Terrorism Rant Over the Obvious and the Less Mentioned Truths

 

President George W. Bush set the bar low and in the wrong direction after the great terror attack of our time, the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, to simply continue on with our lives as normal. He started the message which has become ubiquitous with the aftermath of any incident, namely the “Islam is the religion of peace.” President Obama carried these ideals and messages to the next level when after virtually every terror act we heard the identical message from virtually every media outlet. The first item they would come out with was that each terrorist was acting as a singular event and thus was a “lone wolf” such that there was no conspiracy or driving effort behind each attack, these attacks always had nothing to do with Islam, and we were to be especially careful not to permit any act of terror to mold our perception of Muslims and as such we were to be particularly sensitive to prevent any acts “driven by Islamophobia.” The sustained message was always to make sure we disassociated the terrorist act from Islamic influence and were to be particularly sensitive to any act of Islamophobia. That message would resonate for days and potentially weeks after the act depending on the severity of the attack and the death toll. A subsequent message has been added specially for people when Donald Trump became President which called for the complete separation of any act of terrorism from the immigration policies President Trump proposed. Immigration temporary ban from trouble spots such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia or other nation mentioned in President Trump’s plans intending to set up a system where potential immigrants would be better vetted. That would have included the New York bicycle path vehicular murders where eight people were murdered and another twenty were seriously injured by an Uzbek immigrant, Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, who arrived on one of the special “diversity visa lottery program” where people enter a lottery for expedited entry into the United States from nations which might otherwise not receive entry as easily. We were, in this particular case, given the entire treatment.

 

Just to see how accurate the usual path actually fits this one attack, thus dictating how far down the path we are supposed to travel, perhaps we can look at others along the way. Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov was said to be a “lone wolf” with absolutely no ties to any terrorist group. Perhaps this was why he was heard yelling, “Allahu Akbar” and reportedly asked for an ISIS flag to be hung in his hospital room. We also know from ISIS instructions on-line and through their propaganda reports, CD’s, tapes and other material often available for the asking at the correct Mosque once you have proven yourself to be a true believer, that car or vehicle rammings is one of the acts of terror they recommend for its efficiency and ease of execution, but this has no connection to Islam. The problem of Islamophobia is ever present after any terror attack and the networks and local new coverage teams either already have or will request for a person from one of the Islamic Mosques or Houses who will relate their terrible treatment and being made to feel like they were despised or suspected of being a potential terrorist and the horrific looks and stares to which they were subjected. The people chosen for these interviews are often a couple dressed in clothing which depicts them as Muslim and they often are carrying an infant or small child who has a wide eyed innocent look and they convey extreme trepidation for the camera. Meanwhile, there were far more reports after the 9/11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks accusing and explaining and showing “evidence” of Jewish, Israeli and even United States government collusion in the attacks. There were reports of conspiracies such that the planes were empty of people and instead had additional explosives and volatile fuel additional to the normal fuel tanks and that the list of people supposedly on the aircraft were made up as were the names of the terrorists done in order to drive hatred for Islam and Muslims in the United States. It was done by the Mossad working hand-in-hand with the Central Intelligence Agency.

 

