Baluchis are treated miserably by the Iranian government, just as, across the border, Baluchis in Baluchistan are the poorest people in Pakistan, and deserve whatever autonomy they can win. Indeed, the case for an independent Baluchistan, carved out of eastern Iran and western Pakistan, is strong. Such a state would, from the Infidel point of view (which is the only point of view Infidels should care about) weaken both Iran and Pakistan, and therefore it would be a good thing.
One thing has not been noted in the news stories about the bombing of Revolutionary Guards in Baluchi-populated, Iranian-ruled lands. The Baluchis are largely Sunnis. In Iran, that adds a dimension to their mistreatment that is not to be found in Pakistan, and to their fury.
Stories about this bombing have not mentioned the relevance of the Baluchis being largely Sunni in Shi’a Iran, but of course what can one expect? It is only in the last few days that Mike Schuster, the NPR correspondent who for years has misunderstood so much about the Middle East, has suddenly discovered the Sunni-Shi’a conflict. He has now attempted to begin to understand it — of course not by studying anything about Islam or its texts or history, but instead by stringing together highly misleading statements by various Muslims — Sunni or Shi’a. Such statements always manage to be tendentious and do not, as Schuster may think, somehow add up, since both sides are presented, to “the truth.” Rather, they amount to something far less than the sum of its parts.
And it is only in the last few months that the mirror-image of Schuster and of NPR, the Bush Administration, has begun to understand that there is this Sunni-Shi’a split. But it still does not demonstrate in any way that it has any idea of the depth, and duration, and obvious consequences of that split.
A good example of the continuing failure of the press in this matter is how this bombing was covered. In all the reports, no explanation is offered as to who the Baluchis are, or what their grievances might conceivably be, and so on. Nor has one read a single article — outside of many at Jihad Watch — explaining, country by country, exactly how that Sunni-Shi’a split has grown, even in the absence of Shi’a (as in Egypt, or Jordan), and how it can be found up and down the western littoral of the Persian Gulf, in the Eastern Province (Al-Hasa) of Saudi Arabia, in Dubai (where many Iranian Shi’a now live, and where they own many tens, and possibly hundreds of billions of dollars of property), in Kuwait, and in Yemen. In Yemen, the two groups are almost even in population, and in the past, it was, curiously, the Shi’a tribes that were supported by the Saudis against the “Marxist” — they wore their Marxism lightly — people in the south.
But it’s complicated. It requires a few weeks of study. Who wants to do that?
Who wants to do that, when it is so much more fun not to study — especially as long as no one else is studying, or no one else is around to challenge you, and to force you to learn something.
Isn’t it better for our columnists, our reporters, our Congressmen, our generals, our think-tankists, to all keep playing the same game, so as to ensure that all the same safe banalities are uttered, until one fine day along comes reality, and then people are forced to learn just a bit more than they did? Or at least some of them are, anyway.
Meanwhile, the entire population of Official Washington seems hell-bent on trying out for their shining moment on television.
No, I am not thinking of “Jeopardy.”
I’m thinking of Jay Leno’s Jaywalking All-Stars, the ones who cannot identify who was the American President during the Civil War.
Think of Washington as a giant Casting Call for the Jay Leno Jaywalking All-Stars (Islam Division). For that’s what it is.
Ms. Rice, Mr. Bush, Mr. Reyes: Mr. Leno would like to have a brief word with you. Just a few questions, please. Step over here to the camera. No, don’t worry. You’re all ready for your close-up.