this place was intended to extract an Iranian revenge up to the last minute of his life. And why not, The Iraqi Shia political and religious ruling class according to Arab press, is more or less an extension of Iran. Most of the current Iraqi Shia leadership,had lived, trainedequippedd andfinancedd by Iran before they assumed power in Iraq.

Ali Sistani,the Ayatollah sitting in Najaf and who hold the biggest power in Iraq is such example and could with few words move hordes of men into certain death to achieve his goals. For Ali Sistani, who was born in Iran, and Identifies himself with it has refused an Iraqi citizenship when it was offered to him when the Shias finally took over Iraq.

For him, his Iraqi followers are just Shia, niether Iraqis nor Arabs. (Hence his refusal to endorse a coalition of Iraqi political coalition that spans ethnic and sectarian lines, his explanation for his refusal was that such an Iraqi alliance would undermine the Shias monopoly of power)

What's next?
Iraq today is a failed state, ravaged by terrorism, sectarian mass murder and official corruption and plunder of state resources. The end for all this is not clear, Shia death squads roam the streets of Baghdad killing men and women based on their names and identity cards. While Sunni militants and terrorists are murdering innocent Shias.

But whats clear, however, is that the Iraqi government is not doing anythingmeaninfulll to stop this insanity, worst, thisgovernmentt is often times is seen as a willing participant and an accomplice in the frenzy of murder and destruction.

Sunni and Shia Iraqis who were just few years ago each other's neighbor and their fellow Iraqi citizen,today, thanks to the new rulers of Iraq, are murdering each other day and night.


( Iraq's Iranian Ayatollah Ali Sistani)

whats in the Turkey!

( Ottoman Sultan)

It’s Thanks Giving, and for Americans it means a national day where the whole family gathers to celebrate this national holiday by eating a Turkey.

While it is known that Thanks Giving is celebrated to commemorate the original settler’s survival in the New World.
But where did the name “Turkey” come from? What kind of relation the name Turkey has to do with the country of Turkey?

Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis wrote in the New York Review of Books in 2003 that the reason Americans or “westerners” named the exotic bird they encountered in the new world “Turkey” because for one it was a strange, exotic and unknown bird to them, and since the Ottoman Empire at the time, the 17th century, was an unfamiliar and exotic landscape for most westerns especially that the Ottoman “Turkish” Sultan was also exotic looking with his colorful turban and attire. So according to Lewis analysis, the Western pilgrims named the exotic unknown bird they encountered “Turkey” because Turkey also represented an exotic unfamiliar place to them.

A Harvard scholar however wrote that Westerners who visited turkey in the 16th and 17th century saw a native Turkish bird called "çulluk" that looks like the Turkey bird however smaller, and when they encountered the Bird in the new world, they mistakenly thought it was the same bird.

But also, there is this theory that explains the reason for the naming mistake by the Europeans was that they called an African bird called now called " Guinea Foul" which came to Europe via Turkey as the "Turkey Cock" hence the name " Turkey" when the encountered the Turkey bird in the New World.

Interestingly, however, the Turks do not call the Turkey” Turkey”, the name for it in Turkish is “ Hindi” from “ Hind” which is India, so it is called the Indian Bird.

The reason is that the Turks thought the Bird was originated in India.

In Arabic the bird is called the Ethiopian bird “ Deek Habash” ( Deek is rooster or bird) because Ethiopia was called Abyssinia and Habash is Arabic for Abyssinia.



In Egyptian Arabic the bird is called “ Deek Roumi” which means a Roman Bird. Perhaps if I follow Bernard Lewis analysis, the Egyptians associated the bird with the westerners or even the Roman Emperor because the Roman Emperor, much like his Ottoman Sultan counterpart sported a crown and colorful attire.

( Charlemagne,Holy Roman Emperor)

In Macedonian Slavic the bird is called simply Misir which means “the Egyptian bird” (Misir, for male bird and Miserika for female) the Arabic word for Egypt is “Misir”

This like going after a wild Turkey chase!

But what do they call this worldly bird in India.

by now I thought India would have the answer to this chase, but to my utter surprise, i found that the bird does not even exist in India.

And I also found that there is no word for it in any of the Indic languages I researched!
Still, i asked few Indians i know about it.and they said that there is no Turkey or a name for it in India.

This is shocking eh!

