Soap Box

Makes no difference what angle I look at the situation in Egypt from I can't see anything even remotely resembling good coming out of it. I can't see any regime, which could conceivably come to power that wouldn't, in essence, shred the Camp David accords and be a constant threat to Israel and, by extension, America.

I can't imagine any government that wouldn't eventually yield to the unrelenting pressure of the hardcore radical Islamists, institute Shariah Law and basically do away with any individual freedoms the Egyptian people have accomplished thus far.

The Middle East is a political conundrum, a puzzle, a Gordian Knot that no world leader or organization has been able to untie, wheels within wheels, factions who hate each other, with nobody really in charge, a place of unbelievable wealth and bone grinding poverty, where the masses have little touch with the outside world, are taught hate from infancy and believe whatever they're told to believe.

We have only a superficial understanding of what's going on in the Middle East. We Americans tend to judge and evaluate other cultures and other races by the standards we live by. There are vendettas that go back a thousand years, tribal ties and alliances, betrayals and downright irrational hatred and a belief that lying to an infidel is morally acceptable.

And yet we walk into a situation that is totally foreign to our western mindset and start pushing our weight around, not against the nations who harbor terrorists and hate everything we stand for, but to the only true friend we have in the Middle East, Israel.

Israel is expected to make all the concessions and accept that their enemies will keep the promises they have made at the latest round of "peace talks" that whatever American president who happened to be in office has initiated.

They never keep their promises and every concession Israel makes weakens it to some extent and all they get in return is a bombardment of rockets and criticism from the world media for responding.

The Obama administration has tacitly forced Israel into releasing over one hundred prisoners, terrorists and murderers, who will do no more than go back home, change clothes and start trying to destroy Israel again.

Every time they give up land it only serves to move the rocket launchers closer to their major cities.

The world sits back and waits for Iran to finish developing their nuclear weapons
and a delivery system to get them to their targets which is tantamount to international insanity, and there again we're thinking liking Westerners, thinking that Iran could not possibly win a nuclear war against the rest of the world, they'd be totally destroyed.

But the truth of the matter is that the real power in Iran, the ayatollahs and religious zealots don't care about that, in fact their attitude is "bring it on" because they think the chaos will signal the return of the Twelfth Imam - also known as the Mahdi - the Islamic messiah, who will come out of the well where he's been in hiding for hundreds of years and, by power of personality and the sword will turn the whole planet to Islam.

So what should America's policy be in the Middle East?

Looking at it by what I call cowboy logic, which is 2 and 2 are always 4, water always runs downhill and if there's smoke, there's a fire somewhere, I have come to this conclusion:

We protect our friend Israel, increase oil purchases from our friend Canada, open up America's petroleum deposits, which would take care of our needs and those of our allies, deny Iran a nuclear weapon, whatever that takes and get out of the way and let these people settle their own problems in their own way.

The Persian Gulf will be closed one of these days, you can hang your hat on it.

Every time we pick a side in the Middle East it turns out to be the wrong one.

Let's just butt out.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels​