Posted on 11.01.2019

Conundrums, Enigmas, Cul de Sacs and Riddles

“He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

This is from the book of Genesis 16:12 and deals with Ishmael, son of Hagar, the servant of Sarah. The birthright, however, belonged to Ishmael's younger brother, Isaac, for it was through him that God's promises were made to Abraham, the boys' father.

Later, Isaac would also have two boys, Esau and Jacob.

The story of Esau trading his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup is well known and how Jacob and his mother, Rebekah deceived their father Isaac, who was near-blind in his old age, into giving him the blessing that belonged to the oldest son which would have been Esau, since he had been born a little before Jacob.

God would later change Jacob’s name to Israel and he would go on to become the father of the patriarchs of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Hebrew people.

Esau would go on to be the father of the Edomites, the Turks, the Kurds, Syrians, tribes of nomadic people, in fact, a large part of the Muslim and Arabic world descended from Ishmael, Esau and their offspring, and although the Bible says that there was a reconciliation between Jacob and Esau, their decedents have basically been at war or at least hostile toward each other for thousands of years.

The more I learn about the Middle East and Southwest Asia, the more I realize how profoundly Western countries misunderstand the depth of the blood feuds, the vendettas, the centuries-old customs, the tribal loyalties and family ties that are so prevalent and so deeply rooted in this part of the world.

Their code of ethics, their sense of what is honorable, their ingrained adherence to male dominance and hatred of ancient enemies that have survived for millennia are things the Western mind cannot grasp.

The old adage, “me and my cousins against the world, me and my brothers against my cousins” certainly bears out the “wild donkey of a man” prophecy in the Old Testament.

There is bad blood between the Sunnis and Shiites, the Alawites, the different tribes and warlords in many places in the Muslim world and it always seems to come down to whoever has control of the most guns.

Trying to bring peace to the Muslim world is much like sticking your fist in a tub of water, the water is only displaced until you pull your hand out, then the hole closes up.

There is always another strong man, another ISIS or Taliban or al-Qaeda or Boko Haram or power-mad leader of a whole nation waiting in the wings to break the treaty or the cease-fire as soon as the restraining troops are pulled out.

In my humble opinion, America should never go to war without a clear goal and a valid definition of what constitutes victory, and that definition should be based on the interests of America and our allies.

We could keep troops in that part of the world ad infinitum, lose thousands of lives, spend trillions of dollars and as soon as we pull out the blood-shed between the factions would begin again.

Thanks to the loosening of restrictions on petroleum production, we no longer need their oil and if Europe and Asia are dependent on it, let them put some skin in the game, commit their own troops and look after their own interests. America’s days of being policeman for the world should be over.

We should adopt a strict “hands-off Israel or pay a price you can’t afford” doctrine, do a new assessment as to who is and who is not our friends, make our alliances, and with the exception of some special forces units to keep an eye on things, bring our troops home.

I even hate to say this, but I fear that not too far down the line, America will have bigger fish to fry as China, Russia and North Korea seem to be gearing up for something, and you can bet it will not be something that will benefit America.

How long will we put American men and women into harm’s way to separate factions and stand between religious sects, who, as soon as the troops go home will pick up right where they left off before we wasted American blood and treasure trying to change millennia-old enemies.

I believe with all my heart that peace will only come when to that part of the world Jesus Christ returns.

Until then, there will be wars and rumors of wars.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops our police and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

— Charlie Daniels

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

Feel free to comment on Charlie's soapboxes, but please refrain from profanity and anonymous posts are not allowed, we need a name and you MUST provide a valid email address. If you provide an email address, but leave the name as "Anonymous" we will pick a name for you based on your email address. No one other than website administrators will see your email address, not other posters. If you post without a valid email address, your comment (whether positive or negative) will be deleted. — TeamCDB

 

Check out "Mexico Again" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'

Comments

It's 11:59
Amen, Amen & Amen Charlie you are 100 % correct in everything you stated here, fighting without the only objective being winning is like peeing up a rope. We need to vaporize anyone who messes with Israel and leave the rest to fight among-est themselves. As President Trump knows China and Russia are definitely the biggest challenge facing the USA and World today. nuff said God Bless Plowboy
Posted by Plowboy
we no longer need their oil
Thanks, Charlie, for finally admitting going to Iraq was about oil. Not terrorism, not WMD, but oil.
Posted by Nick
Charlie
God Bless You Sir!!! I absolutely agree with you! Thank You for all of your commentary. Wish you would run for President!
Posted by Judi
The all-time worst bastard in history.
The modern sense of the word "bastard" grew naturally out the typical behavior of illegitimate children (sons especially) which was easily observed. Such offspring always have revenge and hatred on their minds. When Mohammed invented his "religion" he tied it to Ishmael so as to ensure that it would be a "religion" of bastards. It worked. Famously. (For more about the treachery of bastard sons, read The Brothers Karamazov.)
Posted by Allan
Veterans Day
Will all the Veterans please raise your hands and all the rest of us stand up join me in a standing ovation for our veterans. God bless.
Posted by Ron
Ishmael's illegimaticy
Ishmael reminds one of Smerdyakov from "The Brothers Karamazov" in both his parentage and his calculated evil.
Posted by Allan
packaging
Thanks for help us. All friends like this article
Posted by Cody
Responding to Allan
I’ve never read The Brothers Karamazov. Is it based on the Biblical story of Isaac and Ishmael in the same way that West Side Story is based on Romeo and Juliet? -- Tru Cola
Posted by Tru
Responding to Tru
The Brothers Karamazov is not based on Isaac and Ishmael, but rather uses a family of mostly crude sons of a crude father as symbolic of various aspects of the ethno-Russo character.
Posted by Allan
Dichotomy
Excellently put Charlie. Must be in the DNA. In this case, what constitutes "victory" might be never engaging them in the first place. But they don't make that easy either.
Posted by Jeff