PROPHET NETANYAHU CAME TO TOWN
Always an incubator for prophets, the Middle East has produced yet another, but this new one writes his own script. Of all those who preceded him many were crucified and only a couple made it to stardom and they did so through the writings of others. This new Israeli-born but US-educated prophet is on a mission to warn the world about a monster set to devour us. It is quite a difficult mission as he must remain constantly on the offensive to hide the unsavoury baggage he carries. Prophets attract sceptics so they must gather converts to maintain momentum. In Washington he got standing ovations from the GOP (now Guardians of Privilege) and snubs from the Democrats.
Netanyahu’s vision can be traced back to the major victors of WWI who dismembered the Ottoman Turkish empire that, founded in 1299, grew to encompass lands as far west as Algeria and Austria, and the Russian steppes in the northeast and eastwards to Iran. The Sunni-Muslim Ottomans tolerated all ethnic groups and their religions. Anyone could rise to high office. Nevertheless, numerous ethnic groups (or their leaders) yearned for complete independence. In Palestine there were over a million Arabs and under half a million Jews whose help was needed by the British and ANZACS to conquer with the promise of homelands for both. In 1920 the League of Nations granted mandates. Because of its revolution Russia was left out as was the USA who had not participated in that theatre of war and whose Republicans had shot down Woodrow Wilson’s welcomed plans for, and assistance to, the League. That left the spoils to the UK, France, and Italy. France accepted the responsibility of caring for Syria and Lebanon; the UK’s mandate included Palestine and Mesopotamia; while Italy became dominant in Libya.
In spite of the cost and headaches in blood and treasure of controlling restive groups (and their resources) the prestige (and profits to some) was considered worth it.
Building towards becoming the world’s dominant power, the US found itself with no Middle East base to call its own. A great opportunity came in 1948 when the British, exhausted with the impossible task of fulfilling promises to both Arabs and Jews, gave the problem to the United Nations. As Jews had contributed six million of the 13,750.000 undesirables exterminated by the Nazis, there was deep and widespread sympathy to create a homeland somewhere, other than in the victor nations, for surviving Jews. Of course the Jews desired their old homeland which they had cruelly conquered from others only to be cruelly evicted by the Romans, exhausted putting down numerous revolts after treating them better than most provinces and allowing many Jews to attain great wealth as servants of Rome. The UN was reluctant and did not have the votes to impose on Palestine the punishment for a German crime so no new Israel in Palestine was possible until US President Harry Truman, with a larger and influential Jewish population at home, used the promise of foreign aid to buy sufficient UN votes to establish the new Israel. This created a strong US-Israel bond that let the US stock pile weapons to back up its growing influence in the area. It also created many new enemies. The Jews who fled other parts of the world, bringing talents, wealth, and ideals cherished by ‘Western’ nations, have built a powerful industrial state that does need more room than the original choice lands stolen from Palestine, so thefts continue, the Palestines continue to be persecuted, the US is frustrated but deems it necessary to downplay Israeli atrocities that include creating a secret nuclear arsenal, hidden in South Africa then Israel, amid defying numerous UN resolutions. Netanyahu, and the US, refuse to mention this while vilifying Iran.
This behaviour, not condoned by many Israelis, plus the desire of US hawks to remain militarily dominant need persistent enemies to justify it. In none exist, create some.
Iran and its religious rulers were created, after all, mainly by the misdeeds of British and US interests. Iran does house thousands of contented Jews, yet it does persecute its Baha’i followers - a religion created 150 years ago in Tehran and now with a world following that embraces all those good things we hold dear. But, crime of all crimes, it pursues nuclear bombs which it denies as does even Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Having done far more harm to Iran than it has ever done to us, we ostracize it, impose harsh sanctions, and use it as an excuse to maintain excessive military force and lead us to the brink of new wars that we cannot win militarily or morally.
Iran does have provocation from WWI and WWII occupations, an 8-year invasion from Iraq, and nuclear-armed neighbours: India, Israel, Russia, and Pakistan, not to mention France, North Korea, the UK, and the US all of whom we must persuade to dismantle their arsenals as have done: Argentina. Belarus, Brazil, Iraq, Japan. Kazakhstan, Libya, South Africa, Sweden, and Ukraine. And thanks to all those nations with nuclear energy programs, quite capable of building nuclear weapons, but have declined the madness of doing so.
And, Turkey, could you somehow revert to those good old days and persuade your former empire to return to the live-and-let-live mentality?
