The Arab Occupation

by Irwin Graulich
May 02, 2003

Jews who were rescued from the Holocaust are still thanking Americans almost 60 years later. Christians who hid and saved individual Jews in Eastern Europe are honored and sent money to this day. Yet, one week after being liberated from mental incarceration and torture, the Iraqi people are shooting at American soldiers and calling their saviors "occupiers."

Talk about not being appreciated. Virtually every book written about achieving ultimate life fulfillment, singles out gratitude as the most important element toward the magical goal of happiness. At the same time, ingratitude is rampant throughout the Arab and Muslim world, which views any outside assistance whatsoever as an affront to their civilization and abilities. Societal pride is somehow hurt because they cannot help or protect themselves, while struggling with the dilemma of thanking America for its goodness, or criticizing America for their own inabilities to achieve anything comparable.

American companies that discovered and developed the Middle Eastern oil wells were considered thieves, so the industry was nationalized. American construction companies are accused of having ulterior motives. And American movies, music and jeans are supposedly designed to corrupt their children. Helping a lone, tiny democracy called Israel survive against 22 non-democratic nations, who essentially want it destroyed, is an unfair foreign policy objective and evil. Wake up America and stop being so nice to a bunch of totalitarian leaders, sheiks, kings and imams who would prefer to see America, as we know it, dead.

Iraqis and most other Arab/Muslim states are totally embarrassed by their military weakness and civilization failures. The fact that America made it all appear so easy against the strongest Arab army in history is an affront to that entire region. The great, feared Saddam, a modern day Saladin, simply lost it all in a cakewalk. Those massive promises by Tariq Azziz and the Iraqi Information Minister have provided great fodder for the comedy circuit and brought much shame to the Arab mind.

Reality forces the entire Arab and Muslim world to confront their military ineptness, unlike their mighty historical ancestors. During the last half century, they were defeated or embarrassed numerous times -- first, by a few million Jews (can you believe it?) in Israel, and now, to those big, tough American Christians. Since pride and honor are the most fundamental values in this backward region, they refuse to confront the truth and admit defeat.

Therefore, Arab culture has come up with a new term to deflect and hide their failures -- "Occupation." American and Western societies must learn an important lesson from the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Everything is blamed on the "occupation," from the lack of flush toilets to the reason for blowing up babies in pizza parlors.

Remember when "occupation" only meant someone possessed a well-respected career -- doctor, lawyer, accountant, teacher, businessperson? Beware of a culture that completely changes the meaning of a positive word into a negative term. Revisionist terminology and history produces a culture that has difficulties providing "occupations" for its own middle class, and now blames a lack of "occupations" on the "occupation."

First, according to the Arab worldview, it is Israel's fault for the "occupation", which does not allow any Palestinian an "occupation." Now, in Iraq, it is America's "occupation" that is stifling all "occupations" from getting the country up and running. If all this sounds confusing, then their strategy is working perfectly.

"Get out, before we force you out," is heard throughout the Arab streets. American soldiers must literally be quaking in their boots. Sheik Ahmed al-Kubecsy, a well-known Iraqi, announces, "If America's ‘occupation’ continues, the American military will be expelled from Iraq." Is that a riot (sic)?

We must understand the reason that so-called "occupation" is such a forbidden idea throughout the Arab/Muslim world, so much so that Osama bin Laden himself admitted it was the defining reason for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This worldview is the true essence of the fundamental(ism) problem for an entire society; that being, a virtual obsession with blood-based values. Blood ties are the overpowering element of primitive cultures. Iraq itself had a minister of "Tribal Affairs." Tribes emphasize an obsession with the past and blood.

That is, of course, unlike America, where Abraham Lincoln said, "We do not care who your grandparents were. We care who their grandchildren will be." In America, your achievements count, not your red blood cells. However, a society and culture run by blood, has no problem shedding blood. That is why "occupation" is the anti-Christ, or rather the anti-Mohammed for them. "Occupation" means there is a different blood type in the country, and that presence is unacceptable. How dare dirty American blood trample on our holy soil?

The fact that Japan and Germany were both "occupied" after WWII and were helped to build incredibly successful societies is meaningless to blood worshippers. The simple truth is that the Arab and Muslim peoples prefer evil Arab/Muslim dictators to decent non-blood saviors. So the next time we hear the word "occupation" being tossed around, unless it relates to a job interview, one must realize that the individual using this particular terminology is more than likely a miserable, evil soul, who loves blood and not character.

In addition, the American government should be concerned about one of our own great heroes, General Tommy Franks, who may have somehow imbibed this blood infatuation. He recently requested a DNA sample from President Assad of Syria.
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Irwin N. Graulich is a well known motivational speaker on morality, ethics, Judaism and politics. He is also President and CEO of Bloch Graulich Whelan Inc., a leading marketing, branding and communications company in New York City.