Caution Tale for the Neocons.

Submitted by Arlinda DeAngelis (United States), Mar 9, 2005 at 18:33

Dr. Pipes' warning is crucial in constructing a viable Middle Eastern policy. His reference to Germany of the 1930s is invaluable and if we do not wish history to repeat itself then we must pay attention to what Dr. Pipes is telling us.

The Middle East was more of a cauldron than any of us ever knew until its agents slaughtered three thousand of us and in an instant we all became Israelis. Look to Israel and see the past, the present and the future.

Abbas has not yet earned trust. He is either a leader of the Arabs in Palestine or he is not. He wants it both ways, as does the rest of the despotic and tyrannical theocratic Middle East. Abbas purports to condemn Hamas and Hezbollah, but then when they strike again, he claims no responsibility ... the "I knew nothing" defense. That is not leadership. Perhaps like Arafat, he's just another lousy killer on the take.

Syria extols its cooperation with the United States and then trains terrorists to attack us in Iraq. Assad proclaims that Syrian troops will leave Lebanon but the thousands of Syrian secret police will stay. Assad says Syria will leave in stages. Translated, that means Syria will not leave but will stay in stages. Syria then creates a demonstration for the Lebanese to proclaim their support for occupation! It might be the first time any nation in history wanted to be occupied.

Iran proclaims cooperation with IAEE but then continues operating its nuclear reactor extolling their peaceful aims. Sure -- and all that weapons grade yellow clay coming from those reactors will just disappear into the sands of Iran or into the skies over Israel.

We seem to be making progress, as Dr. Pipes points out, and that is a very good thing. The neocons were right and brave and courageous and at times brilliant, especially on the Middle East. But in the vaccum between fragile democracy and the waiting Islamic fascist ideologues, are we facing another even worse scenario? In the cauldron that is the Middle East ... bubble, bubble; toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble ... the witches' brew from which terrible events can emerge as they did in Germany.

As long as the world is oil dependent on the Middle East, the flow of money will never cease and it is money in the end that keeps the Middle East as it is ... money for the few at the expense of the many. And what do the many do? They become active and passive supporters of Islamic imperial fascism.

We may not like what Dr. Pipes' cautionary tale tells us. Americans are impatient people. We want the job done and done right and done quickly. But we must be careful and patient about what we do in the Middle East or the worst of history will indeed repeat itself.

Thank you, Dr. Pipes, for reminding us that all is not what it seems to be, especially in the cauldron that is the Middle East.

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