“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” said Dorothy. No, we’re not, says I. I can see we are now living in the wonderful land of Oz, with its own three amigos in search of Courage, Brain and Heart, its crowds of Munchkins, its sleeping fields and other dangers all presided over and kept in a state of delusion and disbelief by the Wicked Witch of the West (whoever thought up that name was something of a prescient genius). Over the hill I can see the Emerald City with its false and tricky Wizard, his horses of a different colour revolution, and his curtain of secrecy and deceit behind which the levers of illusion are manipulated.
How things change! …and how quickly (though obviously there is much background preparation, not generally visible). …and apparently with such ease (from the observers viewpoint, at least) – although there is a real whirlwind storm going on out there.
We land with a bump on the solid ground of reality, having flown our home on the uncontrollable whirlwind of illusion. “Now I know we’re not in Kansas,” says Dorothy (at some point). The Witch of the North (aka Europe) meets her demise as the house tumbled down on her. The Wicked Witch of the West peers fearfully into her crystal ball at the new turn of events and unleashes her hoards of foreign flying monkey drones in a desperate effort to ensure the continuation of disorder and despair. The Good Witch of the East makes an assertive appearance and the adventurers traverse the perils along the Yellow Brick Road (I’m extemporising a bit here – it’s been a while – but too good an analogy to pass up). Will Dorothy get back to her beloved Kansas? What will it look like after the storm? Will the three heroes achieve that which they seek? Will the Munchkins ever grow up? Will the Red Shoes ever click for you and I? Let’s see.
This analogy offers a fitting microcosm of our world situation today. Enter, having been on stage throughout the period of storm but playing minor, and it has to be said ‘unsavoury’ roles, our Three Amigos, for a brief moment take centre stage as integral characters to the plot, revealing themselves as necessary ‘heroes’.
Three men. Three leaders of West Asian sovereign nations. All of whom I have previously distrusted, insulted, and in fact despised as lacking all that it takes to be seen as worthy, suddenly become heroes in my eyes.
Let me say first that none of the Three Amigos of West Asia is President Dr Bashar al Assad of Syria. For him I see the role of a long-time friend to, and under the protection of, the Good Witch of the East (Russia/China, just to be clear) from the wicked advances of the Witch of the West. But, of course, if any of the players of the West Asia scenario of recent times fully deserves the title of Hero of Retained Sovereignty, it is he. And also, Syria, being a central component of the West Asia region, plays a central role in the new era of reconciliations going on there right now.
So, let’s reveal and explore these amigo characters a little.
What do the Three Amigos each have in common? Well, the main thing of importance right now is that they are all staunch advocates and upholders of their own individual nation’s right of sovereignty. They are (or were) all deeply involved with the west – an involvement which naturally means some relinquishment of sovereignty rights to the western powers. Proving that they were all merely taking what appeared to be the best option available at the time – even though they were never going to be treated as equals to those powers. And the third similarity is that they are all on very friendly terms with President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin – undoubtedly one of the manifestations of the Good Witch of the East (and possibly better personified at some stage as a replacement for the Witch [Wizard] of the North). Explain all that in logical terms if you can.
As the first Amigo, we have President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey (now Türkiye), a role he began back in 2014 (all roads lead back to that year, as being the Year Everything Changed, it seems). Now, I will be the first to admit that I did not see this man as a hero figure, since in those early years I was much focussed on the plight of Syria, but he has been gradually working himself into my favours and I can now look on him in that new light. He is obviously a very wily and clever character. Maybe an opportunist, I don’t know, but he can certainly now see – through many interesting events of the past few years – exactly which way the wind is now blowing. He has made the right choice in slipping away from the west to face the other direction – on which the Sun is now shining. The right choice for his country, for the world, and for himself (I feel sure he will still be president after the upcoming election).
Secondly, and these are not in any particular order, we have Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, a man who quite literally gives me the creeps and one I would never have previously envisaged as being a hero. But times change. And it is good that they do. And history works in mysterious ways to achieve what will be to the best advantage of mankind, I believe. So who am I to judge? Nevertheless, I cannot see at any time in the future, Netanyahu wheedling his way into my affections on any level. He has been PM of Israel now since 2009 – with a recent short break and during that time has, according to some, manipulated US foreign policy to his own ends. I think that is an over-estimation of his authority to influence such matters, which are actually in the hands of far more powerful, hidden meddlers. Yet the influence of these unseen folk rests only on the perceived power of the US and, as that ability to influence world affairs recedes, so does theirs. My only reason for the hero characterisation of Netanyahu is that he has just recently seen the light as to US intentions and there is developing a real schism between his government and the west. To the point where the US is fomenting Israeli unrest and street violence against his government. And, in the present circumstances, any turning away from the west by Israel (no matter what the reasons – and I think it is basically a matter of Israeli sovereignty at its core) is a good thing, which could lead to the forging of other alliances outside of that sphere. Any weakening of western influence at this point is for the general good of the world. He would not also be blind to the change in direction of Türkiye and also of our next national hero.