We are supposed to separate the terror attacks from Islam, organized terror, and all other evidence and reality. Islamophobia is presumed to become ever-present to such an extent that the entirety of the public must work to prevent such baseless fears. No matter what the actual person committing the acts of terror are prone to saying, there is no actual proof that these individuals, the word individual is vital so we hear it often in descriptions, may claim, all evidence is they had no direct ties and never were trained on how to commit such acts of terror. How gullible does one have to be to believe that a person would require a trip to some remote location in the Middle East or Africa where they are given a twelve week intensive training on how to rent a truck and then drive it into a crowded bus stop, a mass of people celebrating an event as in Nice, France, down a well traveled bike path killing and injuring dozens or any in a series of such attacks in Israel and around the world. The future terrorist would be given instruction on how to start a truck, what to do if they flooded the engine, how one aims a truck, how to swerve just enough to hit bus stops, light rail stations, bicycle paths or just drive onto sidewalk cafes plus yelling “Allahu Akbar” with the correct reverence. They would be given advanced classes on jumping curbs and medians, planning and timing of attacks, how to strike preferred targets such as Jews, maximizing bumper impacts for maximum carnage and finally different ways of ending your ramming experience. Here they would receive training in driving off and ditching the car, leaving the vehicle and knifing bystanders with advanced training on chainsaw usage, fleeing on foot, or even how to end with a bang using explosives, both in the vehicle and wearing a bomb vest. Of course, the school for the advanced studies of vehicular terrorism issues certificates including any advanced classes one required or volunteered to attend. Of course these terrorists simply followed basic instructions and there has to be some form of connection with so many demanding ISIS flags hung in their hospital room, ISIS flags draped around their apartments, ISIS handbooks on how to execute the perfect terror attack, ISIS Islamic worship books and Qur’anic copies from ISIS with particular verses highlighted and various other items all from ISIS or other terror groups such as Hezballah, Hamas, IRGC and al-Qaeda.

 

Flags of Hezballah, Hamas, al-Qaeda and IRGC

 

There are also the diaries which tell of their decisions to carry out an act of terror attack, their swearing allegiance to ISIS by filling out a form on-line, one must stay modern, and all the particulars such as choosing the correct target and other preparations and then most important, burial instructions in case one were to die, instructions which very often demand a terror flag to be place on the coffin depicting their specific terror entity to whom they swore their allegiance. Despite the avalanche of evidence that the terrorist was acting in faith with a terror group, we are told they acted completely alone without any instruction, guidance or affiliation with any terrorist entity. This lone wolf tag on each and every terror attack is vital if the government is to continue with their instructions that there is nothing to see here, move along, make sure this does not affect your Christmas shopping and live life as if this never happened because if you do take notice and connect all the dots, then you might demand that government do something about this problem, take real and effective actions. Imagine that, the government actually addressing the problem of terrorism or even noticing there may be a problem. Government would prefer that the sheeple simply act like ostriches with their heads in the sand and ignoring the obvious signs which tie all these attacks together. So, let’s review the signals; using a vehicle to run down people, ISIS and terror organization pamphlets at home, ISIS or other terror flags in house, demand terror flag to decorate hospital room, yelling “Allahu Akbar”, self-confessed member of terrorist organization, and ends by attempting to stab as many people as they can run down.

 

Ostriches with Their Heads in the Sand and Ignoring the Obvious Signs

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One might ask why the government spends such an enormous amount of energy to prove that every terrorist attack is committed by individuals with no affiliation with a group with a terror-structured group. The reason is actually the most obvious of reasons, if the terrorists were organized, then there is in existence an organization against which to fight. If the terror is organized the government would be obliged to take action, but the government does not wish to have to act, as these organizations are often found in places difficult to attain permission to attack. Further, if the government took on fighting them, they would necessarily cross borders and actively engage the terror entity within some nation. In many cases, the terrorists control the government of the nation in which they train or have its cooperation. Take Lebanon as an example, Hezbollah all but runs the government as is a major party in the ruling coalition. To fight Hezballah one would be required to also fight against the Lebanese Army as well as Hezballah and further, Hezballah would be given access to all the weaponry and armor of the Lebanese army which includes United States Abrams main battle tanks. The Lebanese fly Apache helicopters as well as having numerous modern Russian equipment, which is far more modern than was expected. The Taliban takes their refuge in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States would likely never get access to any Pakistani lands. Finally, the IRGC is the Iranian military foreign special tactics and strike units and to attack them would be to declare war on Iran, even should they be engaged in the Tri-Border Region of South America. The tri-border region is formed by the cities of Puerto Igauzu, Argentina; Foz do Iguazu, Brazil; and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay and includes two airfields, training areas, weapons ranges, live fire zones, and is beyond the control of any of the three nations’ police or military capabilities. So, unless the United States or Israel was invited by a sovereign government to assist in the eradication of terrorist entities causing difficulties in their area, they are powerless to do anything.

