The Grand Distraction
President Obama is giving the speech tomorrow that President Bush should have given on October 11, 2001. Though he won’t alter events on the ground in the Middle East immediately, Obama will cause the minds of many Muslims to shift. America chose to deal with terrorism by blindly flailing with a sharpened spear and in the process wounding many innocents. President Obama understands the Islamic World. Because he has a unique background, the President will be able to say things that his predecessors could not.
The most pressing issue in the Muslim World involves the Holy Land. The Israeli-Palestinian issue, however, is both a serious issue and a chimera in the region. There is no historical doubt that the Palestinians have been wronged in almost every occasion since 1919. Their ancestral homeland has been whittled away from them through peace treaty, League of Nations treaty, British hegemony, United Nations treaty, Jordanian hegemony and finally Israeli aggression. Their recent historical plight is a tragic consequence at being so near land which is of such religious relevance and being unable to defend itself due to poor and fractious leadership. But Palestine’s tragedy is also deeply rooted in the internal politics of her Arab brothers. Palestine’s condition also serves the interest of the despotic leaders who sit on Arab thrones. The images of Arabs being bloodied by Jewish guns, shells and bombs draws the attention away from the ills of the region’s Arab governments. It is a means of redirecting the rage. It serves another purpose also. Not only does it focus Arab passions away from their own failed governments but it also focuses the West’s attention away from the abysmal human rights violations being perpetrated from Arab capitals. America has simply created a new scene into the Middle Eastern production. The spotlights seem to shift these days between Gaza, The West Bank, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Corrupt Middle Eastern governments now have many outlets to direct the attention of their unhappy populace. Instead of spending lavishly within their petroleum empires, could not the rich oil states redirect significant resources into Palestine and lift out of poverty and destitution the 7.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip? If the Arabs were truly concerned about their oppressed brothers in Palestine, this would have been done long ago. Look at how the wealthy Jews in the West have assisted the zionist cause in Israel. Wouldn’t it make sense for the Muslims to do the same for their brethren in Palestine?
I am sure President Obama will bring the failures of the Arab World to light in his speech tomorrow. He will state the fact that America has not always made the best decisions but the Muslim World cannot blame all the ills of the world on Jews and America. Islamic terrorism is being cultivated in the dictatorial petrie dishes in the Middle East (albeit warmed under the light of Zionism and American malfeasance). President Obama has rightly begun to push back on Israel by stating they should freeze construction on West Bank settlements. This stance against Israel has not been greeted warmly by many Congressmen on both sides of the aisle. The Jewish lobby is strong in the halls of Congress. Prior to Obama’s visit with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, 76 out of the 100 Senators sent a message to the President advising him to mind the risks to Israel over any Middle East peace accords. President Obama is not just saying what is right, he is doing what is right. It will now be up to Israel, the Arab States and, most of all, the Muslim people now to respond in kind.