There is the saying about the truth coming out the mouth of
a baby. And when it comes to the brain of a baby in the body of an adult, Ralph
Peters is the perfect poster child. Catch him say something original or something
mature, and you'll have caught an intellectual unicorn. The truth that came out
of his mouth this time is so manifestly a case of sour grapes and so manifestly
the amplified echo of what is murmured in private, you may (this one time) call
him: the little brain that could.
He did it in an article he wrote under the title: “The Arab
Collapse” and the subtitle: “Middle East a
vulture's feast.” It was published in the New York Post on May 19, 2013. The
murmur he amplified and brought to the attention of the public is one that has
two parts. He expressed them both neatly by describing the current situation in
the Middle East like this: “we don't
understand it. But we can stay out of it” to which most Arabs would say:
hallelujah, may this unicorn have it his way. But that's not the impression he
wants you to form, so he tries to shed a different light on the situation.
He begins the discussion with a false premise to the effect
that “The Arab Spring has unleashed the Arab Collapse.” This leads him to echo
the sour grapes refrain which he begins like this: “Everybody still standing in
the region is picking the flesh of the helpless.” He does not tell right away
what the word “flesh” stands for metaphorically, but does so later on: “the
Scramble for the Sand is on, with Iran ,
Turkey ,
treacherous Arab oil sheikdoms, all determined to dictate the future.” So then,
where is the sour grapes part? Here it is: “Iraq
was carved out for British interests, while Syria
was France 's
consolation prize.” Too bad, he speaks of Iran
and Turkey in the present
tense but can speak of Britain
and France
only in the past tense.
Is this enough shedding of the tears over spilled milk to
make the situation a case of sour grapes? Yes it is, especially if you consider
the following: “When the US
is in the Middle East , the Arabs want us out.
When we're out, they want us in.” So now that the Americans are out, the
presumption must be that the Arabs want them in. What should be the answer to
that, Ralph Peters?
It is this: “our purported Arab and Turkish allies
consistently agree that Uncle Sam should pay the party bill, while they take
home all the presents.” It is clear he sees the “presents” going from the
British and French to the Arabs and Turks with America footing the bill and getting
nothing. Yes, indeed, the milk was spilled and the grapes are sour for America , and all is happening at a time when
everyone but America
is having a party.
No wonder Ralph Peters fails to understand the situation.
But does he really? Well, he seems to believe he understands it well enough to
describe it in great detail. Look what he says: “We're witnessing the crack-up
of a civilization. Turkey
cries crocodile tears while dreaming of rebuilding the Ottoman
Empire . Our Saudi 'friends' wring their hands but won't intervene.
Now the Saudis want Washington to spend blood
and treasure to open the mosques of Damascus
to their Wahhabi cult. This is an Arab struggle with Turkish and Iranian
vultures overhead.”
Not only does he give the impression he understands the
current situation, he seems to also argue that he understands the history that
brought about the current situation: “Nine decades ago, the diplomats at Versailles ignored the region's fault lines as they carved
up the Middle East , forcing enemies together
and driving kin apart. Only brute force kept up the fiction that these were
countries. Now the grim charade has reached its end.”
So then, it looks like he understands the situation, yet he ends the
article by reiterating: “we need to back if for no other reason than a
strategist's golden rule: If you don't understand what a fight's about, stay
out.”
What's going on? Oh yes, there is the answer; it is in the paragraph
before the last. Look at this passage: “A new American president handed Iraq to Iran . If W. Bush helped trigger the
Arab Spring, Barack Obama made this Arab Winter inevitable.”