Britain had troops in far-away Afghanistan in the 1800s because she feared a possible incursion by Russia into British-controlled India. Britain was also very fearful that Russia and Iran, then called Persian, might climb into bed together. That fear has become a reality and Russia is the main supporter of Iran’s nuclear program and Iran is considered Russia’s “client state.” In recent years the U.S. went to Afghanistan to–I’ve forgotten why and like Britain and every invading nation we got our kiesters kicked badly.

Great Britain was fearful that Russia looked at Afghanistan as a stepping stone into India, one of Britain’s major colonies. That fear was accelerated in 1839 when Tsar Nicholas I sent a small body of Russian troops that penetrated the border of Afghanistan. The British responded by sending an expedition to Kabul and placing their man (political puppet) on the Afghan throne. The result was a disaster. The nation rose up in arms–literally.

In Dec. 1841, the Afghans promised safe conduct to the British garrison of about four thousand troops, accompanied by about 12,000 women, children, and Afghan camp-followers, and they began to withdraw through the snow-laden mountain passes. They planned to march to Jalalabad about 90 miles away but they were doomed and were marching to their grave.

The safe-conduct was violated at the Khurd Kabul mountain pass where almost all the 16,000 were murdered or taken prisoners. Panic took over as the mangled, starving company fled in every direction with highly disciplined British troops knocking down their own officers with their muskets. Out of 16,000 only Dr. William Brydon, a British Army surgeon survived and reached India on Jan. 13!

I don’t want to say it but I must: Muslim leaders cannot be trusted. Mohammed gave them their marching orders–a world caliphate. The Muslim world is not united because they hate each other as much as they hate “unbelievers.” However, they will unite to drive Israel into the sea and to kill the “great Satan.” Each Muslim state has major problems with others. Maybe I can untangle some of the Muslim Mess below:

Three Middle East nations are not Arab: Turkey, Iran, and Israel. Turks do not speak Arabic, but Turkish. Iranians speak Persian and hate Arabs. Israel speaks Hebrew (and non-Jews speak Arabic) and is hated by everyone. Maybe feared also!

The Mediterranean nation of Egypt, with over 88 million people is the most populous nation in North Africa and the Arab world. It has always been a major influence in the Middle East and has impacted the whole world.

Egypt is considered one of the cradles of civilization going back thousands of years BC. It early became Christian but now only a small percent of its people are Christians (Coptic). The nation was overrun by Sunni Muslim zealots and slowly became Muslim. Today it is controlled by a “moderate” Muslim after street protests that prompted the army to remove the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

Saudi Arabia makes up most of the Arabian Peninsula with the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east. It is known as the land of the two holiest mosques of Islam: Mecca and Medina. It is an absolute monarchy ruled by the House of Saud since its founding in 1932. King Salman recently took the throne.

The king must rule according to Shariah law and the Koran, which along with the Sunnah (the Hadith) are the nation’s constitution. Political parties are not permitted and even peaceful protests are forbidden. Saudi is considered the fifth most authoritarian government out of 167 nations and beheaded 100 people by June of 2015. The U.S. is their bosom buddy! Oil makes strange bedfellows!

The Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam, a most extreme sect of Islam, is followed by most of its citizens. It should be noted that Osama bin Laden and fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and all were members of the Wahhabi sect. A small percentage of citizens are Shia Muslims. There are no churches in Saudi Arabia while there are 2000 mosques in America! Reciprocity, anyone?

Politically, Saudi Arabia is an adamant enemy of Iran and Syria and is friends with the U.S. and Egypt. In recent weeks the Saudi Air Force bombed Shiite rebels in Yemen (located on Saudi Arabia’s southern border) to restore the Yemeni government that has been a U.S. ally in fighting al Qaeda; however the legitimate government of Yemen was kicked out of the capital city by rebels a few months ago. Eleven countries have signed onto this effort: Saudi Arabia (Sunni), the United Arab Emirates (85% Sunni), Bahrain (65 to 75% Shiite), Qatar (50% are Sunni), Kuwait (70% Sunni, 30% Shiite), Jordan (95% Sunni), Egypt (90% Sunni), Morocco, (67% Sunni), Pakistan (77% Sunni, 20% Shiite), Turkey (77% Sunni), and Sudan (70% Sunni). Note that all but one of these are Sunni and there is incredible hatred between the two groups!

Iraq is the land of Mesopotamia, the land of the Fertile Crescent. At the end of WW I, Britain seized Baghdad and formed Iraq in 1920. After an unstable period Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party in 1979 was in control. Hussein was a Sunni in a nation that was 65% Shia! Moreover most of the national offices were filled with the minority Sunnis! The Shiites were never going to be satisfied with that arrangement.

Between 1980 and 1988 Iran and Iraq fought a vicious war with many dying from poison gas used by Iraq. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait kicking off a massive U.S. led First Gulf War. Iraq withdrew in early 1991. In 2003 the U.S. and her allies removed Hussein and his cohorts and set up national elections turning the nation back to Iraqis. The U.S. left in 2011 and the Iraqis have been fighting for their lives to this day. In 2014 Sunni rebels seized Mosul and other cities with thousands fleeing across the border. Recently, ISIS terrorists overran Ramadi as American-trained Iraqi troops fled the city. It seems we conquered more than we could control.

Jordon lying just east of Israel is 95% Sunni and the small Christian community has little discrimination; however, it is illegal for Christians to seek converts from Islam.

