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| Pres. Barack Obama (a public domain image from Wikimedia Commons) |
People the world over were euphoric over the death of Osama
bin Laden at the hands of US Navy SEALS on May 2, 2011. Many people especially
the Americans were gratified that justice was served to one of the most
notorious terrorists of the world who was responsible for the death of
thousands of innocent lives during the 9/11 attack in 2001. Although the death
of bin Laden has not totally eliminated Al Qaeda, his terror group, its
activities are significantly reduced and some of its top leaders are either neutralized
or killed.
Then there was the Arab Spring in December 2010 that started
in Tunisia where Prime Minister Ali was forced out from power by his own people.
The movement spread to other Arab countries such as Libya and Egypt and others where
long reigning and well entrenched dictators like Muammar Khadaffy and Hosni
Mubarak were swept from power by people’s uprising. At present the leader of
Syria is under threat of being overthrown too.
What is significant about the incidents is that it was the
western countries which are instrumental in the ouster of the dictators. In
Egypt the administration of US President Barack Obama played an important role to
have the former Egyptian president resigned from office. France took the lead
in helping the rebels fight the dictator Muammar Khadaffy. Later, the participation of the US enabled
the allied forces to target strategic areas with precision aerial bombs which
weakened the dictator’s forces. Khaddafy was later killed as he tried to escape
from Libya.
As soon as Mubarak was out from office it appeared that
groups who are perceived as hostile to the west such as the Muslim Brotherhood
loomed as the force that would come to power in the country. They won the
majority of seats in the parliament, and Muhammad Morsi, a leading member of
the group was elected as president. The west considers the Muslim Brotherhood
as an extremist group whose agenda is not compatible with its ideals.
The 2012 anniversary of the 9/11 attack was marred with
violence in the fledgling governments in the Middle East. Some people there
were up in arms against a video that is offensive to the sensitivities of the
Muslims. In Egypt the walls of the US embassy were scaled by protesters. It
seemed that during that time, the military and the police were not around to quell
the demonstration. That sight was in contrast to the previous demonstration
leading to the ouster of Mubarak where security forces were always around to be
on top of the situation.
In Libya, also during the 9/11 anniversary, the insurgents
stormed the US consulate in Benghazi . Later, news broke out that US Ambassador
J. Christopher Stevens’ along with 3 American
consulate staff was killed in the
attack.
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| Mitt Romney |
Relative to the incident, President Barack Obama came under
fire by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for allegedly issuing
statements apologizing to the protesters for that offensive video rather than
condemning their attack of the US embassies in Egypt and Libya.
In a press conference on the incidents, Secretary of State
Hilary Clinton issued statement expressing disapproval of the inflammatory video
but also emphasized her country’s respect of the rights of its citizens to
freedom of expression. She also said that the act of violence is not a
justifiable reaction to the offensive video. She also condemned
the attack of the American embassies and their personnel, and stated that it
was only carried out by small armed group, and it was not caused by the Libyan
government or its people.
White House also issued statement distancing itself from a
previous one that triggered Romney’s remark. President Obama blasted Romney for
politicizing the incident in the Middle East. He found allies in the mainstream
US media who grilled Romney during his own press conference for his remark that
was critical to Obama. However, Romney
stood by his statements and said that the United States should not apologize
for its values.
Some observers thought that the protest over the video was
only a pretext for a planned and coordinated attack on American interest in the
Middle East in the 9/11 anniversary. Many videos, articles, blogs and even
websites that are critical to Islam have been in the internet for over a long
time. And it is only now that a wide spread protest over that single
video is staged when other posts are equally or more offensive. What is conspicuously
significant is that the timing of the protest and attack in Egypt and Libya coincided
with the anniversary of 9/11. With the incident, the world can only surmise
that extremist groups such as Al Qaeda, which aims to dominate the world with
its distorted interpretation of Islam is still around and is still capable of
wreaking havoc around the world.
At present the situation in the Middle East is filled with
uncertainty. It comes just about only two months before the presidential
election on November 6, 2012. It will certainly become one of the main issues
that will be exploited by both contending parties to get the nod of the voters.
US voters are likely to give more weight to the economy than to foreign affairs
in making their choice for a candidate. However, the incidents in Middle East
are too remarkable to notice. Obama’s handling of it can make a significant
impact on the result of 2012 US presidential election.
A very sad day in history. with the ongoing unrest in some Muslim countries and the recent attacks on US Embassy, hope not another 911 attack happens.
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