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September 20, 2005
Corruption, Democracy Building, And The Arab Mindset: Iraqi defense officials have embezzled $1.27 billion
Topics: IraqYou can't be serious; Arabs stealing from Arabs? You can't mean it, tell me it isn't so! We certainly can't be talking about the Iraq that Americans have spilled blood for in an effort to drag that country and it's Muslims into the current century, rid it of a ruthless, corrupt, and murdering dictator, and bring it's people the freedoms inherent in a democracy.
I much rather believe otherwise, yet sadly, we do have one little problem, a 1.27 billion dollar one:
Iraq has depleted its defense procurement budget due to widespread corruption, torpedoing plans to end the military's dependence on the United States.Well, it looks like we are indeed talking about Iraq, where just about everything, except control of the government, is for sale. And it's the government, that is seen as the ultimate scam, a means to steal as much as possible for those in charge. The real problems the Iraqis face are more than dealing with criminals, it's dealing with a criminal (to Western eyes) mentality that pervades much of Iraqi society.An official Iraqi audit said $1.27 billion allocated by the Defense Ministry for military procurement in 2005 was embezzled by officials and suppliers. In a report completed in May, the Board of Supreme Audit blamed the theft on U.S.-appointed senior Defense Ministry officials, including a former defense minister.
So where does this leave us in what amounts to our "hopes and prayers" along with having expended so many dollars, plans, and lives in order that Iraq and Arabs throughout the Middle East can have better lives, more personal freedoms, and a voice in their destiny? Probably treading water, unless the ever-present, everlasting Arab mindset can be reformed.
However, according to Abdallah Bin Bejad al-'Utaybi the Arab mindset seems captive to four mythical ideas: dignity, fantasy, apocalyptic discourse, and conspiracy theories, to which I add, a penchant for corruption. Another Arab writer has even said that "Eastern and Central European societies have managed to transition from totalitarianism to democracy within a decade, while the Arab countries continue to fight history." And unfortunately, corruption is "An Integral Part of Life in Arab States & Iran."
Not long ago, Egyptian strategist Abdel Monem Said wrote: "the West's urgent question now is: can the Arabs be reformed?" He pointed out that Eastern and Central European societies have managed to transition from totalitarianism to democracy within a decade, while the Arab countries continue to fight history. Abdallah Bin Bejad al-'Utaybi attempted to analyze the Arab mindset, and concluded that it is captive to four mythical ideas: dignity, fantasy, apocalyptic discourse, and conspiracy theory. (Al-Ittihad, 8/15).As Dr. Abdul Hamid al-Ansari wrote in his piece, "The "Arab Mindset" and the Art of Evasion and Self-Deception,"As for Mamoun Fandi, he concluded that the Arabs cannot hope for a real democracy, and that the best they could hope for is a good and tolerant tribal Sheikh who will accept the participation of various tribes in the decision-making. This is the history of the Arabs and the mindset that has ruled for thousands of years through kinship ties and the tribal system. (Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, 8/15).
Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Saleh asked this painful question in his book: "does the future even need the Arabs?" Meanwhile, in an artcile last March, Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar analyzed the phenomenon of terrorism, and pointed out that they are rooted in the dominant culture [of the Arab world]: "murder, slaughter and human rights violations are constant headlines. Worse, they committed by organizations that claim the mantle Islam and Jihad, and are not met with the proper level of condemnation and rejection from religious authorities." (Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat, 3/12).
Dr. Badriya al-'Awdi wrote a column wondering whether "terrorism [has] become the fate of the Arab?" And a large number of lamenting Arabs even go so far as to say that we were better off under "foreign rule" than the "nationalist" rulers of today.
The world has changed drastically, but we haven't. We refuse change and resist it. All the developments on the international scene have not been able, so far, to push the "Arab mindset" to reform and revise its practices. Neither have the series of Arab defeats succeeded in bringing the "Arab mindset" towards self-criticism and review. Instead, it has only become more adept at maneuvering and wiggling.Meanwhile, another 1.27 billion dollars have gone down the drain in Iraq, stolen by Arabs, and they did it as easily and undetected as those Arabs that stole that Jewish goat herd.Bitter defeats suffered for half a century under authoritarian revolutionary regimes, successive terrorist operations and the suffering of Arab peoples combined have not sufficed to change the Arab mindset! It remains intransigent and stubborn, be it in its "nationalist" or "religious" façade. It continues to maneuver and deceive - itself and its adherents.
The Belmont Club has more commentary and is heavy on the details of the corruption.
Posted by Richard at September 20, 2005 9:25 PM
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- Corruption, Democracy Building, And The Arab Mindset: Iraqi defense officials have embezzled $1.27 billion - Sep 20, 2005
