Anger management, with a sharp tongue

Some contend he is the most popular Arab figure on satellite news stations. He is certainly the most fearless when it comes to expressing views on the status of the Middle East.

A skilled debater and a sharp-tongued participant, Abdul Bari Atwan speaks his mind and represents a variety of voices from the Arab street through his direct and blunt take on events.

The editor-in-chief of Al Quds Al Arabi, an independent pan-Arab newspaper based in London, Abdul Bari is mainly recognised for his frequent appearances on Al Jazeera and other news channels and programmes (but not Al Arabia).

Being the only West-based journalist to have spent time with Al Qaida's top man, Osama Bin Laden, he stands out from his peers. His knowledge spans the entire region but nowadays, he is often seen talking about the two obvious conflict zones - Palestine and Iraq.

Watching him in action, a few times, one can immediately sense that his opponents have very little room to manoeuvre to win an argument. In fact, according to him, a study conducted by the Israeli embassy (in Great Britain) to monitor media, concluded that any Israeli who appears with Atwan on television loses the argument. That's got to put him ahead of so many in the world of media.

Abdul Bari's appearances are not limited to Arabic television. He is also a recognised figure on British and American media and, with the launch of Al Jazeera English, he has entered even more homes. Not everyone is a fan of Abdul Bari; some find him to be an extremist whose views are reduced to being pro-Saddam or anti-American. Still, he remains an influential personality and a celebrity, as far as interpreting Middle Eastern politics is concerned.

I sat down with Abdul Bari not long ago to get his perspective on things. He came across as a quiet and composed man and, outbursts of emotions were almost non-existent - unlike his TV persona. He is definitely an opinionated man and I appreciated his sarcasm and spot-on analysis. Abdul Bari does point out the obvious but in so doing, he manages to outdo most TV personalities out there. Excerpts:

People always say you're angry on television. Do you think every Arab is an angry Arab?

We Arabs are a highly politicised people. We have politics for breakfast, lunch, dinner (even for snacks) simply because we don't have a choice. It was imposed on us. Think Palestine 1948, 1967, 1973 and other wars in 1982, 1990 and 2003. While we would love to live like other people, we are the only ones suffering from grave ordeals.


What about South America?

They had dictatorships (not wars). We have dictatorships and constant American interventions. The Americans are interfering in everything. Look at the situation in Iraq. Why did they send their troops to Iraq? We also have to deal with Israel. It is not our choice.


What motivates you?

It is very simple. I am a poor boy from a refugee camp who has suffered from Israeli plunder of his country. Here I am speaking with anger and passion, and many people appreciate it. I believe the media is the most influential tool for changing perceptions in the West. I want to help our population in the Middle East. I want to expose [the] American actions and shed light on the dictatorships of the region; those elements that make us feel unimportant and unproductive. I think we have suffered enough. That's what drives me.


Are you less angry today then when you first started your career?

I am more refined because of experience and because I have lived in the West for 30 years. Before, it used to be anger without sophistication. Now I have passion with sophistication and knowledge. It seems they [in the West] love it. I do a programme called Dateline and I was told that when I am on the programme, its rating triples. So my message is getting across.

Here's a story: I was dropped several times by BBC's Newsnight because of objections by Israeli guests Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, so I boycotted the programme because I had been dropped at the last minute. I was later informed that there was a study conducted by the Israeli embassy monitoring the media and they came out with the conclusion that anyone who appeared with Atwan had lost the argument.

We used to refuse appearing with the Israelis. Now the Israelis refuse to appear with us.


Assess the overall situation of the Middle East.

The American policy in the Middle East is a mess. It collapsed because they created a failed state in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. Instead of promoting stability and democracy, they are creating anarchy, bloodshed and instability. What scares me is the threat of a sectarian civil war which will spread across the region. So instead of Iraq exporting democracy, they are exporting violence, terrorism, bloody anarchy and sectarian civil war. I can see [that] the US is heading for a war against Iran and the Arabs will be a part of it. There are two camps now - the Shiite crescent vs the Sunni arc that Blair talked about. America is grooming this alliance and would like to lead Sunni Arabs. That is very alarming.


But isn't this a temporary alliance?

Yes, all alliances the US forms in the Middle East are temporary and aimed at achieving certain goals (expect for its alliance with Israel).


What is Iran's current political standing in the region?

Iran is the only member of the Middle East community that has a project. Iranians know what they are doing. They have their nuclear programme and military industry which is advanced. They have an alliance with Hezbollah. They also support Hamas, the dominant political party in Palestine.

The Arab governments let the Arab people down, particularly the Palestinians. Iran is giving them the alternative - whether we like it or not. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using a language no Arab leader can use by saying Israel is committing atrocities and Israel is a fake state. This appeals to Arab masses.


Does Iran have ulterior motives?

Iran is a regional superpower whether we like it or not. And if it continues, it will be an international power because it has got the people, oil, experts, intellectual capability and ambition. It seems they are close to achieving all their ambitions unless the Americans attack their country. If they do, it will be a disaster for everyone in the region. Iran will seek revenge on Israel, American bases in the Gulf and Gulf oil fields.


What do you make of the Iranian president?

Ahmadinejad was elected by at least 15 million people. He is a legitimate leader having not come to power through a military coup or power-inheritance. He was chosen by his own people. If he is a radical, he is entitled to be a radical. He is in a region where the Americans fought two wars around him.

If the Americans are allowed to get away with all these interventions, they will destroy the whole of the Middle East.

He is aware of the American cowboy mentality and sees that enough is enough. He is not a tool.

Ahmadinejad is popular because he is a man of deeds. He is challenging the Americans at a time, when the Arabs are frustrated and humiliated by their regimes that were defeated by Israel, a very small state. They are humiliated because their wealth is squandered on arms they don't even use.

President Ahmadinejad is saying that he will bomb Israel. If any one of the Arab leaders speaks that way, the Americans will boycott him, may even topple him.

The West is shivering because of that. His allies in Lebanon proved to be very strong and managed for the first time to defeat the Israeli army. They set the first precedent of firing against Israel and evacuating the whole of northern Israel.

The Arab Israeli problem is the bull's eye and Ahmadinejad is going for that.


Should the US be talking to Syria?

First of all, the US doesn't know what to do. Syria and Iran are already involved. [Noori Al] Maliki was groomed and financed by the Iranian government or revolution under Abdul Aziz Al Hakim [the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq].

His brother's army was trained by the Iranians. Iran and Syria are capable of derailing the peace process in Iraq but they can't make Iraq peaceful. That's what surprises me.

The American project in Iraq is the resistance. Thus the US should talk to resistance members and not to Syrians and Iranians if they want to find a solution.


What can the Americans do at this point?

The situation in Iraq is already very bad. Americans say if they leave now, things will get worse - it is already "worse". The Iraqis might have problems in the beginning but they will eventually sit down together and resolve their own problems.

Before the invasion of Iraq, Al Qaida was much weaker. Now, it's ten times stronger. They have set up bases in Iraq and they don't even need weapons because there are 15 million arms and 5 million tonnes of ammunition and, lots of money in Iraq coupled with frustrated Sunnis.

The Americans created that. The Americans should pay compensation to the Iraqi people. 665,000 people were killed, according to a Johns Hopkins study.

When the Libyans shot down the Pan-Am flight, the Libyan government had to pay $2.5 billion. We want the Americans to do the same for the destruction they have inflicted on Iraq. They have a responsibility to fulfil.


The situation in the Occupied Territories keeps on deteriorating.

We have a problem: an authority with two heads. There is an elected government and an elected president who can't work together. The Americans made a grave mistake when they blacklisted the Hamas government. You can't preach democracy and starve a whole people. We are heading towards a civil war in Palestine. The US has double standards; they accepted the choice of Israelis when they elected Avigdor Lieberman, who is known to be a radical. Why didn't they object to him becoming a deputy prime minister despite his outright racism? They must apply the same criteria. Ariel Sharon was accepted by the Americans despite committing massacres.

Whatever Hamas does, it's a lose-lose situation because Hamas is a fundamentalist organisation. Hamas did compromise by offering the Israelis a truce for ten years.