 

So, where might we expect that such an agreement might be reached, and between who? There are numerous places where the United States might be called upon to assist, the question then comes of what benefit would it give Washington D.C. beyond getting a reputation as a terror remover service, which would not necessarily be a bad thing. The terror entities operating out of Pakistan and Iran are and will likely remain beyond the reach of the United States unless they desire a much larger conflict with nuclear-armed nations. Currently Iraq and Syria are under Iranian control along with the Russians who are working alongside Iran and Bashir al-Assad in exchange for naval facilities on the Mediterranean Sea with access to the Atlantic Ocean. That would place these areas beyond United States reach and even more-so as President Trump withdrew United States support for the one group in the region who would have accepted an American military presence and likely have welcomed such and paid it back with dividends in the future, and those were the Kurdish People in both Iraq and Syria. Unfortunately, so as to please President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and whoever else demanded this retreat, President Trump told Turkish officials that the United States would end aid to the Iraqi Kurds to make sure they would not aid the Syrian Kurds. This also means that the United States now has absolutely no interest of group through which they can affect anything in Iraq, Syria or almost the entire Middle East and have thus empowered Iran to become the hegemonic power of the Middle East and we believe they will not stop there. The United States has some number of troops throughout central Africa mostly in Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia with the bulk of the troops in Niger and Nigeria fighting against Boko Haram, a terrorist groups sworn to ally with Islamic State or ISIS. Another place where the United States is engaged fighting terror is on the southern island of the Philippines, the Isle of Mindanao. The one remaining place where terrorism is out of control is in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. There was the recent terror attack which took the lives of at least two-hundred-thirty-five Egyptians and injured at least one-hundred-ten others. The al-Rawda mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed was targeted during Friday prayers by first detonating a bomb and then assaulting with rifles with full automatic capability, mostly AK-47s. One of the injured reported he saw at least twenty men with assault military weaponry of the kind associated with terrorists, namely the aforementioned AK-47. This is another place that the United States could offer to assist in cleaning out the swamp of terror that the Sinai Peninsula desert has become. This could end up having Israel enter into the war as the Sinai Peninsula does share a border with the Negev Desert and there is little difference between the two in appearance and the entirety of the border is not marked though much of it is fenced. Terrorists have attempted to infiltrate Israel from the Sinai Peninsula before with varied success. Those which have succeeded attacked buses, cars and other targets drawing Israeli responses as required and according to the level of the assault. The possibility of Israel and Egypt working together to clean out the Sinai Peninsula exists but is remote at best. Despite having signed a peace treaty, the peace has been kept but at a low level, one might even call it a very cold peace, very cold.

 

So, as we have seen, the opportunities for the United States to fight the root causes of terrorism would be the initiating of another world war between the Christian West including the Secularists against a resurgence of Islamic forces which have reawakened and are stretching and extending their testing feelers in the form of terrorism and finding the Western world no longer having the intestinal fortitude to fight. This has led many in the Islamic World to conclude that the time has come where they will be able to conquer Europe possibly without a fight. They see Germany opening their borders to “refugees” which many in Islam have seen and even utilized this gesture of humanity to infiltrate Western Europe sending attack squads and even entire company strength terror forces such as the massive attack on Paris. The Paris assault was larger but very similar to the assault by Pakistani terrorists on Mumbai, India. The precision and timing of the Paris attack proved that the terrorists learned from the Mumbai attack. This implies, if not outright proves, that the terrorist entities may have numerous names but in reality break down into three or four groups spread over large areas with separate names in each area but operate in cooperation sharing information and tactics such that useful information is distributed. The different groups likely would be aligned first into Sunni and Shiite. Even there, there is an overlap as Hamas works with Iran as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood also is al-Qaeda, Taliban and likely also has ties with Islamic State. There are those attached to the Wahabbists which also includes the Islamic State and Taliban. The Pakistanis are largely aligned with al-Qaeda and Islamic State as well as ties to Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian Authority (PA) which includes Fatah, PLO and has been drawing closer to Hamas retuning to the fold is Muslim Brotherhood but the PA of late has been flirting with Iran so that will require watching. Hezballah and IRGC are Shiite and completely tied directly to Iran. The Kurds are technically a national independence movement though they also utilize terror style tactics, their main arguments are with Turkey, Syria, Iraq and now Iran and all that means. Without United States support, Turkish President Erdogan who is drawing closer and closer to the Iranian sphere of influence will work with Iran to annihilate the Kurdish People in an upcoming genocide. Iran and Iraq will conquer and decimate the Kurds in Iraq while Turkey finishes off the Kurds in Syria and takes that area for Turkey. Turkey also has its eye on northwestern Iraq down to Mosul and Syria including Aleppo. This will remain to be seen as Mosul is a target for Iraq to take for use by Iran and al-Assad is supposed to grab back Aleppo also so Iran can hold there. Iran is currently building a base which will include IRGC and Hezballah as well as Iranian military units south of Damascus within sight of the Golan Heights and working to make alliances to encircle Israel. It would not be a surprise to us if the IRGC and Hezballah made moves to bring the terror gangs and crime bosses in the Sinai Peninsula under Iranian control followed by Iran moving on the Sinai Peninsula which would allow Iran to have encircled her two greatest foes in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

