Khalaf Al-Harbi

Okaz

If Barack Obama was a football player and not the President of the United States, what role do you think he would play in the World Cup? He would definitely not be a striker because he does not like to go beyond his half of the pitch. He would not be a defender because he does not like strong collisions. He would also not be a goalkeeper because he does not want to shoulder the responsibility for the mistakes of the other members of his team.



The best role Obama could play in the ongoing soccer World Cup is to be a TV commentator to analyze the events of each match. This is exactly what he has done with regard to the recent events in Iraq.



Obama theorizes about what is happening in Iraq. He highlights the felonies of Iraqi politicians and the threats the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) might pose to the country. He acts as if he were a CNN correspondent in Baghdad rather than the US president who should take a decisive stand regarding the events in Iraq which was occupied by the US for many years in flagrant defiance of international will.



Obama was desperate to pull his forces out of Iraq without any consideration for its future or the future of other countries in the region.



We, in this part of the world, were obliged to watch the World Sectarian Cup matches. There is not a single inch of the Arab world which is not threatened with sectarian wars. In each residential quarter there is a Shiite gun waiting anxiously to shoot a Sunni who happens to be crossing the street. In the same place, there is a Sunni bomb waiting to explode in front of a Shiite  who may be on his way to his office.



While the entire world is busy watching the World Cup matches in Brazil, the Arabs are drowning more and more in a sea of blood. They are enthusiastically marching toward civil war.



Just as there are thousands of spectators who are willing to shout loudly in support of their national soccer team, there are millions of Arabs who are ready to support a sectarian counterattack.



As soccer creates stars of international repute, sectarianism also has its own stars, flags and national anthems.



In the world of soccer, the fans of each team are not happy to be reminded of the unjust penalty shootouts which their team has benefitted from. The supporters of sectarian teams are not happy to be reminded of the actual truth of their line-up.



In the soccer World Cup, coaches closely follow the matches of other teams in their group. Likewise, GCC citizens are busy these days watching what sectarianism has done to their Arab brethren in the north and the south.



Sectarianism has destroyed the authority of the state in Lebanon. It has turned once green Syria into ashes. It has ripped Yemen apart and is now close to becoming a great conflagration that will make sectarian wars of the past look like a joke.



GCC citizens should closely monitor events in Iraq which was once a strong country. Iraq is now under the domination of armed extremist militants who will not hesitate to commit the ugliest of crimes. Iraq has also become a playground for the intelligence organizations of other countries which move freely around every city in the country.



People in Iraq are now only occupied with obtaining a refugee tent which can accommodate them and their families.



In the soccer World Cup, you only know the cup winner after the final match. In the World Sectarian Cup, the winners of the trophy are Israel and Iran.