Questions out of Congress

The Republicans scored a resounding victory in the recent mid-term Congress elections. This is a historic result since it is only the third time in a century that the party in the White House has gained seats in the midterm elections. With this result, the Republican Party has gained control over the two chambers of Congress and has empowered President George W. Bush to carry out his agenda. The Arab press focused on the Republicans' historic success.


Commenting on the election result, Al-Khaleej (UAE) in its editorial says that for the first time in 50 years, the Republican Party has succeeded in controlling the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Also, it is one of the rare occasions when the Republican Party controls both the legislative and executive authorities simultaneously. This makes Bush, whose victory at the presidential elections was marginal, one of the powerful leaders in U.S. history, says Al-Khaleej.

These developments raise many vital questions. The most important one is the reason for this amazing victory. It was expected that the American voters would question the president's performance, especially since the American economy has been passing through several crises, including the administrative corruption, the scandals of the giant American companies, and the American administration's war campaign, adds Al-Khaleej.

Moreover, during the past two years, many studies and articles were published regarding the relation between the American administration's war campaign and its interest in oil. This is true since Bush and his assistants, who represent the American oil companies, came to power to facilitate an international war in order to control the oil sources. In spite of all these studies and articles, the American public opinion did not change, says Al-Khaleej.

On the contrary, the public seems to have been influenced by the September 11 attacks and the American administration's warnings about terrorism. In short, Bush and his assistants have succeeded remarkably in using the "war against terrorism" to promote the "oil war", the first round of which is expected to be staged in Iraq, adds Al-Khaleej.

It is obvious that the election result will make Bush impose his decisions on Iraq and any other country without any consideration for domestic or international opposition. Thus, the American propaganda has succeeded in leading the people to a catastrophic war under the pretext of fighting an illusive enemy so as to achieve personal gain, concludes Al-Khaleej.

In fact, the election result shows that the American people, just like the Israelis, prefer a symbol of power and a person who can seek revenge and dominate in every field. With this result, there is no need for the American administration to obtain the consensus of the people or the constitutional organs to take any action, writes Zuhair Majed in Al Watan (Oman).

Therefore, if Bush chooses to strike any country, no one will question his decision or even his actions and stances. In fact, analysts believe that with this election result, the Americans have agreed to all the wars which Bush wants to launch, especially the strike against Iraq and probably the getting rid of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, says Majed.

The Congress election has given Bush a free hand to do what he wants. For this reason, the whole world, and not only Iraq and Palestine, is worried about Bush's actions, concludes Majed.

Furthermore, elaborating on the reasons for the Republican's remarkable victory, Al Sharq (Qatar) in its editorial comment says if it were not for Bush's popularity, the Republicans wouldn't have succeeded in this election. In spite of the Republicans' dull campaign, Bush managed to motivate the voters to participate in the election and vote for his party.

In fact, he toured 40 states for this purpose and raised huge funds for the Republican candidates. In his tour, he focused on the security issue as he reminded the voters that this was the first national election since the September 11 attacks. Thus, he attracted the voters to choose an administration that prioritises national security, adds Al Sharq.

With this approach, Bush triumphed over the Democratic Party that focused on unemployment, depreciation of stocks and the scandals of the bankrupt companies. Also, his promise to provide jobs for Americans in arms companies, together with the probability of a forthcoming war against Iraq, have gained him more votes, clarifies Al Sharq.

This historic change and the Republicans' control over the Congress will grant Bush absolute power in making decisions on many domestic and international issues such as establishing a ministry for internal security and proceeding with the attack against Iraq. But Bush has to be more cautious in leading the strongest country in the world because power without wisdom opens the gates of hell, concludes Al Sharq.

But Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) views this success differently. In its editorial comment, the paper says it is true that the U.S. has democratic traditions with respect to elections. But what determines the result of these elections is the propaganda that focuses on domestic issues and presents the candidate as a movie star. In this respect, the U.S. differs from the other democratic countries that have different ethnic groups and religions which focus on the candidate's vision and culture.

This is one reason for the success of the Republicans, but their triumph over the Democrats was due to the current circumstances, of which the September 11 attacks was the focal point. This is especially true since the Americans chose the Republicans in spite of the deteriorating economy which was part of the Democrats' campaign, adds Al Riyadh.

However, for the Islamic world, there is no difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party since the U.S., whether under the rule of the Republican or Democrats, has always prioritised its own interests and has always taken the side of Israel, says Al Riyadh.

For the European countries this result means that their disputes and differences with the White House and the American president will reach a deadlock because of the unanimous stand of the Americans in support of their president. But Bush cannot marginalise the role and power of Europe, concludes Al Riyadh.

Moreover, the election observers believe that the only way to limit the disastrous consequences of American policies on the Middle East after the September 11 attacks is a change inside the U.S., writes Walid Shuqeir in Al Hayat (UK based).

These observers hope that the international opposition to U.S. policies and Arab and Islamic resistance will make the American people revise the logic of "who are not with us are against us". This raises the question as to whether the Arab and Islamic associations have managed to play any role in this election and whether they received any support from the countries of their origin in order to change American public opinion, adds Shuqeir.

The Arab officials and the American Arabs believe that there is no way that the Arab and Islamic groups can influence the American elections, especially with the strong influence of the Israelis. With such an approach, the Arabs have resigned themselves to their passive role and are of t