Ye Olde Scribe, 08 March 2015
Always an incubator for prophets, the Middle East has produced yet another, but this new one writes his own script. Of all those who preceded him many were crucified and only a couple made it to stardom and they did so through the writings of others. This new Israeli-born but US-educated prophet is on a mission to warn the world about a monster set to devour us. It is quite a difficult mission as he must remain constantly on the offensive to hide the unsavoury baggage he carries. Prophets attract sceptics so they must gather converts to maintain momentum. In Washington he got standing ovations from the GOP (now Guardians of Privilege) and snubs from the Democrats.
Netanyahu’s vision can be traced back to the major victors of WWI who dismembered the Ottoman Turkish empire that, founded in 1299, grew to encompass lands as far west as Algeria and Austria, and the Russian steppes in the northeast and eastwards to Iran. The Sunni-Muslim Ottomans tolerated all ethnic groups and their religions. Anyone could rise to high office. Nevertheless, numerous ethnic groups (or their leaders) yearned for complete independence. In Palestine there were over a million Arabs and under half a million Jews whose help was needed by the British and ANZACS to conquer with the promise of homelands for both. In 1920 the League of Nations granted mandates. Because of its revolution Russia was left out as was the USA who had not participated in that theatre of war and whose Republicans had shot down Woodrow Wilson’s welcomed plans for, and assistance to, the League. That left the spoils to the UK, France, and Italy. France accepted the responsibility of caring for Syria and Lebanon; the UK’s mandate included Palestine and Mesopotamia; while Italy became dominant in Libya.
In spite of the cost and headaches in blood and treasure of controlling restive groups (and their resources) the prestige (and profits to some) was considered worth it.
Building towards becoming the world’s dominant power, the US found itself with no Middle East base to call its own. A great opportunity came in 1948 when the British, exhausted with the impossible task of fulfilling promises to both Arabs and Jews, gave the problem to the United Nations. As Jews had contributed six million of the 13,750.000 undesirables exterminated by the Nazis, there was deep and widespread sympathy to create a homeland somewhere, other than in the victor nations, for surviving Jews. Of course the Jews desired their old homeland which they had cruelly conquered from others only to be cruelly evicted by the Romans, exhausted putting down numerous revolts after treating them better than most provinces and allowing many Jews to attain great wealth as servants of Rome. The UN was reluctant and did not have the votes to impose on Palestine the punishment for a German crime so no new Israel in Palestine was possible until US President Harry Truman, with a larger and influential Jewish population at home, used the promise of foreign aid to buy sufficient UN votes to establish the new Israel. This created a strong US-Israel bond that let the US stock pile weapons to back up its growing influence in the area. It also created many new enemies. The Jews who fled other parts of the world, bringing talents, wealth, and ideals cherished by ‘Western’ nations, have built a powerful industrial state that does need more room than the original choice lands stolen from Palestine, so thefts continue, the Palestines continue to be persecuted, the US is frustrated but deems it necessary to downplay Israeli atrocities that include creating a secret nuclear arsenal, hidden in South Africa then Israel, amid defying numerous UN resolutions. Netanyahu, and the US, refuse to mention this while vilifying Iran.
This behaviour, not condoned by many Israelis, plus the desire of US hawks to remain militarily dominant need persistent enemies to justify it. In none exist, create some.
Iran and its religious rulers were created, after all, mainly by the misdeeds of British and US interests. Iran does house thousands of contented Jews, yet it does persecute its Baha’i followers - a religion created 150 years ago in Tehran and now with a world following that embraces all those good things we hold dear. But, crime of all crimes, it pursues nuclear bombs which it denies as does even Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Having done far more harm to Iran than it has ever done to us, we ostracize it, impose harsh sanctions, and use it as an excuse to maintain excessive military force and lead us to the brink of new wars that we cannot win militarily or morally.
Iran does have provocation from WWI and WWII occupations, an 8-year invasion from Iraq, and nuclear-armed neighbours: India, Israel, Russia, and Pakistan, not to mention France, North Korea, the UK, and the US all of whom we must persuade to dismantle their arsenals as have done: Argentina. Belarus, Brazil, Iraq, Japan. Kazakhstan, Libya, South Africa, Sweden, and Ukraine. And thanks to all those nations with nuclear energy programs, quite capable of building nuclear weapons, but have declined the madness of doing so.
And, Turkey, could you somehow revert to those good old days and persuade your former empire to return to the live-and-let-live mentality?
Ye Olde Scribe, 08 March 2015
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