The surprise is that the State of Qatar was, according to all the standards, proved open and capable of celebrating the rich diversity of people.
It was remarkable to see Qatar also as a “tourist” country, with all basic connotations of the word present in modern societies. The scene of the celebrations through the streets of the capital Doha, after the final match and the coronation ceremony, is a standpoint. The public enthusiasm and joy on the streets, and the transformation of Doha at that moment into a carnival space, is something which will leave a huge impact on the memory of that capital. It will open up cultural and social opportunities which could not have been expected so fast.
Therefore, this is also vital that the World Cup in Qatar was one of the biggest diplomatic achievements, as the estrangement between the Gulf countries turned into a popular and political as well as media convergence. It appeared in a purposely lavish manner as if it was a World Cup of all the people of the entire Gulf, as well as of all the Arabs.
So, as with every World Cup, the Qatar 2022 will be symbolic of largescale transformations. With this none of the clichés, preconceptions and ready-made perceptions which accompanied the Gulf, its countries, and its societies will continue on the one hand and the Gulf also will not remain the same as it was before December 18, 2022, on the other.
[by Youssef Bazzi in Al-Modon]
US and the Rights of Iraqis
The United States (US) stopped part of the Iraqi financial transfers, and the currency exchange rate collapsed in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and of course in Iraq.
The US knows every implication on the Iraqi revenues from the hard currency. It is the one that transfers oil money to the Central Bank of Iraq.
The US is involved in wasting Iraqi public money. It is inconceivable that the devious methods involved in corruption practices would be difficult to be discovered by the experts of the superpower who were and still are running intercontinental corruption operations.
All data indicate faltering political bids, which the US is trying, through financial pressure, to save its dignity in the Vienna negotiations.
One can easily imagine the US has turned a blind eye to the diversion of the Iraqi people’s money to Iran, openly and secretly.
This happened publicly when it excluded Iraq for years from the terms of the sanctions it imposed on Iran and on the countries and companies which deal with it. Secretly, it happened when it closed its eyes to the individual transfers which never stopped. The corridors were open from Iraq to Iran and were never closed. Therefore, the Iranian regime continued to develop its military machine and spending on the Revolutionary Guards and its affiliated militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Here we have to mention that a number of leaders of the ruling Shiite parties in Iraq had publicly demanded compensation to Iran for its losses in the war it waged against Iraq in 1980s.
[by Farouk Youssef in Al-Arab, London]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque