Have decades of Middle Eastern conflict made us safe or wise? Last week in back-to-back interviews, the consequences of political pandering and slipshod journalism converged.
Matt Lauer’s bungled interview of Donald Trump failed to reveal this flip-flop: Trump was for the war before he was against it.
“And what is Aleppo?” asked Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, fudging a question from Mike Barnicle on MSNBC. ”You're kidding,” replied Barnicle incredulously.
Which is worse? Our slovenly state of partisan debate, or failures of journalism to properly frame the news?
Daily soundbites never capture the broader context of history. A headline never tells a complete story: Every intervention in the Middle East by a Western power has upped the ante on radicalism and violence.
Let’s speak of provincialism starting with this quote from the 1960s film, Lawrence of Arabia: “So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel.”
Who then are the little people, the silly people? As a global power, we have become a meddlesome people, yet clueless on matters of Middle Eastern history.
Who remembers the overthrow of Mohammed Moseddegh, the first democratically elected leader of Iran? In 1953, our own CIA conspired with Britain to topple a nascent democracy for control over Persian oil.
“A cruel and imperialistic country” stealing from a “needy and naked people” were the words spoken by Mosaddegh at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. His words echo the animus of Middle Easterners for more than half a century.
Does terrorism represent the face of Islam? Not according to the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia who said: “Extremist and militant ideas … are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims.”
Not according to 70,000 Muslim clerics who issued a fatwa condemning al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic State. Yet, how many news outlets featured these stories?
Consider the impact of Western interventions over time starting with European colonialism. As empires crumbled in the aftermath of world wars, European powers gave little thought to the demographics of the region. In forming the modern nation states of Iraq and Syria, Britain drew artificial borders around rival ethnic enclaves, thus sowing the seeds of future volatility.
Failing to account for history, the American occupation of Iraq unleashed long simmering resentments. Regime change under the regency of Paul Bremer swept away an established order as the new Shia-dominated government disenfranchised the formerly dominant Sunnis. In short order, ethnic militias, insurgencies, and reprisal murders escalated the conflict.
Follow the trail of duplicity among our allies in the region. Jihadi groups have moved money, munitions, and personnel across the Turkish border. Our military maintains strategic air capabilities in Qatar, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates even as the wealthy citizens of these countries fund militant groups throughout the region.
How can the enemy of your enemy be your friend when you can no longer distinguish enemies from friends?
We broke it, but Donald Trump has a secret plan to fix it. Is this the same secret plan promised by Richard Nixon in 1968 to end the war in Vietnam? The same non-existent plan that prolonged the war by six more years?
Despite years of conflict and countless casualties, what have we accomplished or learned? If anything, we still live in a dangerous world shaped by blunder and bluster. Buyer, beware!
On Sunday, I mourned the loss of my beloved cousin who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Just past midnight on Monday morning, an arsonist set fire to the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, FL.
Guilt by association. Guilt by religion. Guilt by headline de jour. Endless cycles of blood libel and retribution. When will we finally learn to stop the senseless hatred! Reprisal crimes hurt only the innocent … and eventually someone we love.
(c) 2016
It's become almost de regeur to be nostalgic for Eisenhower, and sometimes I've acknowledged that he admirably enforced integration which was something I don't think he really was enthusiastic about, but he and Kermit Roosevelt (another important person we've forgotten) had the CIA stage a coup which ended democracy in Iran. Nothing really new, the CIA is a dirty word around the world fur such reasons.
ReplyDeleteBut I think we're more than meddlesome or petty or cruel. I think the majority of Americans are stark raving mad, piously evil and dangerous. I won't expatiate, you'll see come November, but the United States of America is over. Say hello to the third world, but only if you're lucky. We may have to say hello to hell. Sell everything, buy gold, buy guns and bury it in the back yard 'cause Papa Trump gonna fix it all.