"Not much of a line"

Robert Fisk Demonizes Mideast’s Persecuted Christians Posted By Raymond Ibrahim On June 26, 2012 @ 12:00 am.... Robert Fisk, the Middle East correspondent for the UK’s widely-read Independent, recently showed why it is that Islamic jihadists and terrorists, including the late Osama bin Laden, strongly recommend his propaganda to Western readers.   In a recent article Fisk goes out of his way to demonize the abused Christian minorities of the Middle East for supporting those secularist leaders most likely to preserve their freedoms and dignity.   For instance, after portraying the Middle East’s “old guard” in the worst possible terms, he complains that “Ahmed Shafiq, the Mubarak loyalist, has the support of the Christian Copts, and Assad has the support of the Syrian Christians. The Christians support the dictators. Not much of a line, is it?” (( ... whine ... whimper ... yimmer ... yammer ... ))

Moved by self-modesty, or whatever, M. le baron d’Ibrahime leaves unquoted Comrade Fisk’s really unforgivable analysmear:

But I am also aware that the Shafik warriors, those in Washington who want Shafik to restore Egypt’s old relationship with Israel, those who want, in effect, to restore Mubarak’s dictatorship, to recreate the old paradigm (Mubarak "stability" versus the old fear of Muslim Brotherhood), will want to pump up Christian fears and frighten the West with the awfulness of "Muslim fundamentalism", will pop up their heads again as surely as Assad. And as the Republicans close in on Obama, will they not show their love for Mubarak’s last Prime Minister?

One could argue, I suppose, that what that paragraph mostly proves is that Robert Fisk has inadequate notions of America’s Otherparty, the vast majority of whom--not Party base-and-vile alone, but certified G.O.P. Geniuses also--don’t waste more than fifteen seconds a week moanin’ over the woes of the Neolevant. Maybe not three seconds a week since they gave us the Crawford Crash.

I can imagine some court historian to Princess Posterity maintaining, more or less seriously, that General Mubárak fell because his ideobuddies at Washington, and Tel ’Avîv, and Rio Limbaugh FL, and Pajama Junction NJ, were too worried about the state of their secret-sector financial portfolioes to pay proper attention to Problems of Native Management.

That may be overspecific, and I would not dream of insisting.   In a broader and more general way, however, the jihád-careerist community, to which M. le baron so beautifully belongs, are probably in for a bumpy ride.   More and more often, nifty schemes of Native Management will run into an immoveable object called Grover, Freelord Norquist.  Clever, but pricey, neoplans will be hooted at disrepectfully with short-sighted but crowd-pleasin’ folly like "¿Hey, Bozo, didn’t anybody tell you we are broke?"

Bozo, that is to say, M. le baron d’Ibrahime, may be further discouraged if the Great Frakkin’ Bubble takes off the way it might.   Mostvolks here in the Heimatland G*ttes would be happy to possess more "energy independence." Jihád careerists, however, are definitely NOT mostvolks when it comes to fossil fuel, and a number of other specialised points. [*]

Oh, well, one can hardly expect to please absolutely everybooby.

Happy days.

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[*] As homage to Fairembalance, the Fox Goddess, let me insist that only the greediest of oncological entrepreneurs would positively wish there were more cancer in the world. What we run up again with the collective self-interest of quacks or J. C.’s is no worse than the Rev. Clough’s update of Commandment VI: "Thou shalt not kill, but needst not strive, / Officiously to keep alive."