Palestinians After More than Philistine Lands

 

The Palestinian leadership and spokespersons have made the false claim repeatedly that they are the descendants of the long dead Philistines and claim they are simple demanding their ancient homelands. There are any number of problems with this narrative starting with, but not ending with, the fact the Philistines were of Greek descent, not Arab. Then there is the little inconvenient fact that the Arab expansion from their ancestral homelands of the Arabian Peninsula waited until well after the Roman Empire had fallen, somewhere around 625 of the Common Era. All these and other little equally inconsequential truths aside there remains the one as to what exactly were the Philistine lands. Truth be known, the Philistines being a people of the sea held solely coastal cities with their five capital cities being Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Gath. This would relate to Ashdod as the northern most city and continuing down the coast including Gaza on to approximately the Egyptian border possibly extending into parts of norther Sinai Peninsula. This would be about half again more land than Gaza which is currently held by Hamas and is sometimes referred to in editorials as Hamastan. Claiming to be the Philistines would rule out the entirety of their claims to lands of the West Bank, but why let realities get in the way.

 

Tribes of Israel and Land of the Philistines

 

What brought this on was reading some of the overly forgiving eulogies rightfully praising Simon Peres at his state funeral last week. The picture painted of Peres was one of a man whose life was spent in the unswerving desire for peace and of a gentle soul who was next to faultless and was the measure of understanding. I would have liked to have known of the man described, but that is often how eulogies are, aggrandizing those traits the world found laudable while ignoring those which did not meet the world’s universal measure of greatness. Thus almost none mentioned that Simon Peres was the driving force which drove the building of the experimental reactor at Dimona which could be used for the production of nuclear weapons grade materials, and his deals to acquire French Mirage jets which served as the backbone of the early Israeli Air Force as well. They omitted his support for settlements in what many once believed were lands which at best could have been thought to be negotiable Israeli lands and other Zionist endeavors which assisted in building a strong and viable State of Israel in the 1950s and early 1960s before Peres remade himself into a leftist icon and the man who pursued peace regardless of the consequences and never once saw any of the difficulties resulting from his actions. Simon Peres was a force of wild abandon that wreaked havoc as it broke down every argument and logical caution all in the name of Oslo.

 

Once he had drafted and brought the Oslo Accords, forcing them upon his own nation and government using every coercion and international pressure in order to force Israel to kneel before the altar of Oslo, as if it were the Golden Calf in the plains before Mount Sinai during the Exodus, and the results were similar in both cases. Simon Peres sold the chimera of land for peace and made such into an idolatrous religion with the Oslo Accords as the idol of worship and constructed a virtual Shrine of Oslo where land for peace was to be worshiped and the term Oslo was a sainted and holy word. This idolatrous cult diverted many an Israeli just as idolatrous cults of the Philistines, Egyptian, Hittites, Edomites, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans stole Israelite souls throughout Israeli history. In many of the times past the Israelite people and later the Jews were punished for their taking of false gods and worship of idols in place of Hashem. Some have postulated that the terrorism could have been interpreted as divine retribution for the worship of the doctrines of Oslo over the Commandments in Torah. There are many wisdoms and truths about the Land of Israel in Torah which we are not to question but to protect and serve to make them holy and dedicated to the worship of Hashem as commanded in Torah. Perhaps it would be of interest for this lay person to tell of the few with which even I am familiar.

 

First and foremost, the land of Israel belongs to Hashem and Hashem has assigned the Israelites, many call us Jews but that term defines Jews everywhere while Israelites are the Jewish People who have remained through time or returned to these ancient and holy lands thus making us separate in one aspect from other Jews, to tend and care for the lands of Hashem and the lands will care for us for as long as we keep Hashem’s Commandments. Hashem gave us these lands to sustain us as a reward for living by the Commandments of Torah and the lands will be bountiful in measure with our obedience and pure worship of Hashem as Commanded in Torah. There are more than Ten Commandments, there are six-hundred-thirteen Commandments, Mitzvot, in Torah and the Rabbis have added quite a number of regulations, one might call them, over the years as listed in Talmud and other doctrinaires. We are to follow these directives from Torah as if our lives depended upon them because they actually do depend upon them if the land is to support us and keep us. Those who do not follow Hashem and do these Commandments will be “vomited from these lands” as the lands will reject the sinners. After the last exile which lasted almost two-thousand years we hope we have learned this one truism at long last.

 

There are instructions as to how we are to face those living in the lands which Hashem was to give us and this should probably apply to the modern times as well. We are to give these people three alternatives, each less hospitable than the previous one. The most hospitable is they are welcome to remain in the lands and we will not settle where their cities exist as long as they leave us in peace to follow Hashem and they agree to obey the Noahic Code of seven commandments upon which all civilized nations are to be based according to Torah. These are not dissimilar to the Ten Commandments but are slightly less demanding (see image below). Those agreeing to this may live within the lands and will be afforded equal protection from outside attacks and be treated as equals with equal rights and be free to live providing they reside peaceable and obey the Noahic Code, the Devine Code of seven universal commandments.

 

Noahic Codes

 

The second choice is they may choose to leave the lands entirely. If they choose this they will be afforded ample time to gather their belongings, herds, moveable property, vehicles, wagons and household goods and leave to choose a new homeland and we promise not to harm them, chase after them or bring upon them undue hardship once they have left for their future new homelands. Granted, this was much more easily achieved when the Israelites came to the Promised Lands after the exodus from the exile in Egypt (Mizraim). Of the Canaanite Tribes there were a few who chose to remain and did so in peace, some chose to leave and went forth from the land unhindered, but most chose the last alternative to their dismay and eventual demise. The third choice is to bring war against the Israelites and to try and vanquish us. Those choosing to take this stance and bring war face the ultimate response, annihilation. In case of war we are instructed by Torah to bring complete and total war against those who choose to treat us with violence and we are instructed to kill them to the last individual and to destroy their cattle, goods, and all that is theirs so as to wipe their name from history from that point forward. Total war is what we are described to bring against those who bring violence against us in Hashem’s lands.

 

This is not how we have treated the violences brought against us and instead have sought to make a peace with those who have chosen war. Peace cannot be made with people whose stated desire is your eradication. Reading even the school books that the Western nations of Europe as well as the European Union, United States, Canada, Australia and the United Nations have paid for in full and some have sent representatives to review the content of the texts and approved them and they state that the Jew in Israel is a mortal enemy to the Palestinian who must murder them wherever they find them. This is taught over and over again in every class imaginable and such is reinforced through plays and exercises where they reenact the murder of IDF troops and Israeli Jews. They have children’s shows on television where they sing songs about the heroic martyrs who murdered Jews and how they too will murder Jews when they are older. The governments of the world know of these textbooks which they pay to have printed. They know of these children’s television shows and the summer camps which are paramilitary training camps which teach the genocidal murder of all Jews worldwide. The world governments and most of the academics know of the naming of parks, schools, summer camps, soccer teams, sports tournaments, streets, squares, mosques and buildings of all types after murderers of Jews, or terrorists, of what they call blessed martyrs which is their term for suicide bombers who successfully murdered Israeli civilians including often numerous Arab Israeli citizens. The world knows of these things and gives it tacit approval all the while condemning Israel for any defense put forth to protect Israeli civilians. The western nations, especially the United States, demand that Israel remove blockaded streets, remove checkpoints and allow Palestinians free access into Israel basically instructing Israel to not enforce the borders with Palestinian Authority semi-autonomous regions knowing full well that doing so will provide clear access for terrorists into Israeli cities where they can and will murder Israeli civilians and then when these attackers are prevented from murdering Israeli civilians by police and they are shot the world protests the extrajudicial killing as if there had been no threat to life despite the terrorists already having stabbed or shot any number of individuals often resulting in deaths or permanent debilitating injuries which scar, disfigure and disable the victims for life.

 

There is a term in history, more of an explanation really; it is the theory that Jewish blood is cheap, often costless and inconsequential. This was true in much of history both in Europe and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) area under Islamic rule and Greek and Roman before that. One example were the Crusades where when they had numerous troops who were not battle-hardened and had never tasted blood (killed a man) they would assault Jewish towns and ghettos somewhat for sport and for the experience of killing so that when they reached the holy lands they actually had mastered their weapons and no longer gave killing a second thought which made them better soldiers. This training also made the slaughter of entire towns and cities in the holy lands easier on the soldiers’ consciences as they “purified” (rid) them of their non-Christian peoples. Do not believe this was only a Crusader practice as there was also purification in the Islamic world where they too were readying armies for the conquest and spread of Islam and often also for retaking the Holy Lands. As Jerusalem was of obvious value above and beyond that of any normal city as well as was Bethlehem and Nazareth, the Muslims were particularly driven to hold these cities simply to deny the Christians their prized possessions which they found made them lesser fighters, or at least that was the theory.

