"Poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United States” by Jamil Shawwa

In late 19^th century, The US president Monroe, decided to side with the Mexican leader Benito Juárez against the French intervention and against the Mexican royalists forces led by Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg- the royal Austrian family. 

Before that and since then, America’s strategic interest in a stable Mexico was engraved in stone.  Another Mexican president, General Diaz once said “ poor Mexico, so far from God, and so close to the United State”  He was not referring to a state of war or any animosity against America, but a reality of being a neighbor of the mighty power and at the same time being a leader of a corrupt society, the Mexican society. 

In a related statement, President Salinas in 1993 said that an Israeli friend of his once told him” Poor Israel, so close to God and so far from the United Sates.” In the early 1990s, America poured an immediate Fifty Billion Dollars to save Mexico from Bankruptcy. In 1847, The United States invaded Mexico and entered Mexico City. Actually many Americans at that time wanted to annex the whole country and make it part of the United States. 

Conservative Americans at the time feared the Spanish population would affect the demographic balance in America.  America "just" wanted the territories by the border, which included California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. America paid $15 million dollars, much more than we paid the Russians to buy Alaska in the same era. Both purchases of course showed the genius visions of American politics.

The strategic and financial importance of Alaska and the Mexican territories are beyond words and imagination to describe. 

Mexico right now is in turmoil, gangs in the streets, people are unsafe, the economy is crumbling and the Mexican Harvard graduate presidents cannot save the country. America will not allow Mexico to fail, but America is watching right now, helping with billions of dollars each year to fight drug trafficking and to secure the borders. 

The issues are much deeper than just sending troops to the border, Mexico is in revolt right now and it is revolting against the elite party rulers, and revolting against the government corruption and revolting against the fraudulent elections. 

Mexico wants to drop the Harvard graduates for more indigenous type of leaders in the material of Diaz and Juarez. The current president, elected in 2006 for a one term in office of six years and came from an elite political family, Calderon, really did not win that election fair and square but his opponent the most popular now in Mexico, Señor Obrador. 

The information I got from Mexico though not confirmed by open sources, media, etc., is telling an untold story, to me at least, that the daily murders in the Mexican cities and towns are not related to gangs or drugs but related to under cover resistance to the manipulation of the political party elite that Calderon and the PAN party represents.  

Since 1920s, another historic party *PRI manipulated the political life and most presidents came from it. There has been an unholy alliance between the political politburo and the military to help each other, let the politicians play the game of politics and let the military run the corruption. 

The Mexicans are fed up, they at the same time will not allow the likes of Chavez in Venezuela or Morales in Bolivia, the famous populists demagogues to rule; Mexico is much more civilized to allow such a grand deterioration to it’s class. 

America is thinking of building a fence along it’s borders with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants and drug trafficking but the idea probably will not fly, America does not like concrete fences, although I personally believe that good fences make good neighbors. 

The solutions to Mexico are tough, the society is corrupt, and I am not saying the Mexicans, just the culture in general, the style. The president is elected once for six years, so no motivation for him or her to build a legacy. Mexico in my opinion needs to do the following, it is already a federal system, it needs to copy -it will work- the United States form of government that is the only solution. 

The two societies are so interacted, so intermingled. The Hispanic population in America is growing and languages mainly will be English and Spanish.   It all starts by cleaning up the political system, and only popular leaders can do that, and I say popular and not populists. 

Mexico right now is behind Brazil and Argentina in the importance on the Latin hierarchy, but Mexico in my opinion, has the ingredients to be in the same class as Asian countries, to be like America or Canada might not be easy, their culture is more tuned to that in the Middle East, Spain, and Asian style, that does not mean that it cannot be successful. 

It is very strange, the Mexicans love their country, very proud of it, but at the same time they know how corrupt it has been. It is also a very superstitious society, a society that believes in the conspiracy theory as a way to interpret politics and world affairs. In the center of the capital, Mexico Federal, there a huge tall monument called, Angel de la Independencia, that they believe will help them to prevent another invasion from the United States. It is so ironic, that Angel is surrounded by American hotels and American companies. The Mexicans sleep and wake up dreaming or fearing an American invasion. They will never admit though, they more dream of it than fear it.