However,the common theme I found when digging the archeological eytmology of the word “Turkey” was that in most European languages, the Bird is always called or referred to as an Indian Bird or the bird from India or from the Indian city Calcutta.

The reason for that I think it had to do with the Greeks who originally called it “Indike ornitha” which means Indian Bird.

In polish its called “Indyk” while in Russian its “Indjuk”
while in Portuguese the bird is called “Peru” named after the country Peru.

In Mandarin Chinese it is called the hu ji, which roughly translates into “fire chicken”, while in Japanese it is called shichimenchoo, which means “the Seven-sided bird”

The bird is perhaps truly native to the new World, America, but almost every country and major language in the world named him after another country that thinks is far away and exotic.

The Democrats are here

It is a good day today for the Democrats. With the US national election in full bloom and the Democrats will have clear majority in the US House of representatives while the Senate, with the Democrats picking up three more seats, is still up for grab and it go either way.

The victory for the Democrats is a referendum on President George Bush’s performance and policies during his reign in the past six years.

The War in Iraq was a major factor in the Democratic sweep f the House. The sentiments of the American people were against this war and see it as a killing ground for American troops.

Republican candidates even tried to distant themselves from the unpopular president whose approval ratings kept sinking further with every new poll.

One Republican candidate even ran an add advocating leaving Iraq and “ divide the country if we have to” in order to just get rid of this nagging problem called “ Iraq”

Security and terrorism issues apparently did not top the issues for American voters, which were the Republicans strongest issues. But other domestic issues such as stem cell research, minimum wage and the economy played a major factor in the Democratic sweep of the House.

In the Arab world, the US election was followed very closely, its news topped Aljazeera broadcast as Americans were heading to the polls yesterday. But with Israeli killing off Palestinian civilians by the dozens in the town of Biet Hanoon in Gaza strip for a week now, it was hard for the US elections to remain on top of the news.

The US election will have special meaning for Iraq and its new leaders. Maliki and others in his Shia coalition have so much stock with the Republican administration. Maliki and other Shia leaders wish to see American troops remaining in Iraq until they consolidate their hold on power. But with new Congressional leaders hostile to this war, Maliki has so much to worry about now that the US congress will no longer give him a blank check anymore.

While Muqtada Sadr, the young Shia leader who’s “ Mahdi Army” is implicated in sectarian killings of Sunnis and other Shias, is looking forward for an American withdrawal from Iraq.

For the Palestinians, a democratic Congress might offer a reprieve form George Bush’s “ evangelically driven” policy regarding the Israeli Palestinian issue. Bush’s “ Vision” for peace remained just that, with his base of neo-conservative and evangelical Christians see that Israel has a divine right to occupy the Palestinians areas forever, or until Jesus comes.

The Democrats, however, are no less enthusiastic supporters of Israel than the Republicans. But without the “Evangelical baggage”. Joe Lieberman was reelected senator for Connecticut is a very staunch supporter of Israel and one of the war in Iraq biggest advocates. Despite his wining on an Independent platform, he will be caucusing with the Democrats.

Rham Emanuel, a rising Star Democrat from Illinois will end up holding key leadership position in the new Congress is a duel Israeli/American citizen and had served in the Israeli Army.

It does not look good for Palestinians regardless who is in control of the US Congress. Israel has killed over 80 Palestinian civilians in a week offensive inside the densely packed Gaza strip with no end in sight. The world stared at these tragic massacres retardedly.

The Arab world, Arab commentators argue, would like to see a more balanced approach of the US polices in the Middle East. With Democrats in power in Congress,it might put brakes on or at least slows down President Bush’s more aggressive polices in the Middle East and furthermore hasten the withdrawal of the US troops from Iraq even if that meant Iraq will plunge in a full-scale bloody civil war destroying the entire country, but that would be an Iraqi problem.

The verdict on Saddam

Perhaps history will not be kind to Saddam Hussein, but history, for certain, will register that Saddam was sentenced to death by no less brutal state than his was.

By any respectable legal standards, Saddam’s trial was a joke, a kangaroo court, but the trial was not about legality or about legal justice, it was more like “a reality vengeance show” which is now has become a norm in the tribal Iraqi society.

Iraqis have killed and dragged the dead bodies of their past leaders in the streets of Baghdad since the inception of the modern state of Iraq. Starting with the HashimiteKing Faisal in the 50s all the way until the draconian rule of Saddam took strong hold over Iraq.