 

Once these cities, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem had finally been conquered, the next city of premium value and declared the third most important city for Islam became Constantinople. It replaced Jerusalem which had previously held that title until it was finally secured and defended and proven beyond the ability of the Christians to challenge. They treasured Constantinople so much they even gave it an Islamic name, Istanbul. Once they had finally broken through the walls of Constantinople and taken the city and renamed it Istanbul, they went the additional step of taking the Hagia Sophia, the largest and most decorative cathedral of the world at that time, and transformed it with the addition of four minarets and named as the Aya Sofya First Imperial Mosque of Istanbul (modern picture below where it now serves as a museum covering its entire history). The Hagia Sophia has had a spotted history of grandeur and falling into gross disrepair as well as suffering a number of earthquakes and one pillaging. Today it has had most of its frescos restored and the plaster removed to reveal others once again displaying its grandeur as a museum open to the public. One can only hope this grand structure and example of glorious architecture remains in all of its historic beauty for posterity but that will remain to be seen.

 

Aya Sofya First Imperial Mosque of Istanbul
Hagia Sophia Museum

 

Once the Muslims had taken Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul it eventually fell to the Ottoman Turks, themselves Muslims, and to the allies after World War I after which it was returned to Turkish rule as Turkey remained as a nation in the aftermath of the Great War. They needed a new third holiest city for the conquests to continue. This did cause some differences of opinion as there were three separate cities which served at times holding the honor of greatest target of Islamic armies. The Islamic armies of the west which had invaded Europe by crossing the Gibraltar Straights and entering Spain, or Andalusia as the Muslim named the area, first gave the honor to Madrid and then Barcelona as the third holiest city in Islam, simply the manner in which the next targeted assaults intended to conquer were named. The Islamic forces then took most of Portugal so quickly along with Spain that Lisbon, as far as we could discern, was never so honored. The next target was France and the Muslim forces had experienced no real opposition of consequence so set their sights high and named Paris as their next great conquest. They ran into a problem somewhere around Tours, France in October of 732, where the forces under the leadership of Charles “the Hammer” Martel who defeated the Islamic forces in such a definitive battle that they were turned back out of France and back into Spain.

 

Meanwhile, as well as much later in history, the next target was in the west of Europe where the Islamic Ottomans targeted Vienna. The interesting item here is the Ottomans made two separate attempts to take the city laying siege to the city in 1529 and again in 1683. The Ottoman Empire led by Suleiman the Magnificent made the first attempt to take Vienna laying siege to the city for almost three months when nature decided to turn upon the Ottoman forces. First there came rain storms which destroyed what tunneling efforts had not already been defeated by the defenders of Vienna. The frontal assaults broke first at distance by the use of arquebus, a rifle-like hand cannon (see image below), and at closer range the use of long pikes broke the assaults. This was followed by an early and particularly heavy snow leading to a rout where many supplies and artillery were abandoned and many men captured. This led to years of conflict between the Austria-Hungarian forces backed by Spanish and Holy Roman forces against the Ottoman Empire forces leading eventually to another attempt at taking Vienna.

 

Arquebus, a rifle-like hand cannon

 

Beginning on July 14, 1683 the Ottoman forces under Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha and Kara Mehmed of Diyarbakir initially fought their way to the walls of Vienna and laid siege to the city. The siege held for a couple of months until September 12, 1683, when relief forces arrived to relieve the city. King John III Sobieski of Poland had prepared his forces for a total war of relief for the city of Vienna during the summer of 1683. He requested and received guarantees from all the neighboring countries and backed by the Holy Roman Empire states for a pact of nonaggression while he mustered his entire army to march to relieve Vienna. His forces arrived and backed by Holy Roman Cavalry leaving sufficient forces at key junctions and guarding all bridges to sustain resupply of his forces, King John III Sobieski defeated the Ottoman forces laying siege to Vienna and broke the stalemate thus setting his name into the history books as the man who began the eventual defeat of the Ottoman Empire and broke their advances into Europe once and for all. Thank you for tolerating this trip through history though off topic. I do tend to ramble.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Worldwide Struggles to Continue to Intensify

There are numerous contests in numerous fields spanning from military contests to economic contests to diplomatic posturing to impose one’s influence. These disparate struggles have escalated and in all appearances will continue to escalate for the time being. Often people talking about this phenomenon want to compare the situation in the world today to the fall of the Roman Empire and equate their presumed imminent collapse of the United States for whatever reason they assign from financial to ecological or whatever their heart’s desire with the loss of the influence of Rome as the preeminent power of their age. There are so many reasons that such a comparison is ridiculous not the least of which is the United States is nowhere near collapse of any foreseeable kind. Has the United States appeared to take a break from their role of world’s police force and become preoccupied with their own internal problems and various difficulties? The obvious answer is yes, only a fool would not have picked up on this occurrence. So, what exactly are these disparate struggles over, who is contesting and is capable of achieving the leadership in their theater and what does it all mean for the future?

