Thread by @iyad_elbaghdadi

The *primary* reason why the US has been so deeply despised in the Middle East has been US foreign policy, in particular deep US support for some of the worst dictators and human rights violators in the region. We can see that the US *never* learns from its mistakes.

Look - I don't know if I'm going to live to see 50 or 60. The more brutal and unhinged Arab tyranny becomes, the more my lifespan is cut. They won't stop trying, I won't stop resisting. So what I'm going to say next isn't a threat, it's just a fact; accept it or not:

1. The MENA's population is half a billion. That approaches that of, say, Europe
2. If you count only Arab-speaking countries, then it'll hit half a billion by 2050
3. If you count Arabs as a single ethnicity, then they're the second most populous ethnicity on the planet

If the post 2011 years have taught anything, it should have taught that we will *never* stop resisting dictatorship. We will keep pushing. History is clear on this - no dictator can ever forever snuff out a people's desire for freedom. Sooner or later, this region will be free.

And here's the thing. This region is where "recorded history" was first ever recorded. We have a very long memory, a bit too long for our own good. We don't forget easily, and don't forgive fast.

If anybody thinks that the people of the MENA will forgive or forget what has been done over the past couple centuries, they're delusional. Your support for our dictators is among the prime grievances. It won't be forgotten, it won't be forgiven.

This is just a fact. It's not any kind of threat, and I'm just another dissident, living under protection no less. It's a fact, whether you accept it or you don't. This isn't going away. We will not forgive. We will not forget.