A Respectful but Alternate View

Submitted by David Samson (Canada), Dec 3, 2012 at 19:22

Professor Pipes is a scholar intimately familiar with is subject matter, articulate and logically organizes an optimistic (or pessimistic, depending on whether you see 30 years in terms of a human lifetime or historical eye-blink) argument, based on selected historical precedents. However, I don't find his argument at all compelling because it does not take into account the Islamic-Imperialist sub-text that drives and fuels this and the overarching world Caliphate conflict. The major players in the anti-Israel (read anti-Jewish) / Islamo-Imperialist war remain Iran and Saudi-Arabia. Shiite Iran is less circumspect, remarkably open and more immediately dangerous with their looming threat of nuclear capacity. Saudi Arabia is more patient, and constantly willing to use part of their vast and perpetually replenishing petrodollar wealth to surreptitiously bias Western media and educational institutions, promote political correctness and manipulate Westerners to embrace the Islamic narrative regarding Israel among other lies. Europe uncritically accepts the Islamic narrative, likely in equal measure from their need for Muslim oil, need to assuage their PC-based, delusional "Post-Colonial Guilt," and their seldom interrupted millennium of anti-Semitic hatred. Barring a new development, the conflict will continue until the prime financiers of the war, Saudi Arabia and Iran, alter their fundamentalist beliefs, not when Muslim inhabitants of Yehuda and Shomron have a flight into reality and see how they are being used as pawns by their wealthier, fanatical and manipulative oil-masters.

Two potential game changers exist. First would be the entry of Israel as an oil-seller on a large scale. I believe this currently terrifies OPEC since for political/religious reasons, it could not admit Israel into it's midst and would consequently see an unprecedented drop in the price of oil with Israel free to charge significantly less for her abundant earth-bound and shale-based oil. Second, Israel can and should emerge from its defensive military cocoon to deter both Iran and Saudi Arabia from further attempts to eradicate Israel by obvious and subtle methods. Israel does not want to attack civilians and the Muslim ruling class does not see civilian deaths as a consequent that might deter them from attempting to annihilate Israel via nuclear or conventional means. However, they do value their oil. Oil is their ticket and only ticket to international power, prominence, influence, personal and religious achievement. Israel's proper target for deterrence should be every oil field in the Middle East. This would bring about Martin Sherman's second peace option. With a fifty year history of cold peace and new-found Israeli wealth capable of countering the obscene Saudi investments in buying Western think-tanks, spin doctor PR agencies, university departments and media, not only Israel but the Western world (with all its warts) might be saved from Islamic-Imperialism in all of its simplistic savagery.

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