Garbanzo Toons

Power, Faith and Fantasy, by Michael B. Oren

The Israel bashers want us to believe (as someone else, although I forget who, pointed out) that Middle Eastern history began with the Six Day War in 1967. We are supposed to ignore anything that came before that date. And if we are part of the U.N. so-called Human Rights Council we are expected to ignore a lot more than that. Michael Oren's new book, Power, Faith, and Fantasy, really is well done. I learned a lot. I learned a lot of things I didn't know. I also learned that the United States government doesn't always learn from its mistakes, since current leaders are still making the same blunders past leaders made. The biggest blunder is pandering to Islamic supremacists who really don't want the same things we want, you know, like peace on Earth and a happy prosperous future for our children.

It's interesting that in the early days of our country's independence, when the U.S. chose to appease the (Muslim) Barbary pirates by paying tribute for hostages, and to buy their "protection" the pirates kept increasing their demands. The Barbary pirates had no respect for a weak United States that succumbed to blackmail, but they did respect American firepower when the U.S. fought back. As Oren points out, it cost more financially to fight back than it did to pay tribute, but self-respect is priceless. And with the example set by the United States Navy, the European countries decided to flex their muscle instead of folding to Islamic demands, thereby putting an end to that set of pirates.

Since Israel declared its independence in 1948, our European "allies" have been for the most part, just as traitorous and backstabbing as they are today.

Some of the reviewers on Amazon.com object to Oren's description of the past 60 years. It seems his bias doesn't match their bias.

Labels: books, Michael B. Oren, Power Faith and Fantasy

posted by Harry @ 9:17 PM