 

The most obvious arena of contests is the Arab and Muslim worlds. Some of these struggles are internal such as the current unrest in Egypt. Then there is the Palestinian Israeli conflict which is sometimes misperceived and called a peace process, it is a war in which only one side is permitted to attack and the other is denounced and demands for it to cease any military action they take even if it is in an effort of self-preservation. The main struggle in this theater is currently focused in Syria and currently is rapidly spreading into Lebanon. In one particular manner this struggle also is taking place in Egypt. There are three sides to the contest with the most active being the Iranian Shiite axis which in addition to Iran includes Hezballah, Iraq, the Syrian military and President Bashir Assad, and the terrorist forces which are controlled by the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps). Another front is the Sunni forces which favor militant Islam and has two dominant faces, the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda. The Muslim Brotherhood is still behind much of the fighting in Egypt where they have recently been removed from ruling over Egypt by the Egyptian military which is attempting to place a more secular type of governance that will require excluding the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence in any future government. In Syria the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda are allied and working together despite the numerous experts’ opinions that claim these two are contesting against each other for control. This would not be the first time that the experts’ opinions did not exactly match the real world, especially in the Middle East. The final front is another Sunni Islamist force headed by Saudi Arabia which is the lead in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. This group has a longer ranged view for their taking power in the world where they rely on their oil wealth to slowly purchase influence and through positions such as chairs at prestigious universities and forming political groups and institutes through which they exert their influence. The basic analysis of the contest in the Arab and Muslim worlds breaks down primarily along a Sunni-Shiite divide with a secondary struggle between the most powerful of the Sunni nations jostling to take and retain the lead.

 

In Europe the struggles are along financial and economic roles where Germany holds the most prevalent and strongest financial health. At the other end of the spectrum are Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and to a lesser extent a number of other countries who are facing economic, budget or banking difficulties. France and England both are financially sound with the English having the advantage of not having completely converted to using only the Euro which is partly responsible for their economic health. The unknowns in this group are the numerous nations that were formerly behind the Iron curtain and who are experiencing potentials for great growth once they establish updated infrastructure. The positioning in Europe will come down to Germany, France, Britain and Poland with Russia also attempting to gain some leverage though they are often seen as being outside of the European theater. This is also one of the theaters where the United States has a finger in the pie though it is often not welcomed by the Europeans.

 

Africa and South America are both future powers. South America appears to be blossoming more quickly than is Africa but both are more likely to be distant future powers. Of these nations Brazil and Argentina would be seen as the leaders. In Asia the preeminent powers are obvious, China and India. These have been the leading powers of Asia throughout most of history with some sharing at times with Thailand and Siam for examples. There are other nations that are worthy of note which include but are not limited to Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Still, the obvious item of most importance is where the United States is headed and what that means for the future and will the United States be reasserting themselves.

 

Well, what has come over the United States is something that the world has witnessed before and it is not anything like the fall of Rome. The United States has entered one of its take care of the home front introvert modes where the United States is concerned with internal problems and politics while leaving foreign policy on ignore wherever and whenever possible. The United State has entered such periods before and they always take care of themselves. The first one came after the United States faces some problems with a declining Spanish colonial empire where, after routing the Spanish Navy, the United States gained some colonial properties and protectorates. After this brief worldly encounter the United States returned to her sleep mode allowing the world to take care of itself. This worked out splendidly and resulted in World War I. Eventually the United States entered World War I and though they had minimal effect they like to claim their entry into the war facilitated its conclusion. The United States returned to their cocoon after World War I so fast that they barely had any influence over the Treaty of Versailles. The United States signed the treaty, signed some additional treaties and papers and sat on the sidelines while the League of Nations was formed and the United States never took the bother of joining the League of Nations.