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* Google historic information

Scratch my Back, and I might Scratch yours, A Contract with The Ruler " by Jamil Shawwa

Tip O'Neill, the former speaker of the United Sates House of Representatives once said and since then has been quoted numerous times that all politics is local. In the Arab countries, all politics is foreign. O'Neill was referring that during elections, no matter what happens around the world, the American people will make the final choice or judgment based on how they feel their government is doing internally. Not in The Arab countries, in the Arab countries, it is all  about how they are perceived outside their borders. The Arab countries right now are the presidents and the kings and the princess, and noting else. There are no people there, over 350 million human beings count to nothing. Therefore, when you talk about the Arab World, or the twenty-five Arab countries in the Middle East, and North Africa, you really talk about twenty-five persons that you need to deal with and you must ignore the rest, which is the 350 millions; imagine.  I have few examples- maybe because these have the potential in leading a change- that highlight this tragedy in the Arab countries, and by the way, many of these millions of ignored humans like it that way, they like to be ignored domestically, and they like their leaders to focus on foreign policy. In short, it is as if I will ignore you out side the country and you ignore me-to a certain degree of course- inside. I have Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Morocco, there are peace treaties with Israel- Jordan and Egypt officially and the Palestinian authority- the king and the president are all over the place, very popular and regular guests on world-class programs, domestically, its another story, you have a very primitive political process that boils down to few parties including the Muslim Brotherhood that talk about fighting and boycotting those that deal with Israel and in the same time their king and president meet and have lunches and dinners with Shimon Peres, and Ehud Barak and Bibi Netanyahu. The locals separate between the king, the president, and the rest of the country including the government. What is allowed to the king and the president is not allowed to the masses. It is ok for the king and the president to deal with the Israelis, to make peace with them, to have lunches and dinners, but it is not ok for anyone else in the country. The ultimate hypocrisy and the ultimate lack of civility that has engulfed the Arab world since the Turks, the Ottoman Empire, drilled inside its conscious the art of pretentious and the art of self-deceit and the art of self deceive. In Jordan and Egypt, in Morocco and Syria they say, the king and the president know better, they know politics and that Jordan and Egypt have to do this or that, to survive, that Jordan is surrounded by Syria, Iraq and Israel and the worst, a Palestinian population that consists of 70% of the population and that population in big chunks does not like the Hashemite. In Jordan, the biggest fear is none but the Palestinians. Domestically, immature political parties quarrel, talk about the price of gas, the winter and the price of bread, and the ruler loves it that way. They talk about boycotting this or that, they burn flags of this country or that; no creativity, no leadership, just ghosts in the streets with long fake beards and pretentious personalities. In the Arab countries, there are just two layers of humans, the ruling party and the masses, and they are not connected, but they both like it. Again, the ruler says, let me handle the outside, and I will let you play around domestically, I will give you enough room to talk, to scream, to yell, to accuse, to terrorize the rest, that is verbally only of course, and in exchange, let me handle the foreign policy, let me make peace with Israel, I know better. The ruler in the Arab world is blackmailing the masses and the masses are ok with it. Egypt with over 79 millions has been just talking about Mubarak’s successor for the past ten years. In the mid 80s, Egypt did not recognize its great writer- Naguib Mahfouz- until Noble prize awarded him its prize for the literature, only then, the Egyptian president met him at the presidential palace and bestowed upon him the Nile Medal, Egypt’s highest honor for civilians. See, the Arabs are not naive, the people know everything but they have developed this sense of acceptance since the biggest oppressors, the Turks, injected them with sense of humiliation and defeat, that is in order for you to survive you have to teach your kids to stay away from politics, to leave politics to those that understand it, that there is a ruling class that knows better how to deal with the outside world. Do not feel sorry for the Arab masses, they accepted this contract, and they signed it and they put their stamp on it. The observers from outside wonder about the contradictions between the king and the president and the masses. In Egypt, over 79 million Egyptians might be trying to do something else, there might be a movement in Egypt, that is a popular movement that is starting to question the ruler, his perceived wisdom, and maybe they are questioning as  why the leaders are fine outside their countries and they are terrible inside. Morocco is the same, here is another Arab country that has it's people wondering the streets of America and Europe aimlessly, why... they are running out, why, there is a very elegant monarchy, the resources are abundant, beautiful landscape, but the people are running, they are fleeing the country as if there is a plague. Let us not go to Yemen, and other countries; just duplicate what I just said and change the name of the country. The same applies to the 25 Arab countries and over 350 million people. In the 1950s 1960s of the last century, the ultimate face of the Arab defeat, Gamal Abdel Nasser, told the Arabs to wake up, to reject humiliation and to be proud. Abdel Nasser actually was the one that complimented the Turks job, and suppressed every sense of creativity the Arabs might had, he destroyed a nation that was thriving, Egypt, and he destroyed other nations, Syria, the Palestinians and Lebanon. Abdel Nasser, if there were justice and if he were still alive, he would stand trial for such crimes. But he is not the only one, every Arab president, king or prince has contributed to the demise of the Arab countries. Now, I must say, that there is no other choice but democracy, no more excuses; the Arab rulers love Israel, you know why, because they have Israel to hang on and to explain all their failures, anything that does not go well, the Arabs say, because of Israel. No respect to their people whatsoever. No dignity. But again, the masses are doing the same; they also are hanging their failures in everything on the rulers. See, it is a marriage between the ruler and the masses that both hate and love in the same time but no one wants to get a divorce...

*A Station in a Journey…..Midnight thoughts to Her…by Jamil Shawwa

She: you had to ruin it by asking all these questions, by putting me on the spot.

He: I cannot help it, I have to ask questions that I think of, I have to share what is in my mind, with those that I care about…

She: I told you indirectly to play the game and see how it goes

He: and I told you before, indirectly, that I am not good at it, I am new to it

She: here we are at a deadlock, I will not answer and you will not budge

He: I care, that is why I will not budge

She: what do you mean by that

He: I could have played the game, probably, and probably it could have led to something but it would have been against my nature

She: what is your nature

He: I am not a politician, I cannot filter my thoughts, although when talking politics or pretending that I know something about the political game, I do filter my thoughts, but I do that for the sake of the ultimate goal, objectivity.

She: why then you could not do the same, why you could not pretend that you know the game of conversation and continued on it; we had a ball, it was so amusing. You are just not clever

He: my point exactly, it was not amusing to me, and it was not a race to prove if I were clever or not; it was about the real thing, I cannot deal with just words, or abstracts for long, I have to deal with real feelings and real persons.

She: I am real

He: I am too

She: what is next for us

He: not sure, maybe the silence and watching each other from far, from a distance, will bring us back together again…

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*Disclaimer:

Any resemblance with real persons or situations is a mere coincidence. For entertainment purposes only.

A Story...The 10 year- Old- Boy In Jerusalem......by Jamil Shawwa

Time: 7:30 AM, A day in October 1974.
Place: the boarding school house at the YMCA, Ramallah, the West Bank.

The little 10 years old boy is waiting for the school bus to collect him from that boarding house to his school in Jerusalem; the distance is about 10 miles or 17 kilometers. He was holding two books; the first one was for one of Israel's most distinguished political and military writers, Ze'ev Schiff, about Israel during the 1973 October war, just fresh out of the presses, and the second was for one of Egypt’s most eloquent political writers, Mohamed El-Tabei, about the events that led to the 1952 Military coup and later on the end of the Muhammad Ali royal dynasty rule in Egypt. That boy loved to read, and now he loves to write, what a dilemma... The yellow bus arrived, the boy climbed the few steps, took his usual seat by the window and to the journey to Jerusalem. His parents put him in that school in Jerusalem, about 100 kilometers or 80 miles away from Gaza where his home and family were and lived. The bus driver and his assistant as usual were fighting, not sure over what but they used to fight all the time.