No doubt that Saddam has committed grave injustices and crimes against the Iraqi people, and have killed and caused to be killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis. He deserves to be brought justice, the problem however, is that those who are administrating justice were themselves former terrorists and militia leaders who plotted, killed and assassinated Iraqis while Saddam was in power. It is an ironic twist of history.

Nouri Maliki for example, the current Iraqi prime minister himself was a terrorist who attempted to assassinate Tariq Aziz former foreign minister of Iraq during the eighties. His Iran-made-based organization, Dawaa party, has waged military campaign against Iraq from Iranian territory. If Maliki were an American citizen, his past actions (against the state, or the head of the state) would warrant a trial for high treason and he would be executed by American justice standards. He is now, however, a leader of Iraq. What is the difference is really there between him or any other new Iraqi chief and Saddam!

Since Iraqi “ liberation” 650.000 Iraqis were killed according to published reports, a staggering figure for three years worth of democracy in Iraq, and over 18 billion dollars were looted from the Iraqi oil revenues by the new rulers of Iraq. Not to mention that the “ new” Iraq is a failed state where sectarian militias and government death squads fight each other for turf and profits. The new regime cannot say that they are better than Saddam regime or that Iraq today is in better shape than it was under Saddam.

The sad reality is that the innocent victims of Saddam’s crimes, Kurds, Sunnis and Shias were victimized again when their own country is being looted, robbed, and torn into pieces by the new order of power.

Rezko and the Emir of Qatar

UPDATE:Thursday:10-19-2006, 2:30 PM
Tony Rezko had arrived at Chicago O'Hare international airport today and was taken into custody by FBI agents on charges of fraud and extortion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the feds are awaiting the return of Tony Rezko from overseas, a sideshow is opening up about how Tony Rezko made a web of friends and contacts by using them to channel campaign donations to Chicago area politicians and to his friend governor Blagojevich. And ultimately back to him through kickbacks as the indictment alleges.

Rezko’s contacts and partners are not restricted to Arab Americans, his partners include other Americans, which he did business with and as the government alleges conspired with to commit criminal conduct.

Rezko even was trying to get the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, to partner with him in one of his businesses! He was quoted in Springfield newspaper, last year saying, "I'm planning to get him to do business in Illinois," Rezko said of the emir. After the Emir visited Springfield in May of last year.
Rezko told columnist Bernard Shoenburg of the Star Journal Register, a Springfield newspaper, that he is “ friend with the Emir”
The Emir of Qatar later made a $1 million donation to the Lincoln presidential library and Museum in Springfield.This was also reported by Chicago Tribune last year.

( Emir of Qatar)

According to the SJR newspaper in Springfield , Rezko said that he made a trip to Qatar a month before the visit, apparently trying to get the Emir to come to Springfield. And to make the $1 million donation
“The expectation is within three months he will make a donation to the museum" Rezko said then.
This appears to be true to Rezko’s fundraising pattern. Bringing the Emir to come to Springfield,have dinner with the governor and pay a million dollar. A very expensive dinner if you ask me. knowing what we know now about Rezko's "business" methods, most likely he was trying to set the unsuspecting Emir up.

What did Rezko get out of it? It remains to be seen.

Relating to Rezko –Blagojevich affair (Blzko) the Chicago Tribune ran a story yesterday about Khalil Shalabi and how he got a $78000.000 a year state job apparently as a result of his campaign work and fund raising for Blagojevich in conjunction with Tony Rezko. Khalil Shalabi is one of the leaders of the Arab American Democratic Club.

The Arab American Democratic Club was the vehicle through which some members of the Arab community worked through Rezko, to donate and collect money for Blagojevich, and now one can infer from press reports and government indictments that those donations were made with a tacit quid pro quo understanding of all parties involved.

The Arab American Democratic Club, or the Democratic Club as it is known in the community was something like of a black sheep in the Arab community. It was a private club and according to many community leaders I spoke to for this story, the Democratic club hardly had anything to do with the community.

*The Beginning
The Democratic club, started in 1994 by Ray Hanania and others among them were Khalil Shalabi, Samir Khalil, Ayoub Talhami and Miriam Zayed.The DC was organized to help Miriam Zayed who in 1994 ran for election to high school board district 230 in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.

Miriam Zayed, an active community member, well meaning and an honorable lady, did not win.But because of some disagreements among the board members Ray Hanania left and since then it became Khalil Shalabi and Samir Khalil organization.

