I have seen many, many despicable things emerge from the craw of the GOP hate machine over the last few years, but this one takes the cake.
Maybe, they sneer, the killing of Bin Laden was a fraud. Maybe Obama is engaged in some massive deception, designed to take credit for something that didn't happen. If it was real, they say while slithering across the room, why won't he release the photos? As a veteran of the Afghan war, who was there starting iate October, 2001, all I have to say to this is -- these people have no understanding of the Middle East. And as a result, they are, in their ignorance, enabling extremists.
I cannot overstate the importance of what I am about to explain.
The Arab world (I have lived in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar) is rife with conspiracy theories. While I have lived in the United States since leaving the military in 2006 (where I am now a cop -- i.e., not your typical progressive) I have been back to the Middle East a number of times, and what I'm going to explain hasn't changed.
Those things believed only by the most bat-sh** crazy Americans are actually quite prominent there. And sometimes they make no sense -- you can talk to someone who, in the same conversation, can say that the Israelis or the CIA executed 9/11, and then that al Qaeda's attack on the United States on 9/11 was done in revenge for America's efforts to destroy Islam.
There are historical reasons for this. The Six Day War -- the 1967 conflict where the Israeli military routed troops from Egypt, Syria and Jordan, capturing lands that included the West Bank, the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem -- was an overwhelming humiliation; among Arabs, it is not called the Six Day war, but naksa, “the setback.’’
Unable to accept that their defeat was simply the result of lousy armies, much of the Arab world turned to religion for solace and guidance. Islamic fundamentalists argued that defeat came from a loss of faith among Muslims – a war waged against the Israelis solely on religious grounds would have brought a decisive victory. The true enemy, they argued, was not just the Israelis. It was the leaders of Arab nations who dangled the false god of nationalism, blurring the religious vision of the devout. It was the Soviets in concert with the Zionists who lured Arabs away from Islam with seemingly idyllic political philosophies. The Arab intelligentsia were caught up in dreams of world peace – fraudulent enticements that would throw Muslim countries at the mercy of the insidious West.
Under the banner of Islam, they proclaimed, the faithful had in centuries past conquered the Persian and Byzantine empires, and established a civilization that far outstripped Europe in science, philosophy, culture – and war. Determined and unapologetic Muslims who were willing to do battle for their faith, the fundamentalists said, could rekindle those days of glory.
But, twenty-five years later, there was a problem -- poverty was overwhelming, and the Arabs, outside of oil, had no true power. So, there had to be an explanation -- conspiracies designed to harm Muslims. That is the kind of environment where people like Bin Laden could win followers.
The killing of Bin Laden once again puts the lie to the conclusions among the fundamentalists. If the most important leader of the extremist movement has been killed by the United States, where does that place the Arab world and the conclusions of people like Bin Laden.
This is why so many of the fundamentalists have come out saying that the United States is lying, that Bin Laden has not been killed. To say otherwise would be to be forced to face something that runs completely counter to psychological position of the extremists. That is why the other option is he was martyred -- that means Allah still stands on their side. But that is not as powerful as Westerners believe, unless the martyrdom is by choice (In other words, on the battlefield or in a terrorist attack.) Being killed while lolling around in your mansion doesn't fit the profile. And so, the most damaging option, for the west, is that the extremists come to believe that we are lying. Then, Bin Laden remains powerful, and the Americans continue in their deceit to undermine Islam.
That allows for the conflicting theories -- Bin Laden escaped and retaliation must be taken on the Americans. I know it seems hard to believe that both ideas can be held in the same head, but it is true.
If forced to face the fact that Bin Laden is dead, the psychological impact and sense of hopelessness it would instill among the extremists would be incalculable. And again, the "martyrdom" storyline wouldn't hold. In other words, victory all around.
This is why the governments of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and Pakistan have already stepped forward both confirming Bin Laden's death (even though presumably, other than Pakistan, they have no independent knowledge) And why they have each proclaimed that this is a major setback for terrorists -- it smacks them in the head.
Which brings us to the United States and the whole "photograph" hullabaloo. The extremists have nothing to grab onto, nothing they can email among each other, nothing they can put on signs other than pictures showing him strong and healthy. The photograph, contrary to the continued boobery of Palin et. al., not only would do nothing to drive away terrorists, it would inspire them. The "martyrdom" storyline would take hold. (The same thing has happened with other terrorists and Islamic philosophers when their deaths were shown.) It WOULD endanger our troops, because it not only would inflame the extremists, it would empower them at a time when they should be flailing.
But none of these GOP clowns care about that. Instead, they slobber all over the American conspiracy theorists, implying we can't believe that Osama is dead unless we see the picture. Why? Well, because, of course, the United States government might be lying.
So, they have first empowered the initial psychological reaction of extremists -- it's not true -- for the purpose of empowering the second psychological reaction -- martyrdom.
And with that, the GOP -- the best buddies of the terrorists, politicians who are willing to put our nation and our military at risk for their political gamesplaying -- eagerly try to flush away the most significant consequence of this event.
I have long assumed that these people are just stupid. But, this one requires so little knowledge, I'm truly beginning to wonder if they are so evil that they know what they are doing. Neither answer is comforting.