Richard Parker Robison
Enchantingly beautiful, the Middle East is like a mysteriously veiled woman, yet fortunately for us her raven eyes are visible, a window to her soul. Umm Idduniya, the "Mother of the World," the Middle East is at the center of each of us, whether we recognize it or not.
Yet, for political reasons I suspect, our national leaders appear to believe the average American is unwilling to understand the true extent of America’s role there. For example, the U.S. Administration refuses to utter the "O" word. Any discussion of oil or oil politics is absolutely forbidden. In the process, we are being told precious little of America’s true Mideast equities and the strategic power of this oil…perhaps because our leaders fear we are not yet ready for the truth?
I resent the premise. Therefore, from well-placed sources what follows are the 24 KEY QUESTIONS Americans should be asking about our role and purpose in the Middle East, and the seldom explored answers.
What are the Six Principal Reasons the United States invaded Iraq? Chapter 1 leaps at that question with both feet. What specific threats are Muslim fanatics making against America? Why isn’t the media accurately reporting those threats? That question illuminated in Chapter 5.
Why is it impossible to understand the strategic importance of the region without considering the "China Card"? How does China magnify the threat rushing at us from the Islamic Republic of Iran? And finally: What is the endgame? How do we finish terrorism once and for all?
Obviously the stakes are high. But there is hope, a hope shining from the eyes of a half-a-billion young Muslims from Marrakech to Bangladesh. America and the world’s long-term security, peace, and prosperity are now riveted firmly to the future of the Middle East. Success is in our hands. God help us if we fail.
Richard Robison is President of The Mideast Source, Inc. (www.mideastsource.com). He has worked in, and written on, the Middle East for over two decades. During the 1980s and early ‘90s he worked for the U.S. Foreign Service, stationed in Persian Gulf Nations during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), also assigned to Washington, D.C. for two years during this period. Later, during Gulf War I (1990-91) he served in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
In 1991 he assisted the Central Intelligence Agency’s Gulf War Task Force. Following the Gulf War (1991), Mr. Robison resigned from the government, returning to the Persian Gulf a private citizen to direct U.S. companies rebuilding Kuwait.
A popular speaker at conventions, on talk shows, at universities, and before professional organizations while promoting his private consulting services and his books, writings, and audio visual products on the Middle East.
Mr. Robison is also the author of THE MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS: The Truth Behind America’s Middle East Challenge, a Book of Answers (AuthorHouse Publishers, www.AuthorHouse.com, March 2003).
In the 1970s, Mr. Robison earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle East Anthropology, and later a Master’s Degree in the Arabic Language and Middle East Area Studies. He attended the American University In Cairo, Egypt on a FLAS Scholarship.
He now assists American companies rebuilding Iraq, and writing and speaking on America’s Middle East challenge. The insights he offers are unique, firmly grounded from decades on the inside of Mideast culture, as well as representing corporate America operating abroad. His perspective, more importantly discernment and instinct, was molded working for the U.S. Government in the Middle East and elsewhere. His unique window on the world provides valuable knowledge for all Americans at this critical time.
Some Americans are still unaware of the level of long-term responsibility we have shouldered in the Middle East. More importantly, our leaders have hesitated to explain the incredible equities cementing America to the region. Confused, many seek answers to questions raised by the attacks of 9/11, the war on terror, and the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Each of these challenges appears exclusive. They are not.
I know of no way of judging the future but by the past, paraphrasing the American patriot, Patrick Henry. And we must understand the past if we are to understand America’s quest for freedom in the Middle East. This has not come cheap, a quest of sacrifice, in blood, in the lives of our free citizens willing to give all they have, in the sacrifice of patriots, both past and present. Understanding and appreciating America’s incredible history is vital to our quest. From that perspective, that foundation, and from well-placed modern sources, what follows are the 24 KEY QUESTIONS Americans should be asking on our role and purpose in the Middle East. Each of the book’s 24 chapters stands on its own; each enjoyed without required input from any other.
Why did we invade Saddam’s Iraq in 2003? Does the war against terror have to be a generation-long struggle? When will our military forces leave the Persian Gulf region? Why do France, Germany, and Russia so strongly oppose our ongoing Mideast presence? Why is China nervous about our "monitoring" of the world’s most strategic energy storehouse? Why do Middle Easterners seem to hate us so, yet continually look to us to solve their monumental problems, to buy their oil and send our aid, even shed our blood to protect them from a world of enemies?
These and other vital questions are fully explored in the following pages, insights offered by a Middle East specialist of uncommon training and experience on the ground in the region.
What are the Six Principal Reasons the United States invaded Iraq? Chapter One leaps at that question with both feet. How will the Iraq War secure the United States and bring peace and prosperity to the world? That one dispatched by Chapter Two. Then, take your pick: Must Middle East dictators be eliminated to bring peace and stability to the world? Who is responsible for past pathetic Mideast leadership? What are the Seven Shrouded Truths driving America’s policy there? Why is it impossible to understand the strategic importance of the region without considering the "China Card"? Why is the Islamic Republic of Iran at the top of the President’s exclusive "Axis of Evil" hit list?
Since it is not possible to understand America’s Middle East challenge without a touch of Islamic and Arab cultural history, several chapters illuminate key questions, such as: Why is the ancient Mideast principle of Taqiya a potent weapon used against us by Islamic radicals, a weapon not yet generally recognized or understood in the United States? How did Taqiya cause us to be more vulnerable to attack on 9/11? What is the Islamic institution of the "Temporary Wife" or "Wife of Pleasure" and why is this important to America today? Why do Mideast societies treat women as the personal property of men? Why does Islam teach that men must chose between the "temptation of women" and the "righteousness of God (Allah)"? What important lessons have we learned the hard way? And finally: What is the endgame? How do we finish terrorism once and for all?
We stand at a critical juncture, accelerated by the rise of Islamic-born terrorism and the powerful military move of the United States into the Persian Gulf and Iraq. America’s collective will, its vision, and those actions we take over the coming decade, will determine the world’s security and prosperity through this century and beyond.
The devastating attack America suffered on September 11, 2001 was partly the result of the United States’ penetration into the House of Islam and our military occupation of Arabia and the Persian Gulf following the 1991 gulf war. Osama bin Laden, among other Muslim radicals, has pounded on this theme in multiple speeches at least since 1992. Sadly it was not until we were treacherously violated on 9/11 that we began to pay attention.
Since then, moving with determination, the United States has successfully strengthened its hold on the world’s most strategically vital sandbox. Willingly we sacrificed many American lives and invested billions of dollars in what we hope will be a future of peace, stability, and security for America and the world. This is a critical age, the most important and far-reaching in Middle East history since Muhammad’s camel soldiers burst from Arabia to spread the word of Allah nearly 1,400 years ago. What unfolds in the coming decade will impact us for generations, changing us forever as a nation, society, and culture.
We should, however, be optimistic. The future offers hope for America and the world, though dictatorial regimes from China to the Middle East are working to counter America’s freedom-quest. What the enemies of truth fail to understand is that the tide of history—the tide of freedom—is with us; it is our ally.
The following insights are not for the weak of heart; nor for the pessimist, the man or woman who says: "The Middle East is a quagmire! What are we doing there? It’s never been done that way before! Democracy? How can it possibly work with Arabs?!" Such people scare me. In today’s techno-driven, nanosecond world, such naysayers are passé, more so, they are dangerous. And they are wasting our time. If that’s your best shot, get out of the way. The greatest miracles of history are about to sweep us. We cannot, we must not, shrink.
History is watching….
