Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Toggle search form
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12 American Arabs
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd American Arabs
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022 Activism
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast Arab News
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols interviewed on live Arab American radio in Detroit with host Ray Hanania Friday Dec. 9, 2022
    Nichols discusses need to improve Arab-Black relations in Chicagoland American Arabs
  • Voting sticker issued to voters in Cook County elections in 2016. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Gov. Pritzker Announces Six Appointments to Boards and Commissions — no Arabs included American Arabs
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Pritzker again ignores needs of Arab businesses in latest appointments Activism
  • Arab American Democratic Club (AADC) official candidate endorsements for the November 8, 2022 General elections.
    Arab American Democratic Club issues endorsements for Nov. 8, 2022 Cook County Illinois elections Activism
  • Arab Democrats urge NO VOTE on Gov. J.B. Pritzker re-election bid Activism
  • Assyrian American GOP issues endorsements in Nov, 8, 2022 elections
    Assyrian American GOP group endorses candidates in Illinois Activism
  • Abdullah Hammoud, elected Mayor of Dearborn Nov. 2, 2021. Photo courtesy of Abdullah Hammoud Facebook Page
    AHRC’s 2022 Spirit of Humanity Gala a Great Success American Arabs
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts Arab World
  • Rep. Cyril Nichols to be feted by supporters at fundraiser Saturday Oct. 22 Activism
  • Stand up For Human Rights website, United Nations
    UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sadistic’ punitive measures against French-Palestinian rights defender Salah Hammouri Activism

Tunisia: From Arab Spring to ISO String

Posted on March 23, 2015September 24, 2018 By Abdennour Toumi No Comments on Tunisia: From Arab Spring to ISO String
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

By Abdennour Toumi

Photo Courtesy Abdennour Toumi

Ankara, Turkey — The Bardo Museum massacre shocked Tunisians who thought they were safe from ISO dystopia. Years ago a dynamic change took place in the streets of Tunisia that launched a concerted struggle that is still taking place, whether in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt or Yemen.  But this change is obstructed by solid pockets of resistance fueled by regional power actors and agents deep within the state.

These agents, supported by the arrogant elite and scornful Western governments and media, are creating a nuanced judgement, so the outcome is made worse and contributes further to the political turmoil.

This can be seen in Libya, Egypt and Yemen, not to mention Syria and Iraq. For Libya and Egypt, two neighboring countries with different political cultures and systems, the level and intensity of chaos is about the same. Whereas in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, it has become clear that Iran is harvesting what the U.S. and pivotal Gulf countries sowed for their quarter-century of bad geo-political analysis and policies.

In this context it is difficult to determine whether Arab countries are actually capable of achieving a peaceful political transition to a semi-democratic state, especially given the latest political chaos on the ground. One had hoped Tunisia would become a model, given the short period of time since the revolts were sparked.

Tunisia, alas, is still a colonized department for the West, particularly France, like Puerto Rico for the U.S.  One recalls the statement of Madame Alliot Marie, then-Foreign Minister, who suggested the French “savoir-fer” during the 2010 riots — metal sticks and modern helmets — for the police to restore law and order.

4596409_6_9f0a_19-personnes-sont-mortes-dans-l-attaque-du_9699810599bcd72977d72377b6440122
Photo Courtesy Abdennour Toumi

On Sunday Tunisian President el-Badji Caïd Es-sebsi, in a live interview on Europe1–iTélé-Journal le Monde, a weekly French political show (Le Grand Rendez-vous), after made it clear Tunisians stand together against terrorism. Further, their united effort will bring a halt to the strife and allow the transition to continue toward a successful form of democracy with the help of the former colonizer — on this stance, he implicitly asked the annulation of his country’s external public debt.

So far, the only hopeful developments of the Arab Spring have come from Tunisia, considering the circumstances of a country that has enjoyed only four years of freedom in which to re-shape its future following a half-century under one ruling party and rampant nepotism.

Meanwhile, Libya is in societal disorder; Egypt is suffering from relative political violence due to the polarization between Islamists and the military/so-called “liberals”, and the diabolizing campaign between the two main political antagonists.

Tunisia, however, is in a process of forging a stable, political structure and a working, economic system, a sort of social contract that offers an end to political assassinations and violence.

Such a civilized act could be extended to Libya and Egypt and lead to a peaceful, political transition for those countries as well. Unfortunately the Bardo massacre has sparked a renewed sense of fear and doubt. Yet Tunisians have shown courage to overcome the terrorist attacks. In spite of the political upheaval and ensuing turbulence, there is a valiant effort underway.

Symbolism in politics is like a pawn in a vicious game.

This goes for ISO as well who emerged strongly from the ongoing Arab “violence string.” Its militants want to knock out the Tunisian economy by punching it in the lungs, hence pushing for anarchy. But the real cause and effect of the Bardo attack remains the $64,000 question. The official aim was to keep el-Gadhafi’s forces from obliterating the revolutionaries in Ben Ghazi and the neighboring cities.

Certainly the ultimate objective was to overthrow el-Gadhafi and his clan. Yet the truth is, it simply resembles the Iraq case. The West’s pretext for war was to destroy Saddam’s WMD arsenal, introduce democracy to the region (MENA), and protect U.S. strategic interests, in this instance, oil.

That said, the Arabs “get” it: when oil is needed that much in the West, democracy and socio-economic reforms can wait. As a result Iraq today is in total anarchy, and ISO is destroying the country’s social structure web and heritage, including ancient art and museums.

Previously the narcissism of el-Gadhafi forced the point of intervention and took away the beauty of the jasmine scent that was blowing through Arab gardens. Ultimately this served to undermine the credibility of civilian movements in other countries.

