A HERD OF PRIME SUSPECTS                                                                                                              (…all with motivation to create provocation)

The recent events in Benghazi, Libya, and in Cairo, Egypt…and elsewhere, in which our consular and embassy facilities have been attacked, both by their timing and manner, are extremely suspect. Our ambassador to Libya and several other Americans were killed, others injured, and our facilities there set ablaze. It all has the earmarks of a deliberately planned and orchestrated effort to incite such reactions using a crude provocation against Muslim sensibilities.

It has a very, very, strong and skunk-like aroma very similar to the script of that movie –Wag the Dog -. But, actually, there is a herd of prime suspects…all with motivation to create such a provocation based, apparently, on the misguided notion that one way or the other such events will impact on the outcome of the upcoming American elections in November. That is, to sway the electorate either for or against President Obama, or Governor Romney.

Heading that list of prime suspects may be homegrown religious wing-nuts and white-power extremists who, from the beginning, have consistently been opposed to a non-white presence with a suspect religious affiliation in the White House (of which the “birther” crowd is a leading component). Thus, playing on our post 9/11 the paranoid views of Islam in general, and banking on how easily Islamic emotions can be aroused and its sensibilities  manipulated (Salman Rushdi is still in hiding for his book –Satanic Verses), they opted to produce a very low budget bit of trash video to defame the Prophet. How they thought such an insane effort might derail the President’s campaign for re-election simply reflects that their IQ levels are even lower than their production budget.

Granted, American voters do tend to vote dumb as well as smart, but that doesn’t mean the electorate as a whole is sheep-brained. Unfortunately, the professional honchos running Governor Romney’s campaign fell into that trap by having him immediately jump in with injudicious remarks about the President’s wimpy reaction to these events. An opportunistic move that does nothing to enhance Romney’s potential for statesmanship…if elected.

While the FBI and other authorities are still investigating the supposed “producer” of this wacko work, that individual’s extremely murky background makes the whole thing even more suspect, raising the real question of…who actually financed that work? These are the real culprits.

 That question further expands the list of prime suspects. Heading that list, of course, is the –eminence grise- of the Iranian Ayatollah regime, well known for using its gold and gifts of weaponry to whatever and whomever might serve its interests and maneuverings against the pressures of its Western adversaries, especially the USA. The byzantine convolutions of those maneuverings are not above using a very motley crew of proxies for such purposes… regardless of their origins…or even religious affiliations…with al Queda being one of its prime cohorts for such purposes (its motivation being revenge for the killing of Bin Laden, and the ongoing drone strikes against its key field operatives. An extermination policy which, frankly, may be counter-productive). So it is not inconceivable that they would be more than happy to finance some of our own home-grown erstwhile Christian wing-nuts to create such a provocation, for its benefit.

Then there is our so-called Pakistani “ally”, with its ISI apparatus, which has consistently operated on a Janus-like two-faced basis with the USA. The Benghazi assault is redolent of its Mumbai operation in India.

Well, none of this clarifies anything about the situation at this time for us. It just shows us that there are a lot of mindless crazies roaming free in this world, and, that there are a hell of a lot folks with the means and the intent to use these to do our country harm. So quiet and steady vigilance, and relentless tracking down of those who use and launch such crazies on the civilized world is our best defense…and the best possibility to bring them to account.

As for the world of Islam, these events clearly show that it is so insecure in its faith that it almost always reacts with extreme emotional violence at the slightest perceived slight to it. Which leaves it with a long way to go before it can be considered one of the world’s great religions. Until then our policy towards it should be one of – arm’s length diplomacy and very guarded relationships.

For ourselves, we have more urgent concerns here at home, namely focusing on getting our fiscal house in order. Nothing else really matters.

CENTURION