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Entry: Blair's Last Sabotage Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/blairs_last_sabotage#1963 Post contents: The Balfour declaration was made at a time during the First World War when Britain wanted and needed to get as much help as it could, and it sought to enlist the world Jewish community in the Allied cause by making a promise to the Zionists. Simultaneously, of course, it was enlisting the Arabs in its cause by promising them independence from the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, and it was also dividing the middle east into British and French spheres of influence via the secret Sykes-Picot agreement. All of this is somewhat reminiscent of that great Jewish comedy, "The Producers," in which the protagonists sell more than 100% of the proceeds of their proposed musical to a group of backers whom they have no intention of paying off, because they have every expectation the production will fail. Of course, they succeed against all hope, and are left with the dilemma of what to do now. Just as the Bolshevization of Russia, World War II, the subsequent captivity of eastern Europe under communism, and the Cold War were all consequences of the backfiring of German stratagems, the situation in the Middle East today is an unintended consequence of the Allies' unexpected success in their campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Allied involvement in Palestine and Mesopotamia during WWI was undertaken to distract the Turks so they wouldn't enter the European theater. I suspect that Lloyd George and Clemenceau never anticipated that their conflicting promises would some day all come due, like those of the lead characters in "The Producers." Osama bin Laden and our enemies in Iraq are quite aware of this history. I suspect most Americans are oblivious to it. Balfour, the procreator of modern-day Israel, was scathingly lampooned in Saki's "Alice in Downing Street': ' "Have you ever seen an Ineptitude?" asked the Cheshire Cat suddenly; the Cat was nothing if not abrupt. ' "Not in real life," said Alice. "Have you any about here?" ' "A few," answered the Car comprehensively. "Over there, for instance," it added, contracting its pupils to the requisite focus, "is the most perfect specimen we have." ' Alice followed the direction of its glance and noticed for the first time a figure in a very uncomfortable attitude on nothing in particular. Alice had no time to wonder how it managed to do it, she was busy taking in the appearance of the creature, which was something like a badly written note of interrogation and something like a guillemot, and seemed to have been trying to preen its rather untidy plumage with whitewash. "What a dreadful mess it's in!" she remarked, after gazing at it for a few moments in silence. "What is it, and why is it here?" ' "It hasn't any meaning," said the Cat, "it simply is." ' "Can it talk?" asked Alice eagerly. ' "It has never done anything else," chuckled the Cat... ' If only Saki could have lived to see the mess the Ineptitude left to his successors! Sent at: 2008 05 16