Stage Left
The Arab world is on a feeding frenzy of resentment against all vestiges of the Western way of life, from politics to religion, culture and social civility. Well, there's nothing particularly new about that. The West, characterized by Christianity throughout the last several millennia, went out of its way to interfere with Islamic culture, its social order, and most particularly, its geography. Both 'sides' waged constant campaigns of conquest, with the intent of spreading their influence, their religion, their culture, and absorbing the raw materials represented by the populations they conquered, their cities, civil governments, armies, agricultural lands, and made them their own.In the more modern age, it was the West with its rapacious appetite for energy sources that became the predator, seeking out the raw materials with which to advance its agenda of galloping economic growth. The resentments that were always present simply became more aggravated by each fresh assault in what was perceived to be their autonomy, their way of life: religion, tradition, culture, social structure. The conquered were always viewed as vassals, subservient to the needs of the victors. Little wonder deadly resentment was the result.
Now, the Arab world is fed a steady diet of simmering dissent, their populations angry at their lot in life as helpless pawns ruled by dictatorial, self-serving governments. Totalitarianism never won any popularity contests among any demographic, regardless of the geography. Their rulers, quasi-democratic in the inimitable Muslim manner, theocratic or regal point out to their populations that it is the evil influences of the West, creeping into the social culture, that is responsible for the degradation of their lives; the fact that they themselves have diverged from Islam's total lifestyle encompassing every facet of life, degrading Islam.
The most visible symptom of Western influence and popular culture and lifestyle can be witnessed close at hand, in the popular imagination of the populations surrounding the State of Israel, the crass interloper, the militantly avaricious Jews whose larger purpose is to gain control of the entire geography, and from there, the world at large. Government agencies encourage these outlandish beliefs by demonstrating official anti-Semitism, through the publication of educational manuals meant for schools, through the distribution of television series where the wildly popular airing of a series based on the Protocol of the Elders of Zion plainly paints the picture of Jewish triumphalism.
The cause of the Palestinian people has become, over the past half-century, the cause of the Arab people at large, and the greater Muslim community who recognize the dark stranger in their midst whose people have taken unto themselves land consecrated to Allah, forbidden by divine edict to fall into the hands of non-Muslims. Continual military assaults by the combined armies of the Arab countries surrounding Israel has availed them nothing in the past but ignominious defeat and the loss of additional land, some of which has since been returned. The passionately incendiary militants among the Arab populations have sought other means; guerrilla warfare.
One country's irregular army of determined guerrillas for whom no act of human depravity in ravaging another country, in murdering as many people as possible, is another country's feared terrorists. Irregular armies, capable of stealth of movement, striking anywhere at any time, supplied by eager conspirators, have proven themselves throughout history to be the match of any country's armed forces. They do not weary, they are expendable, easily replaced by other equally committed warriors to a common cause, they don't fear death, and celebrate its deliverance to their enemies. They enjoy widely popular support among the people whose interests they claim to represent.
They're viewed, widely, as the 'underdog', as a group of righteously committed champions intent on unseating their oppressors. And as such, find acceptance not only in their own world where grievances have been legendary, but in the West whose social consciences will always support those perceived to have lesser power, but a greater empathetical appeal than the representatives of governmental oppression through unfair edicts and actions. Perception is 95% of reality, after all. The left-wing intelligentsia, the popular news factotums and the social-justice infrastructure of modern Western thought is squarely in the corner of such perceived underdogs, compassionately viewing their struggle as a just one.
That a country which seeks to protect itself and its citizens against the savage incursions of these dedicated terrorists - whom no civilized outreach for co-operative communication leading to a potential solution to their anger - remains condemned by those in the West who think of themselves as human-rights advocates is a larger tragedy. So there little-to-no condemnation of these PA terrorists lobbing artillery across the border from the vacated and anarchic Gaza Strip by peace-loving activists from the West, who consider that a country in a constant state of siege is normal, as long as that country is Israel.
Suicide bombings having been largely solved through the reluctant expedient of an intercepting wall, the wall itself becomes yet another symbol of oppression. Well, no one likes to live in an enclosure, in a strictly circumscribed area that adumbrates their potential, their activities, crippling their economy, their social outreach, their way of life. If the alternative is to permit open borders and risk the continual deadly assaults, then one chooses inconvenience, even if it is imposed upon haplessly innocent neighbours, rather than uncertain existence occasionally resulting in gruesome group deaths through savage intent.
Fatah, the party of the 'moderate' PA faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas, whose feeble but well-intentioned overtures on behalf of the long-suffering Palestinian people, along with the Islamic Jihad terrorist cells proudly claim responsibility for ongoing rocket attacks on Israeli territory. They are fulfilling their proud mandate, the ongoing bloody-intentioned struggle to overcome their deadly enemy who just happens to be their next-door neighbour with whom they will eventually have to come to reasonable terms. Yet spokesmen for both these terror-inducing groups claim the attacks are in response to Israeli counter-terrorism operations.
Counter-terrorism operations! In other words, military actions undertaken for the express purpose of protecting the embattled country whose citizens have been blown to unrecognizable bits of human flesh through the bloody-minded determination of jihadist volunteers happy to forego this life for the promise of a celebrated one in Paradise. If a country is attacked for defending itself, and the actions of the constant attackers are seen to be permissible under the canopy of 'struggle against oppression', then when is it felt that the oppressive atmosphere of self-defence will stop, enabling a permanent truce, enabling a permanent settlement between the two factions?
This same country, Israel, has accepted the presence within its Knesset - parliament, of democratically-elected Arab-Israelis to represent both the interests of their particular electorate and that of the country as a whole. What other country in the world would accept that members of its parliament will meet on good terms with groups whose avowed purpose is to extinguish that country, that will celebrate 'historic ties' between the party they represent in the country's parliament, and a terrorist organization? To do so in many countries is to invite the death penalty; and so have many been treated to an early death in Muslim countries, condemned to death for aiding the enemy.
The demented screenplay the world sees playing out before its very eyes through daily reportage of outrage, revenge, oppression, repression, massacres on the stage in Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Israel is beyond understanding. Beyond acceptance.
Is rescue even possible?
Labels: Middle East, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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