April 16, 2003
This is one of the stranger productions in theatrical history. It opened to standing-room-only crowds, who have hardly left their seats for the twenty-five days of its first run. That is to say, this play is twenty-five days long, and the first act isn't over yet.
The play has overrun its programmed time. The original script calls for only three or four days. No one brought refreshments for such a long production. There are no intermissions. It just goes on, and on. No audience can remain seated throughout such a long production. Lately the action has begun to drag. Violence, mayhem and looting are on the wane. The scenes of maimed and dying children become routine. Many narrators have lost their script, and dialogue is often extemporaneous. We are left with little more than the occasional attack on journalists. People begin to drift out for a breath of freedom air. Many come out drying their eyes, after finding the scenes showing the liberation of antiquities especially moving.
Members of the audience, mesmerised by memorable scenes of massacre and mauling, stand mumbling in the foyer, deciding whether it's worthwhile to return for an overdue curtain. Some of the major players cannot be found, and seem to have prematurely left the theatre. It is not known what part, if any, they will play in the coming acts.
I overheard an Iraqi citizen, speaking with the usual anonymity, say, "As a Muslim, I welcome the end of Saddam Hussein's regime. He is plainly a secular man. I am happy if we never hear of him again. The soldiers have done good work, and everyone is glad it is nearly over. Of course, the infidels must now leave, taking all their equipment with them. Any puppets they leave behind will get the attention they deserve."
An Israeli man freely gave me his opinion of the opening, "The Americans have done a great service for us, and now they must attend to Syria. Palestinian supporters are all over the Middle East, and they must be disarmed and intimidated. Now is the right time to guarantee Israel's future. Soon we can transfer the remaining Palestinians to Iraq, even those who reside inside Israel. We don't want a non-Jew population, it is just trouble for us."
A tall bearded man in a long robe stood quietly to one side. I asked him his opinion of the play. He looked steadily down at my forehead, with seemingly sad eyes. He reflected a moment, then quietly and slowly said, "It is a good beginning. There is a new awareness of realities. Much has been accomplished."
"What has been accomplished? What, exactly, are you referring to?" I asked.
"The dictator is gone, " he said, "and now a more Islamic government can take its place. That is a good thing. I have had this same objective for many years, and it is a surprise to me what the Americans have done."
"Why?" I asked.
"The entire Islamic world is aroused. They, along with the whole world, are alerted to the dimension of the danger. This knowledge is necessary to bring the removal of foreign troops from the lands of Islam. Every Muslim has 'Yankee Go Home' echoing in his mind, and the determination to accomplish this burns as the same fire from Morocco to the Philippines. I have myself tried to unite the Muslim ummah, but with little success. Now Bush has accomplished this for us, and he seems unaware how it aids our cause. The West is now forced, by the opposition of the people, to withdraw from all the lands of the Middle East."
"Do you really think the US can withdraw, even if they want to?" I asked. "They plan to install a new regime that is favorable to Western interests, including the removal of any military capability to forestall Israel. They must stay to protect the new government."
"The West," he replied, "is not interested in either freedom or democracy. They don't allow it for Americans, and they certainly don't want it for Iraq. They are only interested in two things. First, is the protection of Israel, and second is access to cheap oil. They will want to stay behind to protect their interests, but they will find it impossible, for several reasons. The main one is that the Iraqi people will not allow it. There will be continuous and escalating strife so long as they remain. The pain and expense will be intolerable.
He continued, "The US will try to find replacements from the UN or NATO, or else they will be held in Iraq alone indefinitely, which will be a great drain on their resources. I personally hope they stay for a long time and take a lot of pain, but already the British and the Australians are getting out. They are smarter, and see the overall situation better. The Americans are obdurate, more resolute, and obtuse, that is to say foolish, and are under the thumb of the Israeli's, so they will try to stay on longer. I hope so, as resentment against them will grow, and the financial cost will contribute significantly to their already collapsing economy."
I said, "You talk as though Bush and Company are following your script. Did you write this play?"
"No, not directly," he replied innocently, looking over my head for a moment. "But I have had a large part in it. The chronicle of events coincides conveniently with a scenario I have in mind. It is a miracle that events have occurred as they have in this play. In coming acts, we will see how the cost of this war affects the US position in the world and its economy. Already they have lost all credibility with other countries.
Continuing, he said, "The lies that were told leading to this war, are not easily forgotten. Every country in the UN is suspicious of America's foreign policy. The British and Australian people are ashamed for their part in this murderous affair. Their leaders cannot hold their heads up. Too many innocent people have been killed needlessly. The Americans have been brutally cruel in the use of their firepower and bombs. This is reflected in world opinion, which is now very critical of US morality. This loss of prestige and respect will not be recovered readily. The relative strength of the Euro gives an index of public perceptions. The dollar will continue to decline as the US debt grows. No one wants to hold insecure dollar assets. Soon the US will be forced to print dollars, and the inflation will drive up interest rates uncontrollably. There is no military defense for this. It is the consequence of madness."
I asked, "Do you think access to Iraqi oil will help the US economy?"
"No," he replied. "Oil is expensive because demand is growing. Production has peaked. There is nothing the US can do about that except to reduce consumption. They are unable and unwilling to do that, because it will undermine an already weak economy. The US enjoys a high level of energy usage. It is the biggest consumer of oil in the world, and that dependence grows each year. For them, it is a permanent problem, and even if the US got all the world's oil, the problem would only be postponed."
I asked, "What do you think is the theme of this play?"
"It is an allegory, like Moby Dick," he said.
"In what way?"
"Moby Dick," he said, "tells the story of a man's hatred for a whale, and how the hatred drives him insane. He begins to think of himself as God. In the end he destroys himself, along with his ship and crew, trying to get revenge for a little lost lower leg. He believes God favors his efforts, but he is incapable of being honest. He cannot admit the leg was lost trying to kill the whale. He cannot admit that the whale acted only instinctively, to save its life, and is totally incapable of human emotion. The man, in his deluded self-importance, cannot believe the whale is simply a beautiful creature in the natural world, incapable of any guile or malicious motivation. In order to create a foe sufficiently large to match his own inflated self image, he invests the whale with an inappropriate evil, deeming it then worthy of his obsession. The error is highlighted by the whale's whiteness. The insanely enraged man, nails a gold coin to the mast as reward for "the man who brings me the white whale."
"How is that like the present play?" I asked.
"Bush, unwittingly, is sailing his country into strange waters, in pursuit of the evil that crashed planes into the buildings of America. He is the angry agent of the frustration pent up by a succession of continuing attacks on American interests. He is Captain Ahab, and his crew is the American people. Because he does not know where the white whale is, or even where to look, he strikes out at anything that looks remotely like a whale. In this he is more foolish than Ahab."
"Do you think Bush and the Americans will find and kill the white whale?" I asked.
"No, because the white whale is not a single identifiable entity. Bush's white whale is a creature of his imagination, a virtual enemy he chooses to make real by targetting specific persons. But Bush's enemy is too broad. His terrorist also includes the goodness of all mankind. The more he pushes dirt and ocean before him, trying to kill and eliminate the terrorist threat, the more the dirt piles up against him, the more the waves of opposition grow.
"He makes new enemies every day," he continued, "both inside his country and around the world. His decisions lead to a growing awareness that he is insane, a threat to the survival of humanity. He thinks the world is against him, and strikes out blindly. Seeing his unstable and irrational behaviour, the world fears for its future. Bush surrounds himself with enemies, and thus brings about the fulfillment of his paranoia."
"Sir, could I have your name? I won't publish it. I am interested in your perspective, and I want to remember you."
"Call me Usamah."
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