 

With the United States back on auto-pilot and taking care of internal matters while ignoring the rest of the world things got dicey largely due to unfinished business and strict and overly punishing terms from World War I landed Europe and eventually Asia in World War II. The United States gave sitting out this war a good try or at least the citizens did until they were shaken by the attack on Pearl Harbor. World War II resulted in a new alignment of world power with Europe no longer in the lead. The new leadership fell initially to the United States and the Soviet Union and later China. This initiated the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union engaged through secondary players and contested in a series of proxy wars such as Korea and Viet Nam to name the two best known. But it was another front where there was a proxy contest that played out between the Soviets and the Americans and that was the Middle East. It is that final arena which will become a major issue going forward.

 

The real question is will the United States retake her position as a world super power or is she entering a long term hibernation of introspection. That will remain a question until after the next Presidential elections in 2016. The result of that election will determine the future of more than just the United States but also whether or not another World War looms in the near future. Should the American people decide to continue with their preoccupation with internal affairs and simply pretend the world will take care of itself then the future could be very dark. The United States will very likely rebound from their current financial difficulties but to do so will take some extreme measures which may demand the full attention of the American political field then the world will act rudderless with the separate influences battling for the lead positions. There is a good chance that we might witness another expansion of Islam if one of the interests currently manages to extend their influence sufficiently that they unite much of the Muslim world behind them in a new caliphate then such an expanse would be inevitable. For this reason the two arenas which bear watching are the Middle East and the United States domestic scene. The inspection of the United States should concentrate on the importance placed by the news media on world events against domestic issues. The Middle East will be easier to understand as the fight over Syria will be one major contest with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran as the powers whose influence will indicate the direction. The wild card in the Middle East is Israel which only needs to survive to stand as an obstacle to any grander dreams the Islamic powers might desire to achieve as in order to solidify a preeminent position and be crowned the leader of the new caliphate will necessarily need to defeat Israel, no small task. Strange as it may seem but, the continued peace and ability to avoid yet another World War one only need watch two nations, the United States and Israel. If Israel continues to exist as the Jewish state then the chances of another World War are greatly minimalized. Without Israel the world will need to hope that the United States wakes up to her rightful place in the world and take her position seriously and takes the responsibilities of a super power to heart. Unfortunately, it is far more likely that the United States will remain in her introvert mode and the world will end up dependent upon a small nation that so many nations in the world love to hate, Israel.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

European Union After the Greek Inevitable Collapse

Whether Greece is going to crash and be unable to pay the interest on their debt, let alone pay down the debt itself, no longer needs debating. The only discussion is when it will crash and what happens next. The crash could arrive this weekend or next weekend or some weekend coming in the near future, but my bet is it will officially succumb on a weekend in order to minimize any attention at the point of economic Armageddon. The fall will bring troops in the streets to contain the breakdown of civil society which will rapidly follow. Within days the markets will run out of food and the petrol will cease to flow. Cash, even Euros, will likely no longer be accepted for trade and instead precious metals or other items of barter will replace money. Government will fail as the employees begin to realize that they are not going to be paid their salaries and even if they were, the money would be worthless. The run on the banks has already begun as when it all falls down the banks will be forced to close. The borders of Greece will close to people leaving taking anything of value out of the country. Precious metals, gems, jewelry and any other objects of worth will not be allowed to be taken out of the country. If I was currently living in Greece I would take what I could and flee the country now while it is allowed. The real problem will be the affect it will have on the European Union and the Euro.

The first thing one needs to realize is the current economic emergency in Europe is mostly traceable to the unified currency called the Euro. Because ever country which has joined the Euro currency exchange has a unified currency, the countries who are in financial trouble are unable to adjust their currency in order to make their debt easier to pay simply by deflating the currency. They are stuck with a Euro which has a set worth that is beyond their ability to control. If Greece was still using the Greek Drachma they could allow their economy to have had steady inflation which would have reduced the exchange rate of the Drachma against the other currencies in the world. This would have allowed Greece to stay on top of their debt as by allowing economic inflation they would be actually lowering their debt while also making Greek products less expensive thus more attractive on foreign markets and the lower cost of doing business would have attracted industries to Greece thus allowing them to recover and grow their economy. Being stuck with the Euro they had a currency that remained fixed by external factors thus Greece could not adjust their place within the world markets. This is what aggravated their problems to this point where everything will simply go bust. The Greek economy will no longer support the currency the country is forced to use. The fastest way to try to actually address the Greek crisis would be to allow them to immediately revert to their native currency and set the Greek Drachma at a favorable exchange level in order to stimulate their economy. It might be too late to have this avoid the default at this late date, but it might be something worth considering. The problem this would cause is it sets a precedent which other countries would use to get out of using the Euro thus making the Euro the currency of the elite European countries and pushing its relative value upwards which would weaken the stronger European Union member countries’, such as Germany, economies. Such a move would actually spell the end of the Euro and everybody would be rushing back to their individual currencies and Europe would be facing its old problems which the Euro was set to be the grand solution. I think with Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and soon France all being in need of an instrument for adjusting their debts and market place of trade in the world through currency manipulation that this will bring down the European dream of a unified currency. The Euro will be the initial casualty as the economic tsunami that is racing towards many of the European Union member states.

