There is something called histrionics which is the presentation of a happening in the form of a series of events that have followed each other in a chronological order at some point in the past. If you do this while also highlighting the relationships and the motivations that have existed between the players, you now have what is called history. You can tell the story of Planet Earth from its beginning four and a half billion years ago to about a few million years ago as a series of events, and you would have a histrionics that is complete and acceptable. But the higher primates began to appear on Earth a few million years ago and something changed, giving rise to history, a new way of stitching together a story.
It is that those higher primates have developed relationships and motivations for acting the way that they did, and their story could not be told without highlighting these facts. From that point on, theirs was no longer a series of events that can be presented as histrionics, but a full fledged history that must be narrated in the form of drama. And the human race being the highest of the primates, it would be a crime to omit the reasons why history develops the way that it does, and simply tell our story in the form of histrionics.
Here is a passage that shows histrionics at its worst even if it tries to redeem itself toward the end: “The U.S. changed alliances many times during the Cold War. Egypt started out as a pro-Western country, shifted to radical socialist nationalism, and came back to the West in the late 1970s. Iraq and Iran turned from staunch allies of the U.S. to bitter opponents. The Gulf states and the Saudis had little love for the U.S., but their interests lay so close to ours that most of the time alliances prospered even if friendship soured.” It is a passage that came in an article written by Walter Russell Mead and published in the Wall Street Journal on March 7, 2012 under the title: “America Is Stuck With the Mideast” and the subtitle: “Global oil markets and global commerce mean that American presidents will simply not be able to set this region off to the side.”
Despite the fact that Walter Mead is a college professor, he did not see fit to give even a hint as to why the relationships between America on one hand, and each of Egypt, Iraq and Iran on the other have evolved the way that they did. He made an attempt with regard to the Gulf states and the Saudis but it was a feeble attempt because it only said that those countries never loved America, the friendship between them was sour but they all had a common interest so they became allies to prosper together.
It is not surprising, therefore, to see that the professor has followed that piece of histrionics with a passage that describes the current state of affairs without yielding any useful insight as to why things are the way they are. Here is this passage: “Today, the grounds of alliance are once again shifting, and in unpredictable ways. Turkey and the U.S. are closer than they were three years ago. Egypt and the U.S. are further apart. The Saudis if anything are impatient with U.S. moderation on Iran; here they and the Israelis are reciting from the same book of prayers.”
Having characterized the motivation of the Gulf States and the Saudis as being one of self interest, he now says that the Saudis have the same wish as those of the Israelis; that of seeing a tougher American stand toward Iran. And what this says about him is that his understanding of the people of the region is close to nil. Thus, what he does is simply reflect the Israeli and Jewish-American point of view. In fact, it may well be that they wrote the article for him, and he just signed it. Knowing this helps us to understand why the article is written the way it is, thus upgrade what we draw from it despite the wish of the author who may or may not have wanted to hide elements of the history behind the histrionics.
And so I ask: “What is it that he or they want?” Well, we find this at the beginning of the article: “The Middle East is on fire … even as President Obama assures us that he has Israel's back and 'will not countenance' Iran getting a nuclear weapon … [he] speaks about 'leading from behind' and of a 'pivot toward Asia.'” As you can see, he laments in the name of “us” that the President has chosen to lead from behind and to pivot towards Asia, acts he will later explain are taking place at the expense of attention being diverted away from the Middle East and from the protection of Israel.
And lest people accept this as being due to the decline in American power, he assures us that America “remains the paramount power in the region and will remain committed to it for a long time to come.” If this sounds more like a wish than a deep understanding of what is happening, wait till you see how far his wish extends. Here is a piece of that: “The U.S. wants a balance of power … that prevents any power or a coalition of powers inside or outside the region to block the flow of oil … It wants Israel to be secure. And … it hopes to see the establishment of … democratic governments.” Of course, it is now understood that “democratic government” has become a euphemism to mean a puppet of the Jewish lobby the way that things are in America.
The wish becomes a full blown fantasy when he goes on to say this: “If it must, the U.S. will act directly and on its own to achieve these goals.” This is a Yiddish style rebuke and a challenge to a President that prefers to divert his attention to Asia and to lead from behind. And when the Yiddish fantasize, they fabricate the reality that suits the moment. Here is how Mead expresses it on their behalf: “In today's Middle East, core U.S. goals enjoy wide … support … a strong coalition has formed around Washington's … priority -- the Iranian drive for regional hegemony capped by its nuclear program … U.S. objectives command enormous support across the region … If this is decline, we could use more of it.”
And what would not be Judeo-Yiddish that exploits a current event even if the event is no more relevant than say, to spot someone wearing brown shoes on a Wednesday? Walter Mead has a contribution to make in this regard; more like something handed to him by his Jewish mentors: “In recent weeks, rising Middle East tensions have helped drive up the price of gasoline in the U.S. More price increases will anger voters, scare consumers, and could well knock the nascent U.S. economic recovery on its head … For President Obama, those developments would pretty much doom his re-election efforts. The same will be true of his successors.” It always comes down to this: Kiss Jewish ass or get booted out your position of power.
Moreover, these people never tire looking for and finding a mouthpiece that will bark the right sound at the leader they wish to nudge in the direction of their cause. Having spent decades telling the Americans to get off their addiction to oil if they can, or get off dependence on Middle Eastern oil if they can't, they now get Mead to say the following on their behalf: “...the global nature of the world oil market, and the effect of supply insecurity … means that American presidents will simply not be able to set this region off the side. It is easier to pivot toward Asia than to pivot away from the Middle East. The reality is that the U.S. will have to walk and chew gum at the same time.” As you can see, when these people realize that their wish is about to come true and not deliver what they dreamed about, they change their wish and escalate the dream.
What else is left to do but to say to America's future leaders: Hang on in there and things will get rosy and sweet again. If you want to know how this looks like, my friend, look through the colored glasses they have created, and marvel at the vision they painted to entice a President: “Should political conditions change in Iran, the kaleidoscope could change again … the U.S. and Iran were close allies; new leadership in Tehran might seek to rebuild the relationship. The Sunni world will likely divide if the Iranian threat diminishes … some Sunni states will want [the] U.S. to protect them...” As you can see, they get Walter Mead to promise America a marriage with Shiite Iran, and they promise the possible break up of the bond that keeps together the Sunni Arabs.
He ends the piece by admitting that many in the Middle East want America to bow out, and there are many in America who would like to leave but he tells them all: “For now, both groups must learn to accept disappointment.”
Why should they? you ask. Have you not figured it out, my friend? Because it suits Israel and the Jews, stupid. They are the only ones that count because theirs is a history that comes complete with human relationships and motivations while everyone else has but a histrionics that amounts to very little.
So says Professor Walter Russell Mead.