Pat Oliphant for April 26, 2012

Arabs by Arabs? I don’t think Oliphant knows the difference between Arab and Persian, or Sunni and Shia.

the bin Laden family…Bushies buddies

Sadly, the west isn’t one of the rich nations anymore….

Well next time, we will simply draft the non-working class, everyone on wellfare.

Who? What? When? Where?

It would be interesting to read a simplified graph that shows the United States as a business. Not the huge Federal Budget that shows the usual expenditures and deficits. So incomplete! No, one that includes every possible human factor as well. (Probably none but a Alien Accountant could do this, of course. We need to put a job ad in Monster.com without delay.)

It’s said, “The chief business of the American people is Business,” so let’s see all the interactions, in business terms, that make it up. The graph should an easy-to-understand business model. Would other countries be competitors? Certain large businesses that interact heavily with government might be clients. Vendors might be government contractors. Would soldiers be items comparable to office consumables? Would citizens be employees or customers?

There would be a more detailed accounting of deficits in this model. Cases when industries cause health problems could be factored in. Rights that involve by their dangerous nature a certain number of innocent lives (tobacco, firearms, motor vehicles) would show their performance. How about bribery and wasteful expenditures? What would the cost be of a single prematurely-ended life, considered as a business expense? Would wars (a huge business expense!) include somehow the casualties of foreign civilians?

The myriad indicator bars would go up and down, and in the end the bottom line, the Grand Total would show the cost of Freedom.

If this had been done every year since the beginning of the Republic we might see the cost in “lives and treasure” and compare it with the benefits received: who the stockholders are and what dividends accrue. The yearly question to be answered: is the yearly size increase of American stock due to healthy growth — or bloat? And how to continuously improve? I think things would be a lot different by now.

They mean the U.S. who else. I don’t like the idea of an isolationist but these guys seem to think that is policy.

If the mid eastern countries don’t care about the slaughter in Syria no reason the west should. Let them police their own backyard. One wonders how much Assad is paying the other dictatorss to not get involved, much less even criticize it.

Assad doesn’t have much money these days. The other dictators don’t like the idea of their oppressed citizens possibly wanting to join the so-called Arab Spring. (Which doesn’t clean as well as Irish Spring, of course……….)

OK, if it weren’t for “betoweled vermin”, I’d have considered that funny.

Reminds me of the portrayal Hitler had of Jews during the days.

Too true, Pat, too true.

OK. Good. You’re conceding that Oliphant misses the mark and that this is a civil war by proxy. That puts you ahead of most neocons who think it’s just an “Arab” problem.

So far, Assad has had his military kill over 9000 civilians (which is an understatement), whereas his father killed over 20,000 in a few days. Okay, doesn’t look like a “proxy war” involving Persians and Arabs. Looks like a dictator decimating his people.

We should let them kill each other. Ex post birth control.

And, are you trying to tell us that a great majority of the political – and Royal – folks over there ARE NOT talking about “the infidel” when making reference to expenditures necessary to intervene in THEIR own wars.

No. My point was that to focus on that room, that “Arab” room, is to focus on one player, a simple target, instead of acknowledging that we are hand in hand business partners with them and conveniently ignore the bloodshed as we do our business.

The cartoon is essentially referring to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and other Arab countries with very high per capita incomes.

Addendum: Arabs and Persians are ethnic groups. Shia and Sunnis are religious groups. In Ulster, Catholics and Protestants killed one another, but they were all Irish. The Syrians are all Arabs.

If we armed everyone over there, than get out of the way,I think the problum would solve itself.

If we armed everyone over there, than got out of the way, I think the problem would solve itself.

The “ethic” and concern actually goes back to the fact that they’re all, just like the Hebrews, descendants of Shem (Semites like Lebanese, Arabs, etc, but not Persians), and the CULTURE was determined LONG before even Mohammed and Islam came along. The brutality in the cultures started there. period.

Now as to “Arab” wealth, and Saudis? That goes back to post-Ottoman 1923 and their “deal with the devil”, which of course was, Mobil Oil.

The Saudis, Qataris and Yemenis consider those outside of the Arab penninsula to be ib’ni al arab( Sons of the Arab) and not Arabs. Iraqis are still considered Mesopotamians, Syrians are still considered Aramaic and Egyptians are Egyptians.

Oliphant’s drawing reminds me of the movie scene from Laurence of Arabia after Sir Laurence had lead a coalition group of Arab tribes to the apparent impossible capture of Damascus from Italy in WWI. Following their victory Arabs then proceeded to fight amongst themselves over power, territory, etc. and leave the consolidation and governing of what they had won to no one, all against Laurence’s protest. The Middle Eastern Islamic mentality hasn’t changed a dam bit since 1918. They still present themselves as blithering idiot anarchist. Wonder if they are praying in the wrong direction or is Allah just another code word and a facade for dissention and privateering?

Actually, the drawing makes me think of the Republican “primaries”, and what the convention will look like. Lawrence would have been fed up with them also.

One of the greatest, hit-the-nail-on-the-head piece of political satire I’ve ever read. Bravo—bring our men and women and money home and send them all a bill: Free oil for several decades, at least.