Middle East / Central Asia 2003 - 101

[tw]

Warning - these two posts will be too short to really discuss the topic:

When they say that Al Qaeda and Saddam were coordinating activities, and if you have sufficient background in the Middle East, then you know immediately and beyond a doubt... they are lying. They know they are lying. But they don't care. Enough of us are so poorly informed that we would believe almost anything reported by the spin doctors about Middle East politics. It is how George Jr got a majority to support his lies about Iraq and the resulting war. But then those domestic politicians know Middle East politics is more complex than a stew containing every vegetable. IOW most people, informed only by sound bytes, could never possibly understand the multi-dimensional problem called Middle East.

What does the murder of Anwar Sadat (during a military parade and recorded by international TV), a 1954 attempt on Nasser's life, the WTC attack, a massacre of tens of thousands by Hafid al Asad in Syria, the war in Chechnya, and Saddam all have in common? Common factor is something called the Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood had so infiltrated the Egyptian military that they could carry bullets and grenades to a parade that no one within one mile was permitted to do. It has so infiltrated the Saudi military that Saudi police are careful to tell American investigators not to share information. And we (our spin doctors) call them uncooperative? Muslim Brotherhood compatriots in Iran so scared Hafid al Asad of Syria that he literally attacked everyone; even neighbors of suspected Muslim Brotherhood. He had tens of thousands massacred (including a whole town) to drive the Muslim Brotherhood out of Syria. What he considered necessary to be successful. One of Saddam's greatest enemies and one reason why he needed such an iron grip on Iraq - Muslim Brotherhood. And who is a major faction of the Muslim Brotherhood? Al Qaeda. George Jr just forgot to tell us any of this. Otherwise some contradictions would have been obvious.

Name a single country, other than Israel, that has not fought or is confronted internally by the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan? Sudan? Pakistan? Fundamental to the movement are writing of Ibn Taymiyah, born in 1263 in what is now Turkey. Not all factions of the Muslim Brotherhood particularly like one another. Islamic Jihad and Hamas subscribe to the philosophy in one way or another. PLO does not (despite what the pundits might say). But the enemy of the Muslim Brotherhood are the same leaders, Amirs, and dictators, that Americans (often foolishly) label as enemies. As Robert Baer notes, the CIA had literally one page of information on this movement. We so little wanted to understand the complexity. Therefore some label as enemies the same people that the Muslim Brotherhood calls its enemy. Therefore we must be allies of the Muslim Brotherhood? Only if we believe spin doctored sound bytes and also understand Muslim Brotherhood.

Washington bureaucrats will say Saddam or Syria are cooperating with Al Qaeda because they assume (rightly so) that Americans neither know nor want to learn any of this. What cannot be taught in a soundbyte or in the Daily News must not be important! It is how our political leadership gets us to endorse self serving political crusades such as the unjustified invasion of Iraq. Notice why this author was so adamantly against the war in Iraq. My facts did not come from distorted White House "intelligence". Saddam was not a threat to America. He was an obstacle to Muslim Brotherhood.

In Oct 2001, a poll in Saudia Arabia said that 95% supported bin Laden. Again, those spin doctors would be so quick to have you assume Saudis are anti-American. Again, they count on us not knowing facts. And again, they would be right about our ignorance because Middle East politics is that complex. Too complex even for a soap opera.

Just because they approve of bin Laden does not mean they are anti-American. To understand, one must first learn how the Middle East works.

It is said America is 'face to face' allies with Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Thailand, Pakistan, Australia, Russia, South Africa, etc. However we are joined at the hip with Saudia Arabia. You may have heard it said that way. But did you really understand what it means? American politics in this region is a slew of backroom deals. Some of the more obvious ones are outright attempts to protect Boeing - with large commission checks to be shared by all insiders. Rumored so often throughout Washington are these stories - this one widely considered fact - especially considering the man:

from Robert Baer's Sleeping with the Devil
In late 1968, days after Richard Nixon won the White House, Khashoggi was one of the first to fly out to congratulate the president-elect. He didn't forget to pass on the regards of Interior Minister Fahd - the prince who'd sent him to San Clemente and the current brain-dead king. When Khashoggi got up to leave, he "forgot" his briefcase, which happened to be stuffed with $1 million in hundreds. No one said a word. Khashoggi went back to his hotel to wait for a telephone call. The phone never rang. It never would. A couple days later, and Khashoggi knew the trick had worked: Washington was for sale.

For some reason, Americans are so foolish as to assume that democracy in the desert would solve everything. Americans myopically assume all peoples want democracies. It is another lie that domestic politicians, such as George Jr, use to promote their agenda. It is, after all, one of the 'reasons' given to invade Iraq.

But as I said, we are joined at the hips to Saudia Arabia because that is where the dic and cunt are, and that is where the wallet is kept. This is the reality that is sucking us into a morass called the Middle East. Being sucked in, just like in VietNam, because, for example, too many readers here don't know most of this. It is complex. But current events say we are going to learn it ... now or later.

(continued in next post)