“Another dynamic is at play in the region besides the Sunni-Shia divide. It is that between the forces of centralization and the forces of decentralization. As a rule, the U. S. sides with the former; the Arab people with whom we meddle generally side with the latter. Given the tribal, familial focus of their societies; Arabs are unlikely to abandon their particularism in favor of American statism.”

— Ilana Mercer

"Ask Bush Why The Iraqi Military Won't Fight," http://www.unz.com/imercer/ask-bush-why-the-iraqi-military-wont-fight/ The Unz Review, May 29, 2015.
2010s, 2015

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Ilana Mercer 288

South African writer

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“Today there is a divide that we must acknowledge, and we must know who is deepening it. Perhaps it is colonialism—the enemy of Islam, the enemy of the Arabs, the enemy of the Persians—that is deepening it.… They have divided Islam into two Islams, and there came to be Shi'ite Islam and Sunni Islam. This is a bid'a [heresy]… When did Muhammad say: "I have brought you Shi'ite Islam and Sunni Islam?"… they have now begun to group the Arabs against Iran and Iran against the Arabs, and then Shi'ites against Sunnis and Sunnis against Shi'ites.… Are we Muslims, or are we Shi'ites and Sunnis?! For whose benefit is this? It is for the benefit of the "other" that we are speaking about, for the benefit of the enemy, for the benefit of colonialism.”

Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011) Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist

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“After their spectacular conquests, the Arabs were unwilling to concede equality to the non-Arab converts to Islam, despite Islamic doctrine that expressively forbade discrimination. But for the Arabs there were the conquered and the conquerors… The Arabs ruled as a sort of conquistador tribal aristocracy.”

Ibn Warraq (1946) Pakistani writer

Source: Why I am not a Muslim, p. 202.

“The prophet Muhammad also divided humanity into two sections - the Arabs and non-Arabs... the non-Arabs are to be ruled through the yoke of the Arab Cultural Imperialism... one ought to remember that Islam is less a religion and more an Arab National movement.”

Anwar Shaikh (1928–2006) British Pakistani writer

Anwar Shaikh inn Lal, K. S. (2002). Return to roots. New Delhi: Radha.(68)

“The United States is engaged today in a great mission to spread democracy to the Middle East, beginning with Afghanistan, and continuing with Iraq. The inhabitants of Iraq are divided into many groups and factions that hate and distrust each other. The attitude of Sunni and Shia Muslims toward each other resembles that of Catholic and Protestant Christians in the sixteenth century, which persist today in northern Ireland, each regarding the other as heretics. Under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, the minority of Sunnis persecuted the majority Shias. It is understandable that the minority Sunnis are today resisting majority rule, while the majority Shia favor it. The Sunnis clearly believe that majority rule by Shia will be used as a means of retribution and revenge. The Sunnis look upon majority rule by the Shia the way the South looked upon the election of Lincoln in 1860. It is inconceivable to the Sunnis that the rule of the Shia majority will be anything other than tyranny. Indeed, it is inconceivable to them that any political power, whether of a minority or a majority, would be non-tyrannical. The idea of non-tyrannical government is alien to their history and their experience. They regard our assertions of Jeffersonian or Lincolnian principles as mere hypocrisy, as they see no other form of rule other than that of force. Our government assumes that the people of the Middle East, like people elsewhere, seek freedom for others no less than for themselves. But that is an assumption that has not yet been confirmed by experience.”

Harry V. Jaffa (1918–2015) American historian and collegiate professor

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“It is not in our hands to prevent the murder of workers… and families… but it is in our hands to fix a high price for our blood, so high that the Arab community and the Arab military forces will not be willing to pay it.”

Moshe Dayan (1915–1981) Israeli military leader and politician

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“It is a terrible mistake for conservatives to abandon our Iraqi allies now. A U. S. victory will establish a vibrant, modern democracy in the heart of the Arab world that will serve as an infectious model for the oppressed peoples in the region. A prosperous, democratic Iraq will become a catalyst for reform percolating within the ossified, conservative dictatorships of its neighbors. This change may be messy. In the long-run, however, Arab nations will be modernized. This will create a more stable and secure Middle East and thereby, a more stable and secure world for the United States.”

Jeffrey T. Kuhner (1969) American journalist

Cut-and-Run Conservatives http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17676, Human Events, 2006-10-24

“Zionist Israel's occupation of Arab Palestine has forced the Arab world to waste billions of precious dollars on armaments, making it impossible for these newly independent Arab nations to concentrate on strengthening the economies of their countries and elevate the living standard of their people.”

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“President Bush offered a brief and half-hearted apology to the Arab world — but he should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions.”

Al Gore (1948) 45th Vice President of the United States

Quotes, NYU Speech (2004)
Context: President Bush offered a brief and half-hearted apology to the Arab world — but he should apologize to the American people for abandoning the Geneva Conventions.
He also owes an apology to the U. S. Army for cavalierly sending them into harm's way while ignoring the best advice of their commanders.
Perhaps most importantly of all, he should apologize to all those men and women throughout our world who have held the ideal of the United States of America as a shining goal, to inspire their hopeful efforts to bring about justice under a rule of law in their own lands.
Of course, the problem with all these legitimate requests is that a sincere apology requires an admission of error, a willingness to accept responsibility and to hold people accountable.
And President Bush is not only unwilling to acknowledge error. He has thus far been unwilling to hold anyone in his administration accountable for the worst strategic and military miscalculations and mistakes in the history of the United States of America.

“I won't be a party to a conspiracy to mobilize the Arabs against the Persians. Only the forces of colonialism benefit from such a conspiracy. I won't be a party to a conspiracy that splits Islam into two - Shiite Islam and Sunni Islam – mobilizing Sunni Islam against Shiite Islam.”

Muammar Gaddafi (1942–2011) Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist

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“I suggest that, if India is to evolve along nonviolent lines, it will have to decentralize many things. Centralization cannot be sustained and defended without adequate force... Centralization as a system is inconsistent with non-violent structure of society.”

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India

Young India (18 January 1942) p. 5
1940s

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Ilana Mercer 288

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