The bus started rolling through the narrow streets of Ramallah, and passed by The Friends School and to the mountain road to Jerusalem. The 1973 war just ended, and the name of the king of Jordan was not to be found or mentioned; it has been like this since the 1967 war. No one dared even his closest allies and money collectors to open their mouth with one word to praise him-publicly- or at least be fair to him. To the masses, he lost the Eastern part of Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 war that he did not want to enter, and he did not want to participate. Wisely, of course, he did not go to war in 1973; otherwise, the East Bank would have been lost and it would have been the end of the Hashemite from their last resort.

One little boy did not care about all this politicking, the ten years old boy. The first time he passed by a beautiful unfinished palace on a beautiful hill in the suburbs of Jerusalem, he asked, for why it is not finished, when it will be finished and to whom it belongs. The whole bus went into silence, you could even hear a needle drop, just frightened looks and then came the big answer, a long, loud Hushhhhhhhhh; it belongs to King Hussein; a “courageous” student whispered, the king of Jordan then. That boy very innocently asked about something he felt beautiful but unfinished , and since then, he kept track of beautiful things- from his perspective- in life. He did not think politics, games, wearing different hats for different occasions and audiences; he just threw it out there.

The Story of Jordan is the king and the King is Jordan, period. Their core and heart and soul of their post 1948 political existence was uprooted when they listened to the voices of hypocrisy and demagoguery that came from, at that time, the capital of hypocrisy, Egypt's Nasser, from the second capital of Hypocrisy, Syria’s Baath and from the emotional charge that Nasser deceivably electrified the Arab countries calling for war on Israel. Of course, the Arabs just talked and screamed their lungs out while Israel took action, very smart- any other country in its position must have done the same thing- preemptive strikes and defeated three Arab countries, took Sinai, The Golan, The West Bank, and the Gaza strip.

The king knew then as the current one knows-his son Abdullah- that he will never again be the king of Jerusalem. The talk now is a two state solution, the State of Israel and the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital of both. The Hashemite might continue to oversee the religious sites for Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem but nothing more. Jordan is Jordan and Palestine and Israel are Palestine and Israel.

The Hashemite are popular among the Jordanians Bedouins, the backbone of the military and the backbone of the royal family. The Hashemite, originally, the rulers of Mecca and Hejaz until the early of the 20th century when the House of Saud kicked them out of power and established the modern- of course I’m using the word modern here loosely to describe an era but not actual modern mentality or anything from that sort- Saudi Arabia. They, the Hashemite, went on to rule Syria, Iraq, and Jordan; they were murdered in a bloody coup by bloody officers in Iraq in 1958 and before that, they were thrown out of power from Syria. They are in Jordan now. I personally want to see them to continue to rule Jordan, but Jordan is tough, with over 70% of the demography, originally Palestinians, the poverty, and the rumors of ongoing government corruptions, and the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious organization, disguised as a political party. I have to stick to my style though, the monarchy continues in Jordan but as a constitutional monarchy like in England. As a matter of fact, the mother of the king of Jordan is English, and in Jordan, they say that he speaks English better than Arabic; to me this is not an insult actually. Let us wait and see, it is not easy for the Hashemite, it has never been easy for them. The bus has arrived, and it is time for that boy to go to his first class, Mrs. Aabdin, the English teacher, is waiting.