The State Department is Wrong Again

 

Pay a little attention, President Trump. The State Department has been wrong almost from the very beginning. They advised that the United States follow the European example and pay the protection demands of the Barbary Pirates. President Washington followed their advice and so did President Adams and then came President Jefferson who initially did as the State Department advised and finally, the greatest proponent of isolationism, the man who issued the most ardent Federalist Papers in support of trade with all and ally with none so as to remain free of external entanglements, President Jefferson initiated the first Barbary War ending the demands for tribute and gaining free travel of the sea ways for American ships. In more recent times, the State Department initially advised cooperation with Germany and Italy as well as the French, Russians and British through the 1930’s. After World War II, the State Department advised cooperation and even friendship with the Soviet Union and now they are advising cooperation with Iran and the Arabs over the Kurdish People and are advising the death of Israel with their advice of pursuit of the Two State Solution scenario. We wish to once again add our names and reputations of the people at BTC that the United States takes the first step in the international stage to clearly declare support for the establishing, as stated in the Treaty of Sèvres, a national home for the Kurdish People reestablishing Kurdistan. The Kurdish People lost their homelands at the same time that Israel was conquered by successive empires. In 1948 President Truman went against the advice of the State Department and many other officials and voted for the formation and then recognized the State of Israel, an act which has paid not only the United States, but the world many dividends ever since. Whenever you eat a cherry tomato, think of Israel as they are one of the agricultural ventures from Israel; but we are not here to speak about Israel other than to point out, despite the advice of the swamp led by the State Department, he took the correct actions in 1948 and you have an opportunity to take an almost equally historic action and help with any actions required to assist in the founding of the State of Kurdistan.

 

Founding the State of Kurdistan need not be a force of war as the Kurdish forces already have their own autonomous regions which the United States was supporting. Listening to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a mistake as the man is a liar with delusions of being able to reestablish the Ottoman Empire on the dead bodies of the Kurdish People through genocide just as they settled their differences with the Armenians and Greeks. When President Erdoğan told the world his forces were attacking the Islamic State, they were actually engaging the Kurdish forces as part of his personal hatreds and desire to take their lands. Further, President Erdoğan is very likely to ally with Iran, the very force which needs to be prevented from having a corridor from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Forming the Kurdish State including Kirkuk and Mosul, traditional Kurdish lands, would weaken the Iranian Crescent (pictured below). And while you are undoing the domestic fouls committed by President Obama such as his main success, Obamacare, his over-regulations, weaponizing the EPA and the IRS and a host of other to do items, would it be possible to also undo the worst real-world sin President Obama committed, destroying the Middle East balance giving the key to the region to the Mullahs of Iran. There will be no preventing Iran becoming a nuclear power within your first term but they do not have to be given the entirety of the Middle East through your inaction. The southern half of Iraq is lost as well due to the early removal of United States forces which permitted the Shiites to take revenge for Saddam Hussein and his years of oppression. They took their vengeance on the Sunni center of the nation and are now doing to the Kurds exactly what Saddam had done with military cleansing areas of traditional Kurdish lands of their Kurdish populations. The United States removal of aid and military backing has only encouraged the stealing of Kurdish lands and encouraged President Erdoğan to attack them from the north while oppressing the Kurds in Turkey. Kurdistan would be another steadfast United States ally much like Israel though they would require some assistance initially but once settled and set with borders recognized, they would be able to protect themselves. The main assistance they would require would be training of pilots and a modern air force for them to fly, modern armored vehicles and weaponry after which they would be self-sufficient. Think of this as an investment in a second and more centrally placed aircraft carrier which does not move.