Ayoub Talhami, now a retired city engineer was, according to many people I talked to, in it in good faith and not for personal gains. He for a long time worked for the City of Chicago, and needed no connections or clout to get a job.

The first time I met Khalil Shalabi was in the early nineties when I went to his business for a story I was writing. I am not too sure what was it about then but Maybe it was about some community squabble!

His activism with Rezko and others in this league had finally paid off in a form of a state job. But because of state’s Inspector General investigations of his professional conduct while on state payroll had recommended his dismissal. “Blagojevich is moving to fire him” The Chicago Tribune reported yesterday.


For Samir Khalil, the first time I met him was at the West 63RD street Chicago Police station when the Commander of whom I was interviewing for a story pertaining to Arab Americans, invited him to sit with us. He owned Ski Insurance agency across the street. That was in the early nineties also. He is now sitting on some fire fighters commission in Palos Hills.
Illinois Board of Election records shows that he made a $1000.00 donation to Blagojevich campaign on 9-21-02.

The Democratic club gave Blagojevich $10,500.00 since 2002 according to state records.

Ali Ata is another member of the Democratic club who had made it all the way to head a state finance commission without having any finance experience, and according to the Chicago Sun-Times investigation earlier this year he actually failed to pay mortgage on a property he owned. He resigned amid state investigation.

( Ali Ata)
According to state records, Ali Ata made a total of $ 81,750.00 donations to political candidates. 85% of it went to governor Blagojevich and his father in law Alderman Dick Mell. Blagojevich got the lion share in the total of $ 65000.00, and 34th Ward Alderman Dick Mell got $4000.00

Ata’s donations to Blagojevich:
6-30-2000----- $1000.00
7-30-2000---- $4000.00
8-20-02----- $5000.00
9-04-02---- $25000.00
7-25-03----- $25000.00
6-20-05---- $5000.00
(source: Illinois board of elections)



Alderman Dick Mell Chicago’s 34th Ward got the total of $4000.00 from Ata.

12-25-02 $ 1000.00
12-29-03 $2000.00
1-19-05 $1000.00
(Source: Illinois board of elections)

(Blagojevich's father in-law,chicago 34th ward alderman, Dick Mell)

The Blzko scandal

(Governor Blagojevich)

Tony Rezko story is making headlines in Illinois because of his powerful web of connections to most of Chicago area politicians, thanks to his donations to their political campaigns.

Since he was indicted last week, no one knows for sure where Rezko is. The FBI said that he was in an Amman Hotel; he also was reportedly in Qatar, where he is believed to be the Emir’s pal.
Rezko could go to his native Syria, and simply not comeback. In addition to his legal troubles, Rezko is in really big financial trouble. His house in the ritzy suburbs of Wilmette has over 3 million dollar lean to GE Capital after defaulting on payments. His businesses are faltering.

Rezko is also being sued by his former friend, also a native Syrian, Semir Serazi for defaulting on a million dollar loan, Serazi secured for Rezko.
Serazi, who heads the Semir and Liyla Serazi educational foundation,a businessman and a noted philanthropist, www.Serazi.com, is seeking 10 million dollars in his lawsuit.

( Semir Serazi)

Joe Duffy. Rezko’s attorney said that Rezko would be back to answer the charges mounting against him.

The question is that if Rezko goes to Syria and end up becoming a fugitive, would the Syrian government turn him in to the US despite that there is no extradition treaty with Syria.?

My guess is that the draconian Syrian government, eager to please, will gladly turn any Syrian in to any government, and might even torture him as a bonus, and a sign of good will to the Americans!

Tony Rezko is in a lot of trouble. The man has accumulated a confusing maze of companies and shell businesses that requires days of connecting them together to get a clear picture of those companies.
Rezko was awarded the "Entrepreneur of the decade " award from the Arab-American Business and professional Association.

( "Entrepreneur of the decade" Tony Rezko)

The main dough in Tony’s business is Pizza, but he was sued by the parent company,. He is also owns 7 Subway sandwich shops on Illinois toll way, thanks to his chummy connections to the governor.

Blagojevich administration was not very friendly to Arab Americans; perhaps it was to Rezko and his friends and associates whom all have gotten cushy jobs after “ donating “ some cash to the political campaign.