Finally, we have Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia (the real power behind the Saud throne and presumably its future monarch). MbS is yet another unlovable character. And yet there is a distinct turning away from western influence going on in that nation’s foreign policy, as witnessed by their recent agreements with Iran and marked interest in joining the Eurasian organisations led by Russia/China. Mohammed bin Salman (and I have to admit I do not know which of the various ways of spelling his name is the most or only correct version), whose rise to the position of power he now holds began in 2015 after his father became King, has, through events with which his name is connected (whether or not factually) built a less than savoury reputation. Despite that, he has been somewhat fawningly and often sickeningly feted by the west due to his perceived ‘oil’ power, and its value in terms of petro-dollars. But he himself, whether through advice or studied learning, is awakened to the fact that reliance on oil as a major revenue stream for his nation, would be nothing less than shortsighted. That awareness, I believe, constitutes a large factor in his push now to broaden the scope of Saudi Arabia’s economic activity. He also, I’m sure, sees the writing on the wall for western decline and doom, and has chosen to break away from that towards the currently rising power of the new Eurasian giants in the economic, technological and military fields. A wise move, which grants him the final place in our trio of regional heroes.
The tide is turning – against the predominant western surges of the past eight decades – in favour of a rising flood of eastern influence that will hopefully restore something of a natural balance to world affairs with enough ‘multi-polar’ peaks to present a calmer and more cooperative surface to our sea of nations that will stifle and stunt those elements who perceive their own dominance through aggression as being the only way. These three amigos, and as far as I know, they are on relatively friendly terms with each other, while they represent only a small part of the problem as currently seen, it is a central component of the greater Eurasian movement towards a unified world, and could, if left unchecked as a sorely disturbed trouble spot, derail that unification even before it gets established. It is certain this is an intrinsic part of the Wicked Witch of the West’s diabolical plan to thwart the new movement. So, we should welcome the turning of this trio of nations as a rational and logical move toward a better future for all. Never blinding or blinkering ourselves to the past but seeing clearly the way ahead. These are not the only heroes to this story of course and may only feature at this particular point in the plot we are now viewing. The real heroes are the major players driving this great surge. I don’t need to name them, surely. The villains, well, I’m sure we all know who they are.
This began as a simple idea, based on what I see, and while it could be much expanded with reams more information, I don’t wish it to take more of my time. The mental agility of the interested reader will fill in the blanks for themselves.
I have not included any references to support my above stated views, the laying down of the plot – as something which may not be similarly perceived elsewhere – being of greatest importance to me, but here are a few pertinent articles which may show sufficient good sense to achieve that aim.
‘US ambassador needs to know his place’: Turkish president – The Cradle – April 03 2023
‘Foreign Minister Lavrov in Turkey explained his phrase “there is not much time left to wait” ‘ – Rossiyskaya Gazeta – 07.04.2023
‘Netanyahu tells Biden to stay out of Israel’s business’ – RT – March 29, 2023
‘The US-Backed Color Revolution In Israel Just Reached Crisis Proportions’ – Oriental Review – Andrew Korybko – 29/03/2023
‘Saudi Arabia is Building the Country of the Future’ – Valery Kulikov – NEO – 30.03.2023
‘Saudi Arabia makes its Eurasian shift’ – Agha Hussain – The Cradle – April 03 2023
‘White House ‘blindsided’ by Saudi rapprochement with Iran, Syria’ – The Cradle – April 07 2023
‘Saudi Arabia ignores US threats over oil cuts’ – The Cradle – April 03 2023
I do not want to labour the importance of this temporal incidence of concurrent but separate events. It may be only a small thing among the major dramas of our times, but it is such small matters which can precipitate larger changes and which are perhaps themselves the result of prior movements. These are all ‘pieces’ in the larger ‘Jig-Saw Puzzle’ or ‘Mosaic’ of the times we live in. It is through the acknowledgment of such that we build our image of what this is all about – and that is no small thing.
Not Something Else 
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