The real problem behind this tragic set of circumstances is the European Union attempted something that is impossible even when studied in simple economic theory. Countries which have independent governments with differing economic policies cannot share a unified currency. I realize the theory was that the European Union would become sufficiently powerful as to dictate economic policies to its member states. Even if the European Union did not possess universal power, as long as they could set limits or, at the very least, have strong influence over the interest rates, levels of indebtedness, amount of social spending as percentage of GDP and other fiscal policies in order to have a more unified economic set of policies, then the Euro might have succeeded as a universal currency. But as each country had different interest rates, different retirement ages, differing benefit packages for workers, and similar disparities on almost every economic function, a universal currency was marked to fail from the start. Now the European Union is facing its inevitable predicament of what to do when the limited common governance leads to sufficient economic disparities that the common currency of the union can no longer be universally sustained. The countries and governors of the European Union must now decide exactly which precedent it finds least contemptible, allowing Greece to return to its native currency the Drachma or force Greece from the European Union cutting it adrift to fend for itself. At least if they only allow Greece to adopt their former currency then Greece can allow the Drachma to adjust in value until they reach an equilibrium where their economy begins to reemerge and strengthen sufficiently that Greece rebounds from its plunge and begins a real recovery. The option of pumping more funds into Greece cannot be the solution because unless the Greek economy is rejuvenated such funds would simply be absorbed without relieving the problem which can only be accomplished by devaluing the Greek currency which is impossible as long as they use the Euro.

This is where everything gets interesting. Should the European Union take the easiest route and simply cut Greece from being a member of the European Union and wish them a fond, or not so fond, farewell they will be sending signal to the other countries facing economic troubles the message that should you get into dire straits we will not be there till the end. The European Union would then have to live with the reputation of a fair weather club which casts out anyone who upsets their happy economic cart. Such a move would very likely be the death knell for the European Union which would likely find itself losing numerous other nations, both those who are having problems and those who fear remaining within the European Union would eventually lead them to have problems. Very quickly we would likely see Spain, Portugal, and Italy following Greece out of the European Union and back to their own currencies and happily enjoying renewed economic freedom to do what they must to retain their current socialist oases while adjusting their currencies thus repairing their sick economies, something not possible from inside the European Union while depending on the Euro. The European Union might find itself reduced to a union that included Germany, France, Great Britain and possibly some of the emerging nations from Eastern Europe who are still coming into their own after decades of Soviet domination and repression.

The other route would be to allow Greece to return to using their own currency for a set period, say eighteen months or until their economy stabilized. Then allow them to return to using the Euro which would now be adjusted to the new level of the Greek Drachma. This would allow for Greece to revalue their currency and then return and have a Euro that was actually matched to their real economic dynamic. The problem is once Greece returns to using the Euro, the same problem would begin to build up unless Greece made some radical changes to their economic and social systems, something which they have proven they are adverse to. Should the permanent change be allowed where Greece returned to the Drachma and was never to return to using the Euro, this would then force other countries to take whatever steps were necessary to take themselves out of the Euro and return to their national currency. Once the dominoes start falling this would bring the end of the Euro as a viable currency. Then the question becomes exactly how long the European Union remains viable once almost everyone, if not everyone, returns to their native currencies. The odds are this would bring on the slow but natural death of the European Union as it can only survive as long as it ties the economies of the different nations to each other. Once everyone has returned to their native currencies, then each nation would have economic independence which is the exact opposite of what the European Union was supposed to accomplish. So, whichever way the European Union turns, if it does not both give Greece a path to repair their economy through devaluing their currency relative to the rest of the nations in the European Union, a neat trick, and eventually return Greece to full implementation of the European Union and the Euro as their currency, then it will only be a matter of time before the European Union collapses in on itself. Then we will once again have a volatile Europe which who knows where that will lead. If Europe’s past is any indicator then it may be that Europe is in for a rough future. Then again, most of the European countries have surrendered any military might for socialistic blight, thus they may no longer be quite as rambunctious as their previous histories indicated.

Beyond the Cusp