Arafat & Co recognised Israel and signed agreements and, what did the Palestinian people gain? Nothing. So we are tired of this rubbish.

They want to starve people, to push them into recognising a country which has the biggest army in the Middle East and the biggest nuclear arsenal and the strongest army; so it's unfair to ask the weak to recognise the strong; Israel wants the victims to recognise and accept it as a victimiser.

The Arab governments are satellites for the US; they are not proper governments. Divided into two camps, they either receive financial aid from the US or receive security protection. They can't say no to their master. The Americans said boycott Hamas and they did so willingly. Palestinian Prime Minister Esmail Haniya is not allowed to visit all the Arab countries. The Americans are choosing everything for us - our allies, enemies, weapons, economy. Tomorrow they will choose our wives. Maybe our clothes, underwear …

Beyond Fleet Street

Abdul Bari Atwan moved to England in March 1978. He had come from Saudi Arabia where he was contracted to work for Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper. For him, going to England provided a cultural shock in terms of its openness and liberalism. In his words, "I was in Saudi where I hardly saw women's faces and then I arrived in Heathrow to find a miniskirt clad women holding a sign with my name on it. That was my first cultural shock."

Atwan was born in a refugee camp in Palestine, where he lived his first 17 years. His first move was to Jordan where he worked as a taxi driver in Amman. He also worked in a tomato pace factory where he suffered a lot. But, he says, he was very happy living and working with the underprivileged people. "It helped me keep my foot firm on the ground. Maybe that's why I am always angry and frustrated on TV."

In London, Atwan worked on Fleet Street, the seat of British media, and says he learned a lot from them (except not getting drunk all the time and getting divorced.)

Home for him is England, for numerous reasons. First, he says, he is protected by law: "I am equal and I have my rights. I know I can't be deported and my citizenship can't be revoked." He admires the good education and road systems and says he receives services in exchange for his taxes. All of this, he says, was never offered to him in the Arab world.

"People always ask me why I am a radical. How can I be a liberal when I am one of ten children (getting by with very little food) with a sick father who ended up dying young?"

"I am not angry by nature but angry by upbringing," says Abdul Bari. He thinks being a Palestinian and seeing the situation in the Arab world deteriorate, and seeing how democracy works wonders in the West contributes to this. He finds that "management" is producing very progressive and prosperous societies. "I get angry when I see how our area is rotten because of dictatorships and how the Israelis are committing massacres and no one raises a finger in the West. This region [Middle East] is heading from one war to another all the time."

Audience-speak

Paul Walker, media professional
Abdul Bari Atwan represents everything that is good and bad about politicised Arabs in one hugely compulsive package … He is also a maverick, not at all like many of the stereotypical agenda driven regional experts whose opinion always seems to reflect their own agenda. You believe his passion. His independence makes both the Israelis and the Arabs fear him, and as a result make him someone all sides take notice of.

Vanessa Constantine, English teacher
I've watched Abdul Bari on BBC's Dateline and thought he has insightful views on Iraq and Afghanistan. He provides a balance to all those who haven't been to the region. I contacted him once after watching a show to express my disagreement with him and he was nice enough to reply with an explanation of his views. I got his book [The Secret History of Al Qaida] for Christmas and I plan to read it very soon.

Noora Al Amir, newspaper reporter
I respect his media persona and his writings for Al Quds Al Arabi. He is a nationalist and he speaks at a time when others are afraid to do so. Even if I don't agree with him, I find myself tuning in. His writings on Saddam Hussain's execution represented the feelings of many people. I admire the fact that he doesn't succumb to pressure and continues to speak his mind. I wish we had more people like Abdul Bari Atwan.

Nour El Tibi, IT auditor
Abdul Bari is good at what he does. He definitely is more outspoken than many of the Arab journalists out there. He seems to adopt the most common views of the Arab street, which sometimes unfortunately are not very deep-thought. I feel that he does not have a solid flow of ideas and is not very analytical. When on TV he gets emotional easily and also becomes easily agitated when confronted with opposing ideas.