 

Iranian Crescent Resulting from an Iranian Surge
Retaking Syria for Bashir al-Assad Connecting
Iran to Mediterranean via Iraq, Syria and Lebanon

 

There are two main threats building in the world, and for a change, they are not any nation which would have caused fears back last century. Once the United States had removed Saddam Hussein from power, then Iran no longer had their major adversary and saw a potential friend through which they could expand their regional control. The only obstruction Iran faced was the United States forces which were assuring that Iraq remained a stable and open democratic nation and not falling back into sectarian violence. When the United States forces were pulled from Iraq, almost immediately after everything appeared to be in order and peaceful. Soon, almost immediately, after the United States troops were aboard their transports, the Shiite majority turned on their Sunni countrymen. This brought Iranian support to assist their Shiite brothers and secured their central piece of the dreamed of Shiite Crescent. The only necessary requirement for completing their long dreamed of Crescent was the retaining of Syria by Bashir al-Assad, an effort which they had Russian support. The outlook for Syria is that Iran and Assad will soon defeat the remainder of their opposition and return to power. There is another necessity which Iran hopes to include in their area of influence and that is Mosul, the Mosul Hydroelectric Complex and the surrounding oil fields. Traditionally, these would be an area which should be part of Kurdistan and thus by establishing the full region of Kurdistan, the United States would deny Iran one of their desired jewels from the region. Mosul, as well as being host to so many goodies, is also a central hub of major roadways of the northern region (see map below). The Kurds had protected their autonomous zone which included Mosul and Kirkuk and were comfortable and stable until the United States recently announced their pulling of their assistance to the Kurds. Immediately thereafter the Iraqi military assisted by IRGC* forces provided by Iran has pushed the Kurdish forces from the areas south of and in Mosul all the way out of Mosul and northward and appear next to be targeting Kirkuk. This is a repeat of the United States pull out of Iraq under President Obama which resulted in the formation of ISIS. This time it will result in a triumphant Iran taking hegemonic control of the central Middle East from the Indian Ocean through most, possibly all, of Iraq plus Syria and Lebanon.

 

Mosul Central Road Hub of the North

 

What harm, as Iran already controls most of this land already, would establishing a small retreat of Kurdistan do to blunt the Iranian hegemony? First, let’s say the United States introduces the Kurdish State and stations two fairly large bases, one an Army and Air Force Base much like many of these type bases in the United States and another one for the Marines including a Marine Air Wing. As Kurdistan would be a landlocked nation, there would be no need for Naval personnel other than a self-supporting Marine Base. This would place United States forces and bases for fast-deployed strike forces in the heart of the Middle East. The existence of Kurdistan would also provide Israel with an ally and potential air base which would allow their pilots to have another place to land in emergencies. Kurdistan would be a check on hegemony by Iran, check Turkey and Erdoğan’s designs on restoring an empire, and provide a real United States ally in which the United States forces would be welcome and not seen as intruders tolerated in order to allow influence as in Yemen and Qatar, both Iranian allies and thus unlikely to remain friendly once Iran decides the entire Middle East is their playground and there is no room for other forces. This will be the day when the United States will be forced from Yemen and Qatar and after which Iran will set upon Saudi Arabia.

 

We asked not long ago, who would start World War III. We have one scenario which might be exactly how it could start, and it does not include Saudi Arabia. Very possibly Iran might attack Saudi Arabia before World War III actually starts. The United States is close to self-sufficient when it comes to oil, gas and energy production. Russia would not worry about Saudi Arabia falling to Iran as Iran is presumably aligned with them through the Syrian debacle. Further, such an occurrence could only result in a marked increase in the price of a barrel of oil which would make Russia solvent, something they would not be too opposed to if not actually pleased. And Iran is their friend, or so they might believe. But if they are on the same side, why is Russian President Putin seemingly nervous about his friends from Iran? Putin realizes that the Iranians do not view Russia as anything more than a tool in their toolbox, a temporary tool which they will discard when it is no longer serving any purpose. Putin also realizes that his interest in Syria overlaps with the Iranian interest in Syria, specifically, naval bases. Russia needed naval facilities which had access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Syrian Mediterranean Sea which Syria provided. Iran is also seeking naval bases in the Mediterranean Sea. This will lead to an altercation eventually even if Iran was required to instigate said conflict. President Trump is transfixed on North Korea and cannot see the threat posed by Iran. North Korea is not capable of world conquest and makes threats in order to force financial assistance and concessions from other governments, usually targeting the United States mainly. North Korea largely threatens South Korea and secondarily Japan. The main damper on any threats posed by North Korea is not, as President Trump likely believes, the United States but rather is someone much closer, China and Russia. North Korea is almost completely dependent upon China and Russia for their trade, especially China when it comes to North Korean oil. Secondarily they export minerals and other raw materials and limited produced goods including textiles. China has the single most influence upon North Korea, as they are their greatest provider of food such as grains and other vital goods. The United States barely has any trade with North Korea and thus is limited in influence other than threats which Kim Jong-un does not believe are real as he judges the United States from what he observed during the administration of President Obama and the fading red line in Syria and the collapse in negotiating with Iran where the only bullying was against Israel. The United States is a paper military in the eyes of Kim Jong-un and he has complete faith that any posturing by President Trump is all boast and no teeth. This has allowed all his bluster and placing of military assets in the area as empty threats which have all been simply for show and no real threat exists. This has emboldened North Korea and it has only been since the agreeing by China to join in the sanctions that had Kim Jong-un realize that he was facing a serious threat, China working with President Trump.

 

Meanwhile, Iran has watched President Obama fold before the negotiators, promise Russian President Medvedev of being more flexible after his reelection and both President Obama and Trump pulling out of the Middle East with President Obama pulling out from Iraq gifting the entirety of the nation to the Shiites and Iran with the exception of the Kurdish regions. Now Iran is watching as the United States pulls their support for the Kurds leaving them to fall prey to Iranian and Iraqi Shiite forces pushing them from Northern Iraq while Turkey and Bashir al-Assad are forcing them from northern Syria and Turkey is possibly making plans to remove all Kurds from all lands controlled by Turkey much as the Ottomans removed Armenian Christians from the northern areas of the Ottoman Empire. Iran has watched the United States fold-up camp and leave each area just as the Iranians and their allies of Syria, Iraq and Hezballah have made their initial moves to take each area. The Mullahs can only think that the United States has no stomach for a fight with Iran and thus are concluding that they have a clear road to take whatever they should decide is theirs. This could result in an empowered Iran reaching the decision that there would be no reason for them not to take the Saudi Arabia oil fields as well as the entire western Red Sea shoreline including Mecca and Medina so they can claim to be the real leaders of all Islam and the keepers of the Holy Cities. The appearance of an emboldened Iran building a base within sight of the Golan Heights has raised concerns in Israel. This has Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking with Russian President Putin seeking possible Russian assistance which will likely not make one whit of a difference. Iran could simply take a number of steps too far as they might have misread the reality and push the United States past their tipping point forcing President Trump to take a stand against Iran directly. It might even be Russia who gets pushed by Iran too far setting these former allies at one another’s throats. The future is going to be anything but boring.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

* IRGC Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Iranian Special Forces)

 

Israel Cannot be Another United States

 

The first and most obvious reason is size, though that is the least important reason. But the long version of the title for this article should read, “Why Israel cannot be another United States and why the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) are in such a mess.” Then the first sentence would change. So, let us start again. Israel cannot and must not be made into a small version of the United States in the Middle East any more than Japan made into United States Asia Pacific, Thailand made into United States Southern Asia, Tanzania made into United States Africa or Poland made into United States Europe. In every case, these are nations which have been homelands to a particular people in some cases since before written history. The Jewish People are directly traceable to the southern nation between the two nations of the Hebrews who came out of Egypt. The two nations were, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judea whose people became known as Judeans which over time, and for ease of pronunciation, became Jews. The northern kingdom of Israel was the northern ten tribes with their priest lived in the tribes of Judea and the far smaller Benjamin and their priest, which resulted in the tribe of priests, the Kohanim and the Levites divided between the two kingdoms. As the newly reformed nation invites all of the tribes of Israel and Judea to return, the older name Israel was chosen for the nation of the Jews.

 

Let us now speak to why there are so many wars and unrest throughout the nations making up the area called MENA. The problems derive from the decisions made on how to break up the areas which had belonged to the Caliphate and then the Ottoman Empire as the Ottoman Empire had sided with Germany and Austria-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the losing side. The Allies; Serbia, Russia, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and the United States were left to decide the new boundaries for the losing forces. The decision was decided to return lands to their indigenous peoples with the exception of the Ottoman Empire as these lands had been transformed into Arab-Muslim lands under Arab rule with their original indigenous tribal demarcations pretty much erased. Germany and Austria-Hungarian Empire were redefined with new borders defined for Germany with their losing areas to Poland and France. The Austria-Hungarian Empire was broken up into numerous nations which were again divided after the fall of the Soviet Union leading to the nations Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Romania and Serbia today (see map below). These divisions were presumed to make nations too weak to begin a new war as Austria-Hungarian Empire had, forcing the Great War. As further punishment, Germany was restricted in the size of their military and police, forced to pay prohibitive reparations and was forbidden from making air or naval power sufficient to threaten England, France or Russia. Obviously, that plan had failed, as it was one of the mitigating factors leading to World War II. We can only pray that the divisions made of the lands of the Ottoman Empire do not cause World War III.

 

Austro-Hungarian Empire Break-up into Independent Nations

 

The division of the Ottoman Empire came under two main rulings, the first resulting from the San Remo Conference and the Treaty of Sèvres which was restated and included in the Treaty of Lausanne. Many ask why all of these treaties, conferences and other agreements from World War I, especially what became known as the Mandate System, and the reason is Article 80 of the United Nations Charter. Article 80 states, in simple English rather than Legalese, that all these agreements from World War I are enforceable by the United Nations and remain recognized and applicable. Two men had met before the end of World War I and decided between them how to “fairly” divide the Ottoman Empire with much of the lands being turned over to, you may have guessed, France and Great Britain. These two men were the Frenchman François Georges-Picot and the British sent Mark Sykes who together drew up the lines which became the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This agreement gave colonial powers to the various allied powers including Spain, Italy, France and Great Britain. Subsequently, all of these powers have relinquished their rule permitting independent states (see map below). We must note that the 1979 date for Iranian independence notes the Islamic revolution and coup which removed the Shah and in his stead placed the Ayatollah Sayyid Ruhollah Mūsavi Khomeini (Persian: سید روح‌الله موسوی خمینی‎‎) into power of the Islamic Republic of Iran. These lines were drawn willy-nilly, as the British might say. There was no regard given for tribal lines, or at least that is the normal reason given. We hold to another more sinister reason for these lines, a combination of complete laziness and the idea that each nation would be near ungovernable. The borders below (see map) are drawn with slight regard for obvious boundaries such as rivers and very straight lines. By dividing peoples into different nations and splitting up tribes in like fashion while placing numerous tribes within every nation, Sykes and Picot guaranteed that rule could only be established through a dictatorial strongman such as Saddam Hussein, Muammar al-Qaddafi and Bashir al-Assad.

 

Dates that the MENA nations received their independence after colonial rule many since the times of the Persians or even earlier

 

This very likely was the plan, leave nations near ungovernable and leave tribes and peoples split between different nations preventing their coming together to try to establish their natural homelands. This was the opposite of the European plan where they returned lands to the local peoples while in MENA they mostly did the opposite with select exceptions. These exceptions included the Mandate areas which were divided between Arab Muslim from Christian and Jewish lands granting Lebanon to the area Christians to rule and Israel to its indigenous peoples, the Jews and other tribes of the Hebrews. Thus, Jordan and Syria were made Arab Muslim lands. The Kurdish were promised their own lands but the discovery of oil and a lucrative agreement with King Faisal I (Arabic فيصل الأول) and the British (read Getty) left the Kurds divided between Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Of these countries, Turkey and Iraq were the two most determined to remove their Kurdish presence through genocide if required. Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons amongst other horrific methods against the Kurds in Iraq and Turkey would do to the Kurds what they did to their Armenian people starting in 1913 and continuing through to nearly the end of World War I in 1917. There were also the added struggles between Shiite and Sunni Moslems with these differences felt the most severely in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and many of the Gulf States. This is in part what caused much of the violence during the Arab Spring.

 

The Arab Spring very quickly became and remains the Arab Winter except where the state was strong enough and willing to use that strength to squash any rebellion. That was how Saudi Arabia treated any rebellion amongst its fellow gulf states with the best example being Bahrain where Saudi Armor poured down all lanes of the connecting causeway to the main island bringing the demonstrations and any ideas of a revolt to a very fast and permanent end. There are still numerous revolts in various levels of violence ongoing in Libya, Syria and Yemen with possible problems still existing in Turkey, Jordan and Egypt. There is also the continuing violence committed by the Sudan on the recently established South Sudan. This is a sectarian struggle pitting the Islamic fighters from the north against Christians and Animists residing in the south. This war between the Islamists against the Christians and Animists continues across the continent of Africa in what is referred to as the African Transition Zone (see below). Eventually these lands will form borders based on their tribal affiliations. Even then, there will be those who believe as if it were their religion that it is their destiny to expand over more lands. If one were to ask how many more lands, their answer would be all of the lands and they and their children will fight until all lands belong to them and their beliefs. Fortunately, their claim to land is limited to those lands where mankind live, so founding colonies on other planets simply provides them with more lands which must be brought to the one true faith. That is their religious law until the Imams decide otherwise.

 

African Transition Zone

 

Therein lies the answer, convince their Imams to change the law or at least how they interpret their laws. We are far from alone in this proposal as some have proposed this before and others continue this cry for hope in their future. They see that continuing on the path of eternal conquest can end only one way, one greatly destructive conflagration. These almost singular voices are all but undiscernible over the cacophony of the raging world around them. One such voice has even carried his plea to the center of Islamic teaching, Al-Azhar University. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has walked into the den from which the most renowned and influential of Imams graduate. Al-Azhar University is the Oxford University for Imams. President Sisi has taken the lead position with his appearances and demands for transforming Islam and teaching coexistence, cooperation and acknowledgment of other religions leading inevitably to peace and possibly harmony for mankind at long last. There is the Muslim Reform Movement which are standing for just such a change as are those mentioned at the end of this article. These are people who should be provided prominence as an option worth consideration.

 

To some extent, the allied powers from the First World War, or at least Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot, is responsible for the discontent and violence which had ravaged the Arab Muslim world for the past quarter a century or so. Then, on the other side, the allied powers did not actually do such a great job with Europe judging by the ensuing World War II. The truth is the exact reason why the resurgence of Islam must be handled with a sense of urgency as well as tactfully. If the near future is bungled, then the result could very well be World War III. The entire problem was born of World War I and led to World War II and must be prevented from ending with World War III. All one need remember is the answer Albert Einstein gave when asked, “What weapons will World War III be fought?” To this Einstein replied, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” Perhaps it would be best not to test the validity of Einstein’s prediction of a possible future.

 

Beyond the Cusp