WISDOM IN CRAWFORD

WISDOM IN CRAWFORD

Thanks to my Uncle Rush who roomed with George W. Bush at Yale, I was able to obtain a private interview with the President at the ranch in Crawford. It also helped the fact that I was born in Waco, a few miles from Crawford and my family is well known in the region, counting among our ancestors three governors, 12 senators and innumerable judges, cattlemen, sheriffs, and a few wildcatters active in the Temple- Austin axis,

“Rush told me that you write about international matters. What do you wish to talk about?”

“The Middle East is the topic of the moment and I hope the moment does not last too long, Mister President”

“Right you are. You see, most people do not realize that we are witnessing a major development resulting from the Arab-Israeli dispute. From a sporadic conflict that lined up disparate groups shielded by local nationalism, we are now witnessing a step up into a religious war.”

“That is interesting Mister President. I think you hit it right on the nose. It appears that the conflict is no longer a simple Arab-Israel struggle but a serious posture that confronts Islam and Western civilization”

“You said it, cowboy! You see, the Arabs are now talking about an Islamic Waqf. That means a settlement in the entire Middle East, and who knows the rest of the planet. The old pan-Arabism promoted Arab unity and rejection of non-Arab states like Israel. Until the unity concept evaporated with the 6 day war in 1967 and was formally abandoned with Saddam’s wicked management it had been somewhat vague. It also brought a major political change in that it accepted Israel as a small part of Palestine, but not everyone agreed to that. All this allowed those who preferred a pan-Islam base to a shifting faith affected by nationalism. Thus you have the appearance of groups like Hizballah, glued to Syria’s and Iran’s skirts, and aspirations to attract other Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and beyond. You will recall that Iran and Hizballah consider Israel’s presence as a pending chore which spells plain destruction. Nothing gentle about these ideas. But matters do not end there, my friend. Once Iran smelled Hizballah’s going campaign against Israel that has angered a good portion of the West, especially us, as one of the best candidates for whom a great menu of hatred and violence is in store, the ambitions of Iran’s Ahmadinejad were suddenly awake. “Let us go for broke!” you could hear Ahmadinejah as he began to promote his vision of a conflagration of the First Grade against the West. You have probably noticed that several Arab leaders like Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Al Qaida executive, a couple of Syrian gangs, some Palestine groups that had remained in the sidelines, a bunch from Saudi Arabia, a few from the Emirates and even some noisemakers from Jordan, Brazil and Indonesia promptly indicated that they would not be opposed to a coordinated. struggle. The vision could be contagious to the Arab nations in the Mediterranean; the Algerian, Moroccan, Libyans, etc. would recall with some distorted pride the days when they battled foreign legions, punitive brigades, assault columns and other romantically-titled platoons of drunken sergeants and poetic officers. Then, there are some of the mountain types from Afghanistan, a few strays from Pakistan and even a couple of fanatic groups from India who love to reminisce about the British colonial days and the trouble they caused then.”

“Gee, Mister President you sound like Winston Churchill. You are implying that the Judeo-Christian world is about to face a united Arab world under Islam in what appears to be a religious war”

“It is not a pretty picture. Someone said that violence is the nature of men and that war and aggression are the tools of faith”

The President was silent for a while. Then I asked him:

“Mister President, what are you going to do about all this?’

“He looked at me and with a sad smile replied”

“Nothing!”

“What do you mean nothing?”

“What do you think we have elections for? Let the next mother f---- in the White House take care of all that!”

I laughed so hard that I woke up.