Before yesterday, I imagined I would be busy blogging on Senator Kerry's behalf that he would be the best presidential candidate in '08. Although I did have some inkling that he might not run, I still was under the assumption that he may take the plunge and my time would be spent helping him to the best of my abilities.
Well, a few things have happened (apart from Kerry's announcement yesterday) that make me wonder if I need to take a step back from the blogs to pursue other areas that are also important. As many of you know, I read the Iraq blogs, and have also commented on them, trying to reach out and start a conversation. Like the Bush administration's botched occupation of Iraq, I have been a complete failure in that regard. Many Iraqis dislike lefty anti-war types just as much as arrogant right wing pro-war types. They are suspicious that we only read their blogs to further our agendas, and I think there is a speck of truth there, even for me. Well, there is a new history book out called "Power, Faith and Fantasy" about how this is in fact an American tradition -- looking at the Middle East like they're just like us, when in fact, their culture is VERY different from ours. When I engaged the Iraqi blogs I couldn't help myself but inject American politics, and I realize now how foolish I was -- Iraqis just don't give a hoot about American politics. They have more important things to worry about -- they're really not even all that interested in Bush. That is because they have their OWN politics to worry about as well as a horrible war that has torn their country apart.
From Whometense, Senator Kerry said this yesterday:
The civil war we are in the middle of now didn't begin when we went there. It had been tamped down, quashed by a dictatorship and by history. Before I went back to visit the Middle East, I had the chance to read a book by Vali Nasr, called ``The Shia Revival,'' in which he traces the history of Shiaism and what is happening in the Middle East today. What we learned from that is instructive and critical to determining whether troops will make a difference on how we resolve what is happening in Iraq today.
When the Prophet Mohammed died, Ali, who was his cousin and stepson and virtual son, was passed over at that time to be the caliph. In fact, three people were chosen in between him. Ultimately, he did become the caliph, but that was the beginning of the difference of the separation, if you will, within Islam. That became far more pronounced about 1,300 years ago, around 680, when the grandson of Ali was slaughtered in the desert along with 72 of his followers--72, a number that comes back to haunt us today, because that was indeed an event in Karballah in 682 that defined martyrdom, which we see played to by the extreme religious efforts that are taking place today in the Middle East.
Why do I mention this today? Because that is where the great Shia-Sunni divide began. Ali and his followers were beheaded in the desert, their bodies left to rot in the sun. Their heads were posted, first in Najaf, and later in Damascus. That began to instill a depth of both anger and suppression that has gone on all of these centuries.
The fact is that we, through our invasion and our election, have given the Shia at the ballot box what they never could achieve all of those years, and the Sunni, who have continually been the dominant, more secular faction that managed the affairs of state, are suddenly finding themselves in the minority; many believe they were born to the right to rule and are determined to restore it. This is the civil conflict we have put ourselves in the middle of, with American troops who don't speak the language going door to door and house to house, attempting to somehow make sense of an alien environment they have been plunged into--from California, Kansas, Missouri, Massachusetts, and all of our States. We are doing precisely what Secretary Rumsfeld said we would not do--putting our troops in the middle of a civil war.
On my recent trip to the Middle East, I heard grave concerns expressed by Sunni leaders, Mubarak and others, about the Shia resurgence and Iran's growing influence in the region. Indeed, Iran's influence has grown, and we are partly responsible, if not significantly responsible, for that growth. We need to stand up for our allies in the region, our Sunni friends, yes. But we can and must do it in a way that doesn't exacerbate the Sunni-Shia rift in the region. That is why we have to ask more of our Sunni allies when it comes to pressuring the Sunnis in Iraq to accept that, with this turn of events called an election, they will no longer--absent a revolution, which some are planning on--be running the country, and that they must lay down their arms and join the political process.
I would like to do what Senator Kerry is doing -- seek knowledge of this mysterious land instead of bombing it or demanding things from them they are incapable of doing at this time. Thing is, I'm not as fast a reader as him (:)), and with blogging and following the news so closely, I no longer seem to have much time just to read books. So I think that soon I will take a sabbatical from the blogs and learn more about that region. How can I write about these places when I know so little? How can I debate my friends and neighbors about Iraq if I have failed to grasp the long history there? Well, I can't. The thing with blogs and me is it's all or nothing. If I say I'll only blog "just a little" 2 hours go by in the blink of an eye. So in addition to caring for my family, if I really want to understand the peoples of the Middle East, I will need to take a breather from the blogs, and concentrate on this new quest for knowledge.
I'm not sure when I'll start this. And, of course, if Senator Kerry needs some blogging on his behalf, I will do it. But I wonder if taking some time out from the endless news where you don't learn much except whether Hillary or Obama are up or down will be healthy, and will make me a better blogger in the long run.
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