Iran is not Arab but Persian and they resent being called “Arabs.” Iran (Persia) was a world empire in 550 B.C. after Cyrus the Great defeated Babylon making Persia the largest empire the world had seen. After Islamic troops took the empire in the seventh century, it gradually became Shiite, the only Shiite nation on earth. They have officially declared their goal is to establish a “new world order” according to the Shia Islamic belief system. The UN applied sanctions against Iran because of their nuclear program (thanks to Russia) thereby isolating them economically, politically, and socially from many nations of the world. About 95% of Iranians are Shia Muslims of the Twelver branch and maybe 4% to 8% are Sunnis plus a few Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, etc. Iran is a major supporter of Syria.

The U.S. was conned into signing a treaty with Iran even though massive crowds run their streets yelling, “Death to America,” and “Death to Israel.” Their leaders have promised that they will not stop their nuclear experiments nor will they stop exporting terror around the world. As usual, Americans are fools, willing to give everything for a facade of peace. And we didn’t even get the release of the four Americans held in Iranian prisons! Look for Saudi Arabia to join the nuclear club.

Syria is bordered by Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. Muhammed invaded Syria in 626 bringing Islam with him. The nation has been ruled by the Al-Assad family since 1970 and most of the people are Shia Muslims of the Twelver branch.

Syria participated in the U.S. directed Gulf War against Iraq. A civil war has raged in Syria for more than four years that has killed more than 210,000 people with hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing the border into Turkey.

Note that Syria and Iran are of the same fanatical sect of Islam and Iran is supporting Syria in their civil war. So Iran and Syria are at war with the rest of the Islamic world.

The Middle East is a tangled mess. It is a nest of vipers. Basically Iran and Syria are hated and feared by the other nations and Israel is hated by everyone.

It should be noted that Christians have been slaughtered in most of those Muslim nations whether they are Sunni or Shia. Jordan is the major exception.

With all their oil money (plus billions in personal foreign bank accounts) “reasonable” Muslim leaders can handle the problems in Iran and Syria. Let them fight it out. It is their responsibility to clean out their own stables. The free world will cheer from the sidelines. If that is “isolationism” then so be it. God never gave America a mandate nor did the Constitution to bring democracy to totalitarian regimes especially when they have no experience with freedom and little desire for it.

And be assured that after the Sunnis and Shias bomb each other, those remaining will turn their sights on Israel and the free world. We are seeing another Hundred Years’ War!

http://bit.ly/1iMLVfY Watch these 8 minute videos of my lecture at the University of North Dakota: “A Christian Challenges New Atheists to Put Up or Shut Up!”

The refugees are welcome as workers but not as citizens. By leaving the refugee camps, they better themselves as migrate workers but without any hope of citizenship from their “brother” Muslims. However, they have been and are being used as pawns to further the political agenda of their fellow Muslims. The workers are too dumb or fanatical to realize that fact.

Any honest person will recognize that there is no mention of the name “Palestina” in history before the Romans gave that new hated name to the province of Judea. This fact was admitted by Professor Philip Hitti, an Arab historian who declared, “There is no such thing as Palestine in history, absolutely not.” This fact is further confirmed by the Saudi Arabia Representative at the United Nations. “It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but Southern Syria.”

Fathi Hammad, minister of the interior and national security for Hamas, a recognized terror group, confirmed that “half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis.”

King Hussein of Jordan was the only Arab leader that showed any sympathy toward what is called the Palestinian Arabs. In 1960 he stated: “Since 1948 Arab leaders have approached the Palestine problem in an irresponsible manner….They have used the Palestine people for selfish political purposes. This is ridiculous and, I could say, even criminal.” The King was correct.

I started going to Jordan and the Middle East just after the 1967 Six-Day War (in which Israel sent the nine Muslim nations arrayed against them running for cover) and have been there 14 times. That doesn’t make me a Middle East expert but I became convinced that King Hussein, who died in 1999, was the most reasonable and kind Muslim leader in the Muslim world. He shocked the world when he recognized Israel as a nation in 1994 much to the chagrin of other Muslim leaders.

Unknown to the world, Hussein wanted peace with Israel and secretly negotiated with Israel’s leaders and U.S. officials. The private talks took place in London at the home of Hussein’s Jewish physician. In 1970, Hussein kicked the PLO (Arafat) out of Jordan! It must be remembered that Arafat, while leader of the PLO, was an Egyptian, not a “Palestinian”; but then, no one is a “Palestinian.”

I corresponded with Hussein in the late 70’s while I was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives. I also was a newscaster and commentator at a fledging Indianapolis television station. Since I went to the Middle East about every year I contacted the king about doing a television interview, and much to my surprise, he readily agreed. We set the date to coincide with my itinerary and I prepared for a “scoop.” But alas, it was not to be. I was too busy to see the king! No, my trip was rescheduled because of terrorist activities and the king was out of the country when I finally was there.

Syrian dictator Hafez Assad (father of the present dictator) told PLO leader Yasser Arafat, “You do not represent Palestine as much as we do. Never forget this one point: There is no such thing as a Palestinian people, there is no Palestinian entity, there is only Syria.” Don’t you think the media should finally get the point: Palestinian people do not exist except as a political ploy.

Zuhair Muhsin, military commander of the PLO and member of the PLO Executive Council, clearly said “There are no differences between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. We are all part of one nation. It is only for political reasons that we carefully underline our Palestinian identity… yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity serves only tactical purposes. The founding of a Palestinian state is a new tool in the continuing battle against Israel.” I wonder if the media are listening. Maybe they can’t understand plain English.

Even Chris Matthews of MSNBC can understand that statement from a Muslim terrorist–well, maybe not since Chris’ main activity is in his leg, not his brain.