I watched two episodes of Carrier last night on PBS which I found very entertaining and enlightening at the same time. Not to be sidetracked however, in the final episode when one of the commanders of the Nimitz battle ship sums up the accomplishments of the mission he describes the Nimitz as operating in the “Arabian Gulf”. This struck me as odd. The Arabian Gulf? Where the heck is that?
Turns out in a concerted effort rewrite history and geography of the region.
Clearly this is an effort to respect and reinforce Arab world views over the interests of Iran but who exactly benefits from such an alliance? One could argue that Arab nationalism and the expansion of Arab and Islamic fundamentalism that is born and bred in the heart of the Arab world is exactly the reason we’re in the Middle East fighting multiple wars to begin with. Further pandering to the Arab world while antagonizing Iran seems to continue this downward spiral.
What if Russia or China began referring to the United States as Northern Mexico or Southern Canada for that matter. What impact would that have on the psyche of average Americans? This is truly insulting and not just to 65 million Iranians but to the world at large that continues to see examples of U.S. foreign policy sending a big F.U. in its direction.
