Greetings from Reality: The Decade of 9/11
Published in Maariv
(Israel) on 9 September 2011
by Arel Segal (link to original)
(Israel) on 9 September 2011
by Arel Segal (link to original)
Translated from
by Viktoria Lymar.
Edited by Hoishan Chan .
Bush’s America was a global sheriff, but with Obama’s election, the United States transitioned into the role of non-commissioned welfare officer. Predictably, this approach fell short.
In all likelihood you have forgotten, but two days before the twin towers fell, on Sept. 9 2001, a suicidal terrorist attack took place in Nahariya*. In the evening [Channel 1] news release, the correspondent interviewed one of the wounded. A young air force officer recapped in a chilling way what was going to befall the world in 48 hours. The reporter asked what the terrorist looked like. The officer replied: “An Arab.” A brief answer. Incredibly politically incorrect. However, accurate and painful, as if a direct hit on the Pentagon.
On Sept. 11, 1609, Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan. Within a short time in historical terms, a real twinkle in time, the island turned into the center of the world. After 392 years, on that dreadful day, what had been part of the world’s most famous skyline was lost in the Muslim battle cry “Allahu Akbar.” The twin towers collapsed during live reportage, dissipating in a toxic dust cloud. The Y2K bug revealed itself not as a computer virus but as a Saudi of Yemeni origin, with kidney problems and a towel on the head, four battered wives and a porn video collection.
We might forget a little bit, but a week before the twin towers were knocked down, the Durban Conference was held in South Africa. Knights of humanism from the Arab countries and scummy collaborators in the Western left wing marked Israel and the Jews as the key factor undermining global stability. A historical scapegoat.
The reality punched them in the face. The American ethos was born in the Wild West — men with guns and a perception of justice purely in black and white. Old horses are made into glue, and villains are convinced with lead [bullets]. Or in John Wayne’s words (Amen!): “Live and let live, but if you bother me, I’ll stick a Colt .45 into your ass”*
On a Good Day, You Can See the Horizon
The United States declared an all-out war. Justice was served, the Taliban regime overthrown, and this year has even eliminated, in a good hour, the goat herder from Afghanistan. Bush’s America spearheaded a crusade and cleaned up the global gutter to the best of its abilities. Saddam Hussein was hanged; his tormented people are still groaning under the remains of the perverted war between Shiites and Sunnis, but on a good day, you can see the horizon. Just ask the Kurds.
Contrary to the superficial judgment of Western liberalism, which claims to talk the human rights discourse on behalf of the Enlightenment, while nevertheless groveling to the nastiest regimes, [or] the blindly dogmatic left that deems George W. Bush an unfit leader who led a hysterical struggle, bordering on the verge of imperial fascism; it seems to me that history will assign Bush a place of honor as a leader with vision and courage who managed to smash the fundamentalist Islamic fantasy regarding the conquest of the globe, and he was right to believe that the Arab nations too deserve freedom and democracy.
In an article published years ago in the Tchelet [Azure] journal, Robert Kagan analyzed the essential conflict between Europe and the United States. The new and liberal Europe looks upon history with a postmodern serenity. For Europe, diplomatic discussion and dialogue are the way to resolving crises and reducing threats. On the other hand, the United States, until Obama’s era, perceived the world as a Darwinist territory, a universe governed by the Hobbesian rule of “dog eats dog,” where America bears the responsibility for the future of the humankind, facing enemies devoid of moral restraints. If America is the sheriff of the world, said Kagan, Europe is the barkeeper fearing for his profits.
Obama’s election symbolized a turn of 180 degrees. The United States dropped the sheriff’s star and transitioned into the position of a non-commissioned welfare officer. As it was to be expected, Obama’s approach fell short. The reality is that the world requires a sheriff. Our sages have already postulated: “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.”
*Editor’s Note: This quote, translated accurately, could not be verified.
In all likelihood you have forgotten, but two days before the twin towers fell, on Sept. 9 2001, a suicidal terrorist attack took place in Nahariya*. In the evening [Channel 1] news release, the correspondent interviewed one of the wounded. A young air force officer recapped in a chilling way what was going to befall the world in 48 hours. The reporter asked what the terrorist looked like. The officer replied: “An Arab.” A brief answer. Incredibly politically incorrect. However, accurate and painful, as if a direct hit on the Pentagon.
On Sept. 11, 1609, Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan. Within a short time in historical terms, a real twinkle in time, the island turned into the center of the world. After 392 years, on that dreadful day, what had been part of the world’s most famous skyline was lost in the Muslim battle cry “Allahu Akbar.” The twin towers collapsed during live reportage, dissipating in a toxic dust cloud. The Y2K bug revealed itself not as a computer virus but as a Saudi of Yemeni origin, with kidney problems and a towel on the head, four battered wives and a porn video collection.
We might forget a little bit, but a week before the twin towers were knocked down, the Durban Conference was held in South Africa. Knights of humanism from the Arab countries and scummy collaborators in the Western left wing marked Israel and the Jews as the key factor undermining global stability. A historical scapegoat.
The reality punched them in the face. The American ethos was born in the Wild West — men with guns and a perception of justice purely in black and white. Old horses are made into glue, and villains are convinced with lead [bullets]. Or in John Wayne’s words (Amen!): “Live and let live, but if you bother me, I’ll stick a Colt .45 into your ass”*
On a Good Day, You Can See the Horizon
The United States declared an all-out war. Justice was served, the Taliban regime overthrown, and this year has even eliminated, in a good hour, the goat herder from Afghanistan. Bush’s America spearheaded a crusade and cleaned up the global gutter to the best of its abilities. Saddam Hussein was hanged; his tormented people are still groaning under the remains of the perverted war between Shiites and Sunnis, but on a good day, you can see the horizon. Just ask the Kurds.
Contrary to the superficial judgment of Western liberalism, which claims to talk the human rights discourse on behalf of the Enlightenment, while nevertheless groveling to the nastiest regimes, [or] the blindly dogmatic left that deems George W. Bush an unfit leader who led a hysterical struggle, bordering on the verge of imperial fascism; it seems to me that history will assign Bush a place of honor as a leader with vision and courage who managed to smash the fundamentalist Islamic fantasy regarding the conquest of the globe, and he was right to believe that the Arab nations too deserve freedom and democracy.
In an article published years ago in the Tchelet [Azure] journal, Robert Kagan analyzed the essential conflict between Europe and the United States. The new and liberal Europe looks upon history with a postmodern serenity. For Europe, diplomatic discussion and dialogue are the way to resolving crises and reducing threats. On the other hand, the United States, until Obama’s era, perceived the world as a Darwinist territory, a universe governed by the Hobbesian rule of “dog eats dog,” where America bears the responsibility for the future of the humankind, facing enemies devoid of moral restraints. If America is the sheriff of the world, said Kagan, Europe is the barkeeper fearing for his profits.
Obama’s election symbolized a turn of 180 degrees. The United States dropped the sheriff’s star and transitioned into the position of a non-commissioned welfare officer. As it was to be expected, Obama’s approach fell short. The reality is that the world requires a sheriff. Our sages have already postulated: “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.”
*Editor’s Note: This quote, translated accurately, could not be verified.