The Difference Between 02/08 and 28/02!
On August 2, 1990, the criminal Saddam invaded us after a series of lies and fabrications that we failed to adequately refute and dismantle through meetings with officials and journalists, thereby removing the foundation of the arguments he presented to justify his aggression. Consequently, masses of people believed him and supported him; perhaps we were the weakest defenders of the most just cause at that time. Then, on February 28 of last year, an Iranian aggression against Kuwait and the Gulf states began, accompanied by lies and calumnies alleging that our countries were conspiring with the United States against Iran. This mirrors Saddam’s lies in the summer of 1990, along with the rallying cry of the Palestinian cause and hostility, and the launching of limited-damage rockets at Israel, which were akin to harmless fireworks. Meanwhile, the real and devastating harm was what Saddam inflicted upon us yesterday, and what the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is inflicting upon us today.
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There is undoubtedly a fundamental difference between August 2, 1990, when Saddam mobilized 120,000 of his soldiers on our borders and possessed a massive air force and armored forces, whereas the Revolutionary Guard, which has been proven to be as weak as a camel with a limp, lacks the capability to mobilize such forces against our borders. It is a known fact that Iran, and this is a reality, is located at a very short distance from us. If it crosses the Iraqi border, with or without consent, it is well known that during Saddam’s attempt to re-invade in the mid-1990s—which was halted by Hussein Kamal’s defection—he decided not to mobilize in the desert as he did in the summer of 1990, but rather to hide divisions and armored units in Basra and Al-Zubair among residential buildings, so they could move at maximum speed upon receiving orders to breach the border.
Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to repeat the scenario of August 2 in the post-February 28 period, caution is still required. I believe we were invaded last time while our eyes were closed, lacking intelligence information about the enemy. Therefore, we must keep our eyes open this time and plant dozens of “eyes” in Ahvaz and southern Iraq to monitor any major military movements. As for factions and militias, our army is capable of handling them.
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The final point:
1. On August 2 and February 28, traitors to the homeland in Kuwait and the Gulf aligned themselves yesterday with Saddam and today with the Iranian threat through various deceptive means. Back then, they attempted to restrict the Kingdom’s actions by issuing false and bogus fatwas prohibiting Saudi Arabia from seeking assistance from international forces, by claiming that the sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques extended to cover the entire territory of the Kingdom. This was an unprecedented claim, with the clear intent and goal of leaving the Kingdom exposed and alone against an army of a million. However, the deception did not fool the Kingdom; assistance was sought from allied forces, which initially protected the Kingdom and later liberated Kuwait. Now, they are raising slogans of normalization and the Abraham Accords to limit the Kingdom’s options. Once again, the capable leaders of the Kingdom, which is a sovereign state that makes decisions to protect its people, whose compass points to the interests of the Kingdom, the Gulf, the Arabs, and Islam, will not be fooled. Those who were not deceived yesterday will not be deceived today, no matter how loud the shouting becomes or how the lurking wolf disguises itself in the clothing of a friendly and peaceful lamb.
2. Among the similarities between August 2 and February 28 is the betrayal by Yasser Arafat against us yesterday, and his denial of Kuwait and the Gulf states. Today, the poisonous snake, Khalil al-Hayya, who has withheld a word of thanks from Kuwait and the Gulf states—thanks he reserved for Iran and its destructive proxies—is attempting to deceive us. It is said in the Prophetic tradition: “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.” God willing, the people of the Gulf are believers and will not be deceived or bitten, nor will they allow decisions that do not place the interests and survival of our Gulf peoples at the top of priorities. Those who were not with us during times of hardship yesterday, after August 2, and today, after February 28, do not deserve to be with us, nor should we accommodate their feelings during times of prosperity. The painful events are sufficient lessons and warnings.