*When the Lion Roars; Meowwwww...... by Jamil Shawwa

Bashar AL-Assad did not expect that life-changing phone call in the middle of a London cold night in 1994 telling him that a plane is in its way to bring him back to Syria at once. His older brother, Basil, has just had a fatal accident driving his ultra modified Porsche, some say Mercedes, on a mountain road in the fogy surroundings of the capital Damascus. It was a destiny he did not want and did not prepare for. All he wanted to be is an eye doctor. He is in love with the British born, originally Syrian, Queen’s and King’s Colleges graduate Asma Al-Akhras, from the majority Muslim Sunnis of Syria. Now the doctor is being groomed to rule the ever-tricky politics and country of Syria. The clan is calling, the Alawis, the rulers of Syria since 1970. His father- Hafiz Al-Assad- ruled Syria with an iron fist, some say that he did not have other choices; he was like Stalin in the Soviet Union. In 1982, the Muslim Brotherhood took over the Syrian city of Hama, Hafiz Al-Assad did not hesitate, surrounded the city and ordered the military to uproot the rebellion, thousands were killed; estimated at 20,000, but the clan survived. In Syria, the loyalty is to the system, to the Alawis, if you do a mistake in Syria and you are in high office or place- you do not resign, you commit suicide or being invited to commit a suicide. This is the Alawis style in covering up for the family and the clan. In 1967, three Arab countries stupidly waged a war against Israel, they lost, and Syria lost the Golan Heights, Hafiz Al-Assad was the minster of defense. In 1970, he took over in a coup d’état, removed a weak and an idiot president, from an elite Syrian Sunni family, Al-Atassi, and declared a new era in Syria. He led what he called a Corrective Movement, correct what, until now, nobody knows, but him. In 1975 under an Arab cover and the approval of both Israel and the United States, he entered Lebanon to stop a crazy civil war, became an occupier and stayed there until 2005 when the US ordered him- Bashar, the son- to leave at once following the assassination of the Lebanese Muslim Sunni leader and former prime minster, Al Hariri. Bashar Al-Assad became president in 2000 following the passing of his father and was immediately confronted in 2001 with the terrorists’ attacks on America and the Bush doctrine, which is either with us or against us. In 2003, his archenemy, yet partner, in the Baath fascist party, Saddam Hussein was removed from power, and Al-Assad became alone in the Baath system. Al-Baath party is a party that covers itself with Pan-Arab slogans, but in fact, it is a party that preaches secret rituals of how few can rule the many through oppression and manipulation of course, otherwise, if done democratically; then it is no problem at all for a minority to rule a majority. That party was founded by a Christian Syrian by the name of Michel Aflaq. Again, the party and the system are based on the Mafia style of justice and brutality and on the Mafia style that is all in the family and for the family and by the family. Al-Assad the father played his cards very well, and managed the cold war era but got lost when the Soviet Union collapsed, but again he regained the importance through managed and calculated alliances with the so called forces of extremism in the Middle East, and by being available to manipulate the politics in Lebanon, a country that money buys loyalty and a country where also the clan comes first and the country comes fourth. During the Iraqi-Iranian war of the 1980s, he aligned himself with the Iranians, both are minorities in the midst of the Arab Sunni countries, both are from the Shiite sect and both until now have all the interest to be together. Accordingly, his participation in the Kuwait liberation was very understandable, he did not do it for Kuwait but against Iraq and the need to share and participate in the US efforts as needed. Following that liberation war, there was the first peace conference, Al-Assad attended, with Israel, representatives of the Palestinians, Egypt and Jordan. He later on allowed his loyal Sunni foreign minister, later vice president Farouk al-Sharaa to meet the Israeli prime minister at the time Ehud Barak in Washington under the supervision of President Clinton. The Golan Heights is a beautiful landscape that is less than 30 miles away from the Syrian capital. Israel is there and can see the capital whenever needed, and Al-Assad knows that of course. He wants the Golan back, eventually he will get it but only through peace, and Al-Assad knows that too. It is a regime that is based on the need to do basis. In 2005, I wrote that Syria’s Baath is in its way out; its logic, verbiages and statements prey on the emotions of the masses, the disillusioned, the deceived, the naive, for the rest, it has no substance or respect and far away from anything that is democratic or normal. I mentioned then that the oppressive and manipulative pretentious ideology of the Baath could not make it survive or continue to exist. I forgot then that logic does not-always- go side by side with politics, and if Al Baath is gone from Iraq, it does not mean that it needs to go now from Syria. As for Al-Assad family, I think it will stay not sure for how long. As for Lebanon, Syria will never be allowed to go back again. Of course, anyone probably knows that Al-Assad does not dare to move a finger before getting the necessary regional and international approvals, which is good, and it means that he knows how to play the game of politics in The Middle East. Actually, the relations are really more of mutual interests rather than someone telling the other what to do. But if that someone or that somebody does not know what is best for them or is not willing to be pragmatic, flexible and be aware of the bigger picture and the regional formulas and interests, then that someone needs to go, and if it is the case, it would go now, and not tomorrow. Al-Assad is very aware of that formula and is happy with it.





*Assad is Lion in English.