During the previous Republican Administration, an Arab American lady, Safia Shillo headed former lieutenant governor, Colleen Wood’s office of ethnic affairs. Safia Shillo was instrumental in helping the community to get access to government to solve social and political problems
Blagojevich came and abolished that office and fired Shillo. But to his credit he appointed other Arab Americans to state boards and commissions!!

The difference however was that those appointees were self-serving and interested in enriching themselves, and have rarely if ever helped or served the Arab American community.

The Blzko scandal is not even new in Chicago politics, which is still basically work the way it worked during Al Capone times but with heavy make-up.

Patrick Fitzgerald the assistant US attorney in Chicago, who is investigating the White House leak of Plame CIA connections, is also investigating City Hall as well as the Governor Mansion in Springfield.

( Governor Blagojevich and Rezko, ABC-7 picture)

Former Governor George Ryan is due to report to prison after the New Year to serve out his jail sentence after being convicted for corruption early this year.

Fitzgerald office has charged over 30 people for corruption in hiring schemes in the City Hall and 20 have been convicted so far.

Also this was not a very unique in the Arab American community. I mean, the City of Chicago has for many years what is called the “ The Advisory Commission on Arab affairs and Human relations” The problem is however is that the overwhelming members of the community, and the average Arab American “Billy Joe Mohammad” have never heard of it, nor have seen its “ helping hand” it’s a ghost Commission.
It is basically Daley’s men! Hardly have they done anything worthy for the community despite the major social, economical, and political upheavals the community had went through in the past few years.

( Mayor Daley)

Rezko’s scandal is just the beginning for the Governor Rod Blagojevich whose trouble started when his own father in law Alderman Richard Mill, one of Chicago's fossilized king makers accused him of corruption and money for jobs schemes after a family feud over business and political turfs.

After all, this is how it all started for former governor Ryan, whose corruption and subsequent conviction looks like a chum change comparing to Blzko scandal.

The rise and fall of Tony Rezko

Antoin “ Tony” Rezko, 51, a millionaire businessman in Chicago area was indicted on allegations that he used his influence with governor Rod Blagojevich to extort money from companies that seek business with the state.

Rezko is a key Blagojevich fundraiser and adviser, and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the governor campaign as well as to other state and city public officials.

The indictment alleges that Rezko along with co-conspirator Stuart Levin attempted to force businesses to pay certain associates finders and consultant fees in the range of millions of dollars before in order to be approved to do business with the state.The scheme according to the indictment and reports in the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Suntimes worked like this:

Tony Rezko because of his influence with the governor recommends certain people to be appointed by the governor on State’s boards, commissions, and agencies who in turn would compel companies that seek to do business with the state to pay finder’s fees to consultants and other intermediary as well as make donations to Blagojevich campaign.

State agencies and Commissions such as the Teachers Pensions Funds have Billions of dollars to be invested. Board members appointed by governor can decided on companies that seek contracts with those commissions.

Some of this money finds its way to Rezko and Levine.
In one such cases the Chicago Tribune reported last Wednesday that:

“In one instance, the indictment alleges that Levine used his influence on the pension board in 2004 to withhold a planned allocation of $220 million in funds unless a kickback of $2 million was paid to a consultant of Rezko's and Levine's choosing or arrange for $1.5 million in campaign contributions to be made to an unnamed public official”

Rezko’s rise to prominence in the past two decades is something of an American dream success story. Born in Halab (Aleppo) Syria and moved to Chicago after high school and graduating from Illinois institute of Technology in degree in Engineering.

Rezko’s businesses and interests are wide and far, from communication company, to inner city rehab company that renovates buildings in low-income areas to Pizza. He reportedly owns between 25-30 Pizza restaurants named Papa Tony’s Pizza, after Papa John Pizza franchise terminated its affiliation with him.

Papa Tony’s Pizza is in financial trouble however, and Rezko might have sold it off.

Tony Rezko was scheduled to appear in court this past Friday but failed to appear due to his travel overseas. The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest. Patrick Fitzgerald the assistant US attorney for the Northern district of Illinois said that he will seek to designate Rizko a “ Fugitive” if he did not appear for last Friday hearing.

Rezko attorney Joseph Duffy, however, was able to convince the judge to give Rezko until the end of this week to make it back to the United Satiates to answer the charges against him.

The FBI in a statement said that Rezko was last know to have been in Amman Jordan and that he check out of his hotel and paid in cash.

