At The Roman Colosseum

As we agonize about all the various groups and tribes that might or might not emerge from the upheavals throughout the Middle East, we tend to lose sight of the central issue. What we are seeing is basically a food fight among the lions. Our interference in it essentially amounts to ‘the kiss of death’ for whichever side we are seen as favoring. Any fallout will be magnified exponentially should ‘our’ chosen party end up losing.

I’ve noticed that from the very beginning of what started with the so-called ‘Twitter revolution’, there has been virtually no mention of Israel; arguably, a nation that has the most to lose should things turn sour. Israel has remained largely silent while murder is raging all around it. This is because virtually any outcome can only serve to compromise Israel’s security further. Even regime change within its long-time nemesis, Syria, is fraught with danger for Israel which has over time amassed a great deal of data detailing the strength and weakness of the Assad regime. A new hand in Syria would represent the wiping clean of that slate.

The one issue uniting all the disparate factions of the Arab Street is its hatred for Israel. Even as we try to pick winners and do our best to demonstrate our support, the central conflict that puts us at odds with the Ummah is not apt to go away. Our status, even if we should get lucky and pick a winner, will not be enhanced as long as we claim to support Israel (which we don’t). The barb remains: We have supported Israel in the past. That alone condemns us in Arab eyes.

The only way to redeem ourselves (again, as far as Arabs are concerned) is to bomb Israel ourselves, which is not yet politically possible. And although we have done everything just short of that, it has not been enough to convince the ‘Arab Street’. Besides, it will still be advantageous for them to maintain an adversarial relationship with us for purposes of cohesion.

Oil has already been jettisoned as an incentive for good relations between us. Indeed, we have gone to great lengths to show that we are no longer interested. As such, Arab oil will be flowing primarily to the east. This theme has further crystallized in the willingness of Mahmoud Abbas to forego U.S. aid entirely in favor of unifying the factions under his supposed control.

What we are watching unfold in the Middle East will never touch us directly. For us, any outcome is as good as any other. Israel, on the other hand, is not so lucky. Any outcome for them is likely to be dire. The status quo was the best they could ever have hoped for. It’s crunch time for Israel. She will soon have to decide whether or not to stand and fight to defend her modern-day version of the Alamo.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Itamar

It is one thing when some technology that was built in the earnest belief that it will benefit mankind goes awry. It is quite another when we go to considerable lengths excusing, encouraging and funding terrorist organizations who have proven over and over again their intent to massacre the innocent.

Last Friday night, in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, five members of the Fogel family were brutally butchered - the youngest, only three months old. Within hours, the militant wing of president Mahamoud Abbas‘ Fatah party, Al-Aqsa, took credit for the carnage only to withdraw it later (and then again reaffirm unofficially). No doubt, the human animals who did this will be feted and lauded by Palestinians who are well known for naming significant landmarks after dead ‘martyrs‘.

Here in this country, we continue to support such people with millions of (albeit now worthless) dollars annually. Our news media sweeps their U.S.-funded atrocities routinely under the proverbial rug while continuing to demonize the victims.

Peter King’s ‘controversial’ hearings started last week - in my view - 10 years too late. No major news organization reported that the Obama administration sent its representative, National Security Advisor, Denis McDonough, to a Washington-area mosque with close ties to terrorism in advance of the hearings with a clear mandate to undermine the hearings’ importance. I’m leaving out a lot of detail here with the understanding that most of you are already well aware of the facts, none of which have been overtly raised in the mainstream media.

Speaking of the media, every report about the resolution re Libya by the Arab League that I’ve heard mentions that the League endorsed the imposition of a no-fly zone (over Libya). Missing from every one of these reports was that the League also, in the same breath, ruled out international intervention. This I found out from reading The John Batchelor Show website.

Never mind acts of God. We are slitting our own wrists, people!

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/