Archival Jerry Tenuto: OUT OF THE BLUE -- Brits have been struggling with Islamic peoples far longer than we Americans. They should have learned something by now, as we should have by being outside observers. But this is the result when so-called leaders only pay attention to the voices in their own heads.

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I wonder if George W. Bush has ever seen ?Lawrence of Arabia.?

The first time I saw this World War I epic was around the age of eleven or twelve, and its effect on me was profound indeed. Without question it?s my favorite movie, one that I?ve seen probably 20 times or more.

Maybe he passed on it because it was one of those foreign films from England, and figured he could never keep up with the sub-titles.

Perhaps he did go to see this great movie and left after two hours at the intermission, thinking it was over and having no idea there were nearly two hours left.

If Bush #43 had seen the entire film, and been sober at the time, it just might have impressed upon him the fact that Arab nations are made up of myriad tribes.

These tribes have their own lands, customs and languages. They wear clothing unique to themselves. The rank-and-file are proud of their warrior heritage, unquestioningly loyal to the tribal leader, a code of honor, and Allah.

Not to mention those that are only in it for the prizes ? the money and booty (this last word is open to interpretation).

That?s why they?re ruled by kings, emirs, princes, religious zealots, and sundry other dictatorial types. Not elected officials.

In many ways they share a commonality with the Native Americans who were dissected, dismembered and destroyed by the U.S. Army of the 19th Century.

(Have you ever speculated as to which tribe was run off the land now known as Bush?s Prairie Chapel Ranch?)

Early in ?Lawrence,? as English Lt. T.E. Lawrence (Peter O?Toole) is being escorted by a hired guide to the camp of King (Sir) Alec Guinness, the pair stop at a well. A rider, approaching from the distance, shoots the guide. It is Prince Omar Sharif, who informs Lawrence that the dead man was of a dirty people and not allowed to drink in his well.

Lesson number one: Always know whom your companions are.

The Prince leaves Lawrence on his own; he eventually meets up with Maj. Anthony Quayle, senior liaison to King Guinness. As it happens, Sharif is Alec?s son.

Lesson two: Don?t antagonize anyone when you don?t know how they?re going to react.

The King?s warriors move on camelback and carry 19th Century weapons, essentially cumbersome single-shot long rifles. They have access to one small armored car with a machine gun provided by the British. The enemy is the Turkish army, with automatic weapons, cannon, control of the railways, and airplanes. All the King?s camels and all the King?s men do not have the numbers or firepower to fend off the better-equipped Turks.

Maj. Quayle has been trying to get the King to move out of airplane range for some time, but is countered with continual requests for English air support. This isn?t going to happen. Neither can they any further because of tribal boundaries.

After some silver-tongued wizardry, Lawrence convinces the King to go on the offensive. However, to do so would mean combining forces with other tribes, most notably that of Anthony Quinn.

Now, Quinn?s tribe is kind of the Mescalero Apache to Guinness? Cherokee ? the former is excessively fierce and takes whatever spoils it can carry; the latter fights for survival.

Lesson three: Occupation makes strange bedfellows.

Bickering between factions is a regular occurrence, yet they manage to forge on and fight as one, driven by love for Arabia and hatred for the Turkish invaders ? and pride.

Lesson four: Never underestimate the power of hate.

As winter approaches, Quinn takes his tribe and their share of the spoils home with a promise to return in the spring. Knowing that letting up on the Turks would give them time to regroup and gain strength, Lawrence leads a costly campaign of guerrilla warfare with constantly diminishing numbers.

Upon Quinn?s return, Lawrence convinces the combined Arab freedom fighters to do the impossible ? they traverse the desert and attack the port city of Aqaba at its weakest point.

Lesson five: It?s a no-brainer that desert dwellers travel through the desert.

Once the Arabs have control of the city, King Guinness takes a stab at establishing some form of democratic, or at least shared responsibility, type of government. One tribe takes over the water works, another the electric plant, and so on and so forth.