Robert Grant Special agent in charge of the FBI, promised more indictments in this federal investigation dubbed “ Operation Board Game”

"This is a gathering storm of an investigation with a goal of rooting out the parasites that have plagued our public institutions," Grant said. "Our investigative efforts and those of our partners are ongoing, methodical, aggressive and relentless."

The Democratic Club
The Democratic club is an Arab American organization in Chicago area, and like its name, it is just a club of wealthy Arab American businessmen who held fundraising events for the democratic governor (last one was 2 weeks ago) and other democratic candidates.

The Democratic club seems to be a Rezko’s creature because some of the principle players in it are close associates of Rezko and were recommended and gotten state jobs by Rezko.

Ali Ata is one such associate and a Democratic club associate and who had gotten himself in a lot of trouble over his appointment to the finance commission without having any finance experience and subsequently resigned amid allegations of misconduct.

Ali Ata’s appointment would fit the pattern made by Rezko and his other associates.
They recommend people to the State jobs in order to personally profit financially and channel some of that money back to elections campaigns.

Arab Americans have long sought inclusion and access to the levers of power in Chicago politics and the state, in part to improve their lot as a community and to participate in the decisions that might effect and shape their lives.

(Ali Ata)

This however, was a scam the community had nothing to do with it nor anyone benefited from it except those who bought themselves jobs with the state.

The democratic club was not a community organization per se, it was a club of people who deliberately seek to make donations to democratic campaigns in exchange for jobs for themselves and their families.

That was the trade off.
Another new organization in the Arab community with an eye on "votes" and " Voting" American Middle Eastern Alliance, is the name of this new organization,www.amvote.org, and is headed by Republican powerhouse, Talat Othman, and Bill Haddad a democratic cook county Judge,some of the members are : Attorney Rohey Shalabi who was appointed by Mayor Daley to the Park Distict, and Shafiq Budran of ADC.Dr.Emil Totanchi, one of the top doctors in chicago area. All of these men I personally know,and highly respect, however, the question is whether such efforts, albeit in good faith, would lead to empowerment of the community or lead to further disenfranchisement. The Rezko scandal should serve us an example that too much power sometimes corrupts the best of men.

We know from experience that Mayor Daley likes to encourage ethnic communities in Chicago to form their own Democratic organizations with the help from City Hall.

We also know that the Hispanic Democratic Organization and its founding leaders the Mayor's Hispanic hands,were under Federal investigation and indictments were issued against some of it leaders accused of corruption, giving city jobs to friends and buddies, muscles voters to vote a certain way, and practically serve as the Mayor's foot soldiers in the Hispanic community.

The Mosque Foundation and the Park district.

In another looming scandal, the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, better known as the Harlem Mosque has decided to make an unprecedented donation of $100-150.000 to the Chicago park district at the former down town airport Meigs Field which was converted (City’s bulldozers plowed the runways in the middle of the night to head off any opposition) into a park by Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

What’s strange about this donation is that it’s coming from a religious institution, a non-for profit entity that depends on donations of the community to run its affairs.
In addition, the Mosque is not in the city of Chicago to begin with, and has nothing to do with the city of Chicago, let alone a park in a down town area.

Opposition to this donation is spearheaded by attorney Omar Najib , an attorney and a voting member of the Mosque foundation.

Najib accuses long time Harlem’s mosque imam, Sheik Jamal Said of forcing this donation on the Mosque board for political and personal reasons.

Sheik Jamal Said is a shrewd fundraiser, under his stewardship; the Mosque has become a multi million-dollar operation. Said is known to have collected millions of dollars from the community. He collected almost 2 million dollars during a month of Ramadan alone. One million dollar in one night and in a span of one hour.!

Attorney Omar Najib told me that he is considering filing a lawsuit against Sheik Jamal Said and attorney Rohey Shalabi to prevent this donation form going through.

Rohey Shalabi is the Mosque attorney and was appointed as a Park district commissioner by Mayor Daley a few years ago.

“ I was told by Mosque members that this donation (to the park district) is a PR for the Mosque” said Omar Najib when I asked him about why would the Mosque make this donation.

But Najib thinks that there are other political reasons behind this donation, which he thinks it has to do with Sheik Jamal Said.

Reshuffling the Cards.Gaza first

(Olmert, Abbas and King Abdullah)
The recent gun fights between Fatah gunmen and Hamas gunmen not only shows the dangerous level of violence that sweeps the Palestinian areas now. The violence that claimed many dead and injured, also shows how bad the political situation has become especially after the election of Hamas to power.

