The Effect Of Our Holy Trinity Of Multiculturalism, Moral Equivalence And Relativism On The War Of Destiny

The Thug-In-Chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 'The War Of Destiny' a painting by Jason Engle, photoshop by ATB

"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land. As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map."

So rants Iran's Thug-In-Chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Given his apocalyptic rhetoric, we can understand why Ahmadinejad might want an arsenal of nuclear missiles. He'd be able to shake down a constant stream of rich European emissaries, threaten the Arab gulf states to lower oil production, neutralize the influence of the United States in the region--and, of course, destroy Israel.

In all his crazed pronouncements, Ahmadinejad reflects an end-of-days view: History is coming to its grand finale under his aegis. So the name of the haloed Ahmadinejad will live for the ages.

But for now, barring divine intervention, Ahmadinejad's task poses two small hurdles: getting the bomb and preparing the world for Israel's demise.

Oddly, the first obstacle may be easier. An impoverished Pakistan and North Korea pulled it off. China and Russia will sell Tehran anything it cannot get from rogue regimes. Ultimately, Moscow and Beijing will probably veto any punitive action by the United Nations.

Impotent European diplomats will always defer to such an important global figure, "ruling out" force to stop the Iranian nuclear industry as they offer money and trade deals if Tehran will just act sanely.

The United States has a growing anti-war movement, and 180,000 of its troops are busy birthing democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq. And the unpredictable President Bush has less than three years in office anyway.

But the second part of readying the world for the end of the Jewish state is trickier.

True, the Middle East's secular gospel is anti-Semitism, broadcast hourly from Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. In these places, state-run media boom out tired sermons about "pigs and apes." And, again, Russia and China don't much care what happens to Israel, as long as its demise does not affect business.

But the West is a different matter. There the history of anti-Semitism looms large, framed by the Holocaust that nearly destroyed European Jewry.

So raising doubts about that genocide is now Ahmadinejad's aim just as much as targeting downtown Tel Aviv. Holocaust denial is a tired game, but his approach is different.

He has studied the recent Western postmodern mind, nursed on its holy trinity of multiculturalism, moral equivalence and relativism. As a third-world populist, Ahmadinejad expects that his own fascism will escape scrutiny if he just recites enough the past sins of the West. He also understands victimology. So he also knows that to destroy the Israelis, he--not they--must become the victim, and the Europeans the ones who forced his hand. Ahmadinejad also grasps that there are millions of highly educated but cynical Westerners who see nothing much exceptional about their own culture. So if democratic America has nuclear weapons, why not theocratic Iran? Moreover, he knows how Western relativism works. So who is to say what are "facts" or what is "true"--given the tendency of the powerful to "construct" their own narratives and call the result "history." Was not the Holocaust exaggerated, or perhaps even fabricated, as mere jails became "death camps" through a trick of language to take over Palestinian land?

We laugh at all this as absurd. We should not.

Money, oil and threats have brought the Iranian theocrats to the very threshold of a nuclear arsenal. Their uncanny diagnosis of Western malaise has now convinced them that they can carefully fabricate a Holocaust-free reality in which Muslims are the victims and Jews the aggressors deserving of punishment. And thus Ahmadinejad's righteously aggrieved (and nuclear) Iran can, after "hundreds of years of war," finally set things right in the Middle East.

And then a world that wishes to continue to make money and drive cars in peace won't much care how this divinely appointed holy man finally finishes a bothersome "war of destiny."

Related on ATB:

Enemy Of The State
It's All About The Oil Stupid
The Rules Of Engagement,
Stop Or I'll Say Stop Again,
The Unexploded Bomb Of Global Politics,
Has Israel Persuaded Washington?,
Iran Prepares For Nuclear Jihad,
Europe Thy Name Is Cowardice,
If Israel Is The Tumor Then Iran Is The Metastasizing Cancer Part I,
If Israel Is The Tumor Then Iran Is The Metastasizing Cancer Part II,
Extraction Of The Stone Of Iranian Madness,

Linked to Mudville Gazette.

Comments

[Mikey D]

The Quran, chapter 112 reads:
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Say (O Muhammad) He is God the One God, the Everlasting Refuge,
who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to Him is not
anyone."

He is God the One God

I’ve not begotten, nor been begotten;
No one is equal to me.
On earth I rule, none dare molest, so
Come, Come follow me.

Eternal refuge to be your reward;
A martyr’s blood is all I ask.
Murder you must, to earn your place, so
Come, Come follow me.

Glory and honor my followers shall give;
If innocent blood you shed.
Set off the bomb, refuge awaits, so
Come, Come follow me.

Welcome my son, you’ve followed so well;
Now dwell forevermore with me.
Surprise I see upon your face, Now
Come, Come follow me.

Resurrection comes, and it won’t be long;
Spirit and body will join.
Judgment will come by the blood you shed, then
Into hell we go.

[MarcH]

Alexandra,

Your coverage of the Iranian WMD issue is wonderful, but it sometimes seems to me to de-emphasize the threat of a nuclear “Madrid” in the U.S. For example, your analysis of possible Iranian goals (from above) considers only nuclear missiles.

“Given his apocalyptic rhetoric, we can understand why Ahmadinejad might want an arsenal of nuclear missiles. He'd be able to (1) shake down a constant stream of rich European emissaries, (2) threaten the Arab gulf states to lower oil production, (3) neutralize the influence of the United States in the region--and, of course, (4) destroy Israel.”

It seems to me that if Ahmadinejad were to try to pull #4 (Israel) he’d fear an Israeli and/or US response that would end his ability to do #1 and #2 (along with his life and the continued existence of Iran, the Shiite movement center). There are also problems for Ahmadinejad if he were to try #3 against US regional forces, as the US would focus on developing a much improved theatre ABM capability.

IMHO, a nuclear device hidden in a cargo container directed against a U.S. city seems to be an, at least equally likely, method for Ahmadinejad to achieve his goals. I’ve discussed this threat in previous comments (http://www.allthingsbeautiful.com/all_things_beautiful/2006/01/its_all_about_t.html*).

The “device in a container” strategy would avoid the technical problems of nuclear missiles, exploit the apparent ease of smuggling into the US (http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/1701/documentid/3054/history/3,2360,655,1701,3054), and potentially have a decisive effect against US morale (Madrid II). It would also probably be impossible to identify the source of the device (http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Articles/Davis.html) so Ahmadinejad could have the hope of reaping the benefits and avoiding their consequences of his actions.

To conclude, I concur completely with your call to mobilize US military and political assets to prevent a hostile Iran from acquiring nukes. I do worry though, that by focusing on the uses to which Iran might put nuclear missiles in the Middle East/SE Europe, we risk de-emphasizing the threat to the U.S. homeland. People are a little less likely to get involved if they don’t think there is a direct threat to their families.

“The bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth[.]” (http://www.incompetech.com/authors/donne/bell.html)

[Always On Watch]

Back in the 1930's, a whole lot of people didn't take Hitler seriously. The Holocaust happened.

Now, some 70 years later, along comes Ahmadinejad, with his messiah/mahdi complex, to restore Islam to its rightful place in the world (according to his interpretation of rightful place). Are we seeing the early line-up to a world war of horrific proportions?
Proabably.

What's going on is NOT a cultural variant.