The spanner in the works is that none of these tribesmen has any training in the operation or maintenance of such urban machinery and infrastructure systems. Without the Turks, nothing is working.

What is supposed to be a council of the victorious rapidly breaks down into a mob scene. Each king, emir, prince or what have you has his own agenda and point of view, plus wants his people taken care of first. Most of their disagreements are borne on the wings of emotional reactions and steeped within the level of each leader?s personal devotion to Allah.

Lesson six: You can?t expect someone to accept democracy if it?s not on his or her radar.

With people who live off the land now moving into buildings, some things just aren?t going to mesh. Before long, fires start to break out, first in one neighborhood, then another, and another. The tribe in charge of the fire department refuses to put fires out in certain areas because of long-standing disputes; some tribes won?t allow the fire department into their neighborhoods, or to even pass through to another.

Besides, the water isn?t running, anyway.

And the electric generators have frozen up, so the need for oil lamps arises. Oops! More fires!

The British hierarchy, who orchestrated the Arab revolt and got them to run off the Turks, now sit back on their haunches and wait. In short order King Guinness will be forced to seek them out for assistance.

Lesson seven: See lesson number one.

Nobody asked us to save Iraq. It is not the job or place of the United States of America to attack another sovereign nation just because the president doesn?t like its leader.

Plain and simple, we have less than no business in Iraq. I sincerely doubt that the people there wanted Bush #43 to rain bombs upon their children and elderly, destroying homes and businesses while killing countless tens of thousands of innocents.

There is a major flaw in the character of George W. Bush. He has abused the power of the stolen office of the president to kill and maim without reason or just cause, shows no remorse or grief for his victims or their families, and will not for five seconds admit when he is wrong ? in this case dead wrong.

Bush #43, what he has done to us and the world, embodies the putrefication of everything good that has ever symbolized America. In the name of Jesus, no less.

As to those who think this war to steal oil from the Iraqi people is a good thing, and profess unblinking devotion to Bush #43 and every one of his meatheaded policies, my condolences to you. Believe whatever you wish, just do not tell Cindy Sheehan that you profess to know what her son would want her to do! She is doing exactly what every good American is expected to do ? call out the government when it has gone over the edge.

It wouldn?t matter if her name were Maria Lopez or Gertrude Bruener, Sophia Mangione or Hannah Goldberg, LaTanya Washington or Vlasta Polaski -- the result would be the same! This woman, these mothers who have joined her, have given up sons and daughters for lies and greed from the unelected president of the United States!

The unmitigated gall of George W. Bush! The arrogance! The hubris!

Cindy Sheehan is not making a mockery of her son?s death. Her silence would be a mockery. What he died for was a mockery of everything great about this Nation. It is those who vilify her and denounce the moxie it took to stand up and put the question directly to the first illegal president in our history, the chicken-hawk responsible for the first totally illegal war in out history, that add to the mockery.

You did not know Casey Sheehan, so quit waving your flag in Cindy Sheehan?s face!

She?s an American, too.

And she sacrificed one hell of a lot to earn her right to call George W. Bush the least deserving part-time boarder we taxpayers have put up at the White House.

(This column has previously appeared in THE LONE STAR ICONOCLAST, Crawford, Texas, and at www.LoneStarIcon.com)

© 2005, The Lone Star Iconoclast

Authors Website: www.lonestaricon.com

Authors Bio:
An erstwhile Philosopher and sometime Educator, Jerry Tenuto is a veteran of seven years service in the U.S. Army. He holds a BS and MA in Broadcast Communications from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. For two decades Jerry filled the airwaves with rock, roll and banter as a disc jockey -- until greed, the rebirth of payola, and de-Reaganlation ruined that medium. Depending upon your taste in political stew, you can either blame or thank Jerry for his weekly "Out Of The Blue" feature in THE LONE STAR ICONOCLAST, Crawford, Texas, www.LoneStarIcon.com -- because somebody from that community has to do the world right.