Rioting on streets touting machine guns and torching down government buildings were Palestinian “ anti riot” police who were mostly Fatah loyalists and who were allegedly acting on orders from Fatah leaders to spread chaos and unrest for Hamas government in order to eventually unseat the democratically elected government.

Hamas government, which assumed power with an empty treasury, is facing the daunting task of paying salaries to an army of government employees while facing international pressure and sanctions to force it to recognize Israel.

Adding to this pressure is Abbas collusion with regional and international powers as well as Israel to isolate Hamas and eventually unseat its government.
What’s happening on the streets of Gaza were not simply acts of violence but rather part of a scheme designed to buttress Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah men, and infuse his war chest with tens of millions of hard cash and supply his loyal forces with Israeli and Jordanian weapons for a possible showdown with Hamas militants.

The plan to support Abbas against Hamas comes as part of a larger thinking that wishes to establish a broad regional alliance between Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Abbas to counter another regional alliance that is taking shape between Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah.
( Palestinian "anti riot" police, rioting)

But Hamas is chaotic and not moving forward either, its leadership in Damascus seems to be unwilling to accommodate Abbas or the regional powers other than Syrian and Iran. Hamas in unclear on how it wants to continue govern while it is unable to meet the basic necessities of the people of Gaza and the West Bank. In order to move forward and to stay a viable political power, Hamas has to show some pragmatism on some issues and must shed some of its political rigidity.

US secretary of State Condoleeza Rice who is visiting the region in these days will try to show US support and commitment to such regional alliance which will in the larger scheme of things serve the US interests in the region.
Those interests being:
1. Ensuring the safe flowing of oil at reasonable prices
2. Political stability in the region
3. Continuing unqualified support for Israel

Hezbollah’s recent success against Israeli attempts to smash it or at least weaken it made such alliance an urgent realty that prompted the US administration to call on its allies in the region to play a role in a new,active and "hostile containment" policy against the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas alliance.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions are simply red lines for US policy in the region. At no point will the US live with a nuclear-armed Iran. For the US, a nuclear Iran is like giving a certified nut a machine gun and let him loose on the street. For that, a possible confrontation with Iran is looming before the end of George Bush’s term.

Meanwhile, the Intense violence on Gaza streets should be understood in light of two major events in the region.

1: the press reported a meeting between Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and an “ extremely senior ” Saudi Official. This official some reports speculate to be Prince Bandar Ben Sultan the former ambassador to US and now advising the king on National Security, or the meeting could have occurred with King Abdullah himself. If those reports were true, it would represent a tectonic shift for the Saudi Arabian policy, and underscores the seriousness of the US policy makers intentions not to allow Iran to go nuclear and also shows a yet-offensive US posture in the region.

The Saudis are also playing their own cards in Lebanon through their ally Saad Hariri, a Saudi Citizen, and others in the March 14th movement who oppose Hezbollah.

But the problem for Saudi Arabia in Lebanon, is that it does not have any divisions on the ground, it has no military power or borders with Lebanon, and Syria is in the other camp this time around. Also Israeli internal politics will not permit yet another war, at least in the foreseeable future. Therefore any confrontationS between Hezbollah and the Saudi allies, would smash the later and put Hezbollah in power in Lebanon.

2: Recent meetings at the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba between Abbas, Israeli PM Olmert, King Abdullah, and Mubark confirms that the coordination between those powers is at the highest level and has the current US administration full backing and support.

Elsewhere,the Jordanian government is actively seeking to drive a wedge and possibly split the largest Jordanian opposition bloc, the Muslim Brotherhood, along East Bankers-West Bankers lines, in other words it seeks to isolate pro-Hamas ( a sister organization) groups within the organization through Jordification of the group in line with " Jordan First" slogan.Thus deprive Hamas of local support in Jordan.

This, however, has nothing to do with Jordan in the strategic sense, but it is related rather to the larger regional configurations that are taking place and Jordan is part of it and already on the bandwagon .

For the Palestinians they are in a loose loose situation. They will not reap any major benefits out of their compliance with the new regional formation especially that Olmert is in no mood to dismantle illegal Jewish Settlements in Palestinian lands, and is not ready to allow a viable Palestinian state to emerge. But For Abbas and others in Fatah, this has become a secondary goal.
( A hearty moment)