After Dinner Musings

Let us pretend for a moment that there exists a single Arab army worthy of Mohammed.

You might not know this, but Islam spread from Morocco to Mindanao almost entirely at the point of a sword. Mohammed himself was a fierce warrior, leading his army to victory in battle after impossible battle.

So we know Arabs can fight. We also know that their current culture, their lack of industrial or intellectual wealth, and their disdain for actual labor make them almost completely ineffectual at modern warfare. A couple thousand Soviet-model tanks do not an army make.

But still, let’s pretend.

They still wouldn’t have deliverable and effective tactical or strategic nukes. Their chemical and biological weapons would still be as dangerous to themselves as to us. They still wouldn’t have any local industries to produce replacement bullets, shells, or other ordnance. Their air forces would still be tiny and obsolete.

In other words, if every Arab nation suddenly underwent a real, and serious, and profound revolution in military affairs, and did so literally overnight — we would still have them completely outclassed.

So it is with a disturbed chuckle that I read that the Islamic states threaten “all-out war” if we don’t acquiesce in their planned destruction of Israel.

Remember the Calvin and Hobbes when Calvin threatened his parents that he was going to grow a beard? Well, you had to figure Calvin had a shot at it in ten years.

Ten years from now, Araby will still be worthless — all they produce is sand, oil, and hate. And we can take the damn oil if we have to. The only question is, by then, how much of their own land will we still allow them to govern.