Former President Sarkozy used this justification to escape from Marine Le Pen’s  shadow and virtually to “contain” the U.S. presence in North Africa. France lost Algeria and Tunisia, although Morocco is still under its thumb — so Libya appeared to be a perfect alibi.

Then, surprisingly, President Hollande put on the military uniform and acting as Commander-in-Chief ordered Operation “Serval” in 2013, an effort to establish law and order in Mali, a bombing mission against radical Islamists based throughout the Sahara.

Later he called for a mini-summit in Paris of Western and African-nation leaders to declare “war on Boko Haram” in Nigeria. Notice Nigeria is not a former French colony — France holds a peculiar position in sub-Saharan Africa, with strong political, diplomatic, economic and strategic ties with its allied African countries.

As the situation in north Nigeria, Mali, and Libya goes, so goes the Algerian Sahara. In the wake of turmoil in the sub-region, Algiers has been forced to become a major player in this asymmetric war, despite its denial to the Algerian street and the fuzzy picture given to the West regarding disorder in Mali and chaos in Libya.

In spite of Algier’s’ diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing antagonists in Mali and Libya under control for the sake of its national security, so that of Tunisia.

Although the premise of operations “Odyssey Dawn” and “Serval” remain a “humanitarian” objective, their outcomes transform these operations into an occupation, creating a chaos of which the Tunis-Bardo massacre is the result. Former President Sarkozy’s amateurish actions, President Hollande’s Sahel foreign policy adventurism, and President Obama’s careful prudence regarding foreign and defense policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, simply transplant a “Somalia”, create a “South-Sudan”, and transpose el-Qae’eda’s franchise-conversion ISO from the Sahel to the southern shores of the Mediterranean.

In that case, quite another so-called Western coalition, aligned with the passivity of the North African and sub-Saharan amnesiac regimes, has a solid excuse to protect its petroleum tankers from dawn to dusk, leaving Tunisia a cadelle of the Arab Spring and next in line for the ISO violence string. 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Abdennour Toumi
Follow me:
Abdennour Toumi
Abdennour Toumi:
- France correspondent for The Arab Daily News.
- www.bareed-areej.com Editor-in-Chief
رئيس تحرير مجلة بريد الأريج
- Political consultant at IMPR a Think-Tank based in Ankara, Turkey.
- Member at the European Observatory for Arabic Language Teaching based in Paris, France.
- Affiliated with Sociology of Islam Journal and contributor at Middle East Studies / International Studies, Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Center, Portland State University in Portland, OR.

EDUCATION: Diplôme des Études Approfondies (DEA) in Political Science from Toulouse University I, France. Master’s degree in Law from Algiers University, Algeria.

Email im at: nourhty@gmail.com
Abdennour Toumi
Follow me:
Latest posts by Abdennour Toumi (see all)
  • The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Is the Neither-Peace-nor-Security As-sumption Dominating Again? - June 7, 2021
  • Algeria: “I Can See Clearly Now” - August 5, 2019
  • Majesty Mohammed VI and General Gaïd Salah Tear Down This Wall! - July 29, 2019

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
Abdennour Toumi, Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Spotlight Tags:Arab Spring, Barack Obama, Egypt, Libya, Middle East, Syria, Tunis, Tunisia, United States, Yemen

Post navigation

Previous Post: In Israel’s elections, racism is the winning ballot
Next Post: Muslim Americans focus of 5-part live performance

Related Posts

  • Endorsements: Democrats in the Illinois June 28, 2022 Primary election Activism
  • Syrian Refugees face White Hill Nightmare Abdennour Toumi
  • Arab American meeting with Warren and Amal David in 2015
    Arab American push to expand April Arab Heritage month recognition American Arabs
  • Zionism is the cause of Middle East violence Arab World
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Will Khashoggi’s demise at least help end the Yemen war? Arab World
  • Mordechai Vanunu: Nuclear Whistleblower or Tool? Arab World

More Related Articles

Syrian refugees: heroism of Rev. Jesse Jackson American Arabs
Illinois Governor Rauner can do the right thing American Arabs
Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, singer, songwriter and Human Rights champion Conference on Israel Lobby offers insights into Israeli hypocrisies and media manipulation Arab News
Hundreds of Israeli public figures urge British Parliament to recognize the State of Palestine Activism
Racist Israeli soccer fans in the firing line Arab World
Americans are not traveling to the Middle East American Arabs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Tiktok.com/@RayHanania
    Israeli-push behind effort to ban Tiktok in the United States
    January 19, 2023
  • Ghassan Rubeiz
    To what extent is Hezbollah responsible for the current crisis in Lebanon?
    January 17, 2023
  • Image from Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's "A Compendium of Chronicles. Image courtesy of Wikipedia
    Why allow religious extremists to re-define Islam in the West?
    January 10, 2023
  • CAIR Executive Director and co-founder Nihad Awad
    This Thanksgiving, let’s use our Blessings for good
    November 23, 2022
  • NEWS
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12
    January 18, 2023
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd
    January 12, 2023
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action
    January 11, 2023
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022
    January 4, 2023
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12
    January 18, 2023
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd
    January 12, 2023
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action
    January 11, 2023
  • Stand up For Human Rights website, United Nations
    UN experts condemn Israel’s ‘sadistic’ punitive measures against French-Palestinian rights defender Salah Hammouri
    October 19, 2022

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast
    December 15, 2022
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • Comedian Ramy Youssef courtesy of his Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ramysfaceboo/
    “Ramy” cable series melds Arab world reality with every day American life
    October 22, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2023 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme