A Short War, not a Long War (comment at Opinion Journal)
Shelby Steele's White Guilt thesis is well illustrated by the USA's unwillingness to even consider defunding our terrorist adversaries in the Iranian and Saudi Empires. In both, radical elements run regimes that oppress the Shia Arab minorities concentrated in the oil-producing provinces.
In the Iranian Empire, Bernard Lewis has noted, the revolutionary-style Shiite Persian overlords in Tehran are led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a dangerous radical who holds "apocalyptic" visions of Islam. In the Saudi Empire, Mr. Lewis notes, Wahhabist leaders and oil money fuel the current Islamic extremism in Saudi Arabian, which he described as an extremely violent and intolerant strain of Islam -- "Wahhabism is to Islam what the Ku Klux Klan is to Christianity."
Without oil money, neither revolutionary Shiites nor Wahhabist Sunnis would have much influence. They couldn't fund terrorists, nor could they fund the radical Islam that provides the sea terrorists swim in. They couldn't fund nuclear weapons or missile programs. And taking away their funding is well within the reach of the US military.
Across the border from Iraq to the east lies Iran's Khuzistan Province, which produces 90% of Iran's oil revenues. To Iraq's west, Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province produces the bulk of Saudi oil revenues. Oppressed Shia Arabs constitute the majority of both province's populations. The Marines and the 82nd Airborne could seize both provinces in days, and Shia Arab troops from Iraq could maintain order among the liberated populations while they create their own governing institutions.
Shorn of their oil revenues, radical Islam and terror would quickly collapse in both Tehran and Riyadh. The Long War envisioned by so many would turn into another one of the Short Wars that happen when Western forces confront Third World forces.
But, as Mr. Steele notes, the left would characterize the liberation of Shia Arabs as White colonialism against innocent Brown nations, rather than the end of the Persian and Wahhabist imperialism that oppresses those Shia Arabs. And if the Anglosphere (US - UK - Canada - Australia - India) + Japan did take it on themselves to administer the oil wealth with complete transparency for the direct benefit of populations throughout the Middle East, building infrastructure and educating youth, the left would go apoplectic screaming "blood for oil." Never mind that transparent administration would advance the region's welfare far more the radical Islam's terrorist "oil for Blood" policies do now.
In the Iranian Empire, Bernard Lewis has noted, the revolutionary-style Shiite Persian overlords in Tehran are led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a dangerous radical who holds "apocalyptic" visions of Islam. In the Saudi Empire, Mr. Lewis notes, Wahhabist leaders and oil money fuel the current Islamic extremism in Saudi Arabian, which he described as an extremely violent and intolerant strain of Islam -- "Wahhabism is to Islam what the Ku Klux Klan is to Christianity."
Without oil money, neither revolutionary Shiites nor Wahhabist Sunnis would have much influence. They couldn't fund terrorists, nor could they fund the radical Islam that provides the sea terrorists swim in. They couldn't fund nuclear weapons or missile programs. And taking away their funding is well within the reach of the US military.
Across the border from Iraq to the east lies Iran's Khuzistan Province, which produces 90% of Iran's oil revenues. To Iraq's west, Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province produces the bulk of Saudi oil revenues. Oppressed Shia Arabs constitute the majority of both province's populations. The Marines and the 82nd Airborne could seize both provinces in days, and Shia Arab troops from Iraq could maintain order among the liberated populations while they create their own governing institutions.
Shorn of their oil revenues, radical Islam and terror would quickly collapse in both Tehran and Riyadh. The Long War envisioned by so many would turn into another one of the Short Wars that happen when Western forces confront Third World forces.
But, as Mr. Steele notes, the left would characterize the liberation of Shia Arabs as White colonialism against innocent Brown nations, rather than the end of the Persian and Wahhabist imperialism that oppresses those Shia Arabs. And if the Anglosphere (US - UK - Canada - Australia - India) + Japan did take it on themselves to administer the oil wealth with complete transparency for the direct benefit of populations throughout the Middle East, building infrastructure and educating youth, the left would go apoplectic screaming "blood for oil." Never mind that transparent administration would advance the region's welfare far more the radical Islam's terrorist "oil for Blood" policies do now.
posted by Mark White at 1:19 PM
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