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Twenty-six ago today I woke up in Kuwait to a country just invaded. Shirley and I are writing a memoir of the time, and an excerpt follows.

I had been downtown shopping for a new TV, and I had never seen Kuwait City so quiet. After Shirley’s call from Augusta, I switched on the news. The August 1, 1990 report on the evening TV was even blander than it had been on preceding days, and I should have been suspicious. The Ministry of Information Station, KTV-2, was known for its commitment to boring news, often featuring videos of the Emir greeting his guests of the day, and that evening the station was at its tedious best. The young Kuwaiti woman with no hair covering and the British accent said, “Kuwaiti and Iraqi ministers continue to discuss grievances in the peaceful setting of Jeddah. Hosni Mubarak, mediating the conference on behalf of the Arab League, remains confident in a peaceful resolution.” There was no mention of troop deployments or any intention of hostilities. Kuwait was safe.

But what the Kuwait TV gal didn’t say was that the problem was a big deal. It was a giant cat against a little mouse. Kuwait had supported their northern Arab neighbor, loaning the Iraqis nearly twenty billion dollars in their war against Iran. The Iraqis didn’t want to pay it back, maybe they couldn’t, and they wanted the northern Kuwaiti oil fields, perhaps as far south as Mutla Ridge, the highest point in Kuwait. Mutla was the rocky escarpment north of the city running parallel to the Subiya Motorway.

The Iraqis had accused the Kuwaitis of “slant drilling,” meaning the Kuwaiti drillers aimed their oilrig drills under the border and into Iraqi oilfields in order to steal Iraq’s main source of revenue. The Iraqis claimed it was their land anyway based on old maps, which existed prior to the British re-drawing the map of the Middle East. All these accusations had been in the news for months, and there was nothing new in the Iraqi demands.

But the two sides were talking and making progress, at least that’s what the news lady said. In fact, by the time of the news broadcast, we later learned, the peace conference had pretty much dissolved.

A week earlier, the Emir had offered his poetic description of the negotiations, a “Summer Cloud.” A summer cloud in Kuwait has no antecedent and no consequence. There is no rain before it and none after. Thus, the remark was designed to reassure the populace, at least the small number who remained in Kuwait during the summer heat. The Emir had said all was well in Kuwait. I had no reason, other than Shirley’s concerning phone call that evening, to worry about Saddam.

And I had even convinced Shirley of the peace of Kuwait. “Well, ok Jimmy, I guess we’ll see you soon at the airport in Kuwait.”

At 2 AM the first explosions began, and I woke up. Because of Shirley’s warning I hadn’t slept well anyway, and as soon as the jets roared over the city, I knew. Commercial jets never sounded like that, and they never flew so low over the city. All the explosions were in the distance at first but they were repeated with only brief interruptions. The booms moved closer to our home.

And the great experience began. What followed was the longest siege of a US Embassy in American history, and I was privileged to be there for the show.

The Russians and the Syrian army have “granted” exit from the city for the citizens of Aleppo. How gracious of them! Assad wins again. Russian air attacks have slaughtered citizens. Why would the citizens choose to stay? The progress of the Syrian conflict now favors Assad, and the Syrian people will be back where they were before their revolt against Assad began, but much worse off.

Syria will be a Russian puppet state.

What does this mean for the politico-religious state of the people? Syria can neither be counted Islamic or Christian. The religious posture of the country as a whole is just what Putin or Assad decide. And they have no real interest in faith of any stripe. Putin certainly doesn’t care, and Assad ascