I am tired of the incisive whining about how America needs to understand the plight of these poor terrorists. How many times does it need to be explained. Terrorism in the Middle East is not some new phenom. Gasp!!! You mean it wasn't created by the imperialistic ways of the United States oppressing a down-trodden people and being Pro-Israeli? Why no, it was not.
Rami G. Khouri, a staff writer for the Daily Star, wrote an Op-ed titled, "The US in the Mideast: ignorance abroad." A stunning display of excuses, ignorance and blame as to why the poor oppressed "freedom fighters," better known as terrorists, are all our fault.
I have argued for years now that a new spirit of populist defiance, resistance and self-assertion is the single most important strategic development in the Middle East. Large numbers of Arabs, Iranians and Turks - hundreds of millions of people - have shed their legacy of passive acquiescence in their own suffering, weakness, marginalization and victimization. Instead, they are determined to take their fate into their own hands, and to challenge and checkmate those who would keep them in their previous vulnerable, dehumanized state. [1]Interesting, we have kept them in a "dehumanized state" and they have shed their passive acquiescence. How poetic. You know history has a way of clarifying ignorance, so let's get some fired up.
Terrorism is nothing new to the Middle East, in fact it has its roots as far back as the 8th Century with an esoteric group known as the Hashshashin. Or as we know the etymology today, assassin. This secret group of "Holy Killers," and I use the term very loosely, had it starts in Persia, or modern day Iran, ironically. They were created because of Sunni oppression of their particular Shia Muslim sect. Now if this sounds like it is straight out of the Illuminati files, sorry to disappoint, this is real pure history at its best.
They were extremely deadly killers even rumored to entered into Saladin's tent in the heart of his camp, and leaving a poisoned cake and a note saying "You are in our power" on Saladin's chest as he slept. They got results through cultivating a reputation of fear and terror. This was one of their hallmarks and what is made them legendary in certain circles. All of their killings were in a public place, usually a Mosque, and highly visible. Now, unlike their modern day contemporaries, they only killed their target, collateral damage was unacceptable.
What does this have to do with Mr. Khouri's article? Just showing him and the blame crew, terror in the Mid-East is nothing new. The art has been perfected to a razor's edge for almost 1200 years. By my math, that was almost 1,000 years, give or take, before the existence of the United States or Israel.
I loved this one so much it damn near made me fall out of my chair laughing.
Most of the Arab public believes that the US attacked Iraq in order to help strengthen Israel, and Arabs see Israel and the US as the two main threats to them. Israel and the US are connected in the minds of most Arabs "in a way which makes anger with one hard to separate from the other." [1]
How's about the oppressive regimes they live under are their greatest threats. Let's look at Saudi Arabia, a fine example. There GDP sits at about $564 billion (2007 est.), oil making up about 45% of this. Yet their official unemployment rate sits at about 13%, while some estimates have it as high as 25%. Nearly 40% of their population is youth under the age of 15 and they are highly uneducated and lack technical skills. Yet this is somehow the U.S. and Israel's fault. We keep them down by buying their oil.
Now let's explore Iran; GDP sits at $753 billion, oil making up 80% of their government revenue. GDP per capita is only $10,600 and unemployment sits at about 12%. Also, about 18% of the population sits below the poverty line. Since Iran's economy is state controlled and their is little to no private sector, most of their educated and skilled members look for employment over seas. Again, it is our fault.
Most tyrannical and despotic governments look for a scape goat to blame their problems on. In this case, the West and Israel are the perfect targets. The hatred they have inspired against us only serves to hide their ineptitude and failures. This is not to say that America and Israel have not made some grave policy mistakes when it comes to the Middle East, but, we are hardly the root of their suffering. Until these populations wake up and see that their own governments have failed them, their only contribution to civilization will be martyrdom, I.E.D.'s, and death. A sad epitaph considering this is the same society which gave us algebra and made significant strides in astronomy, art, technology, and philosophy.
[1] The US in the Mideast: ignorance abroad
Posts
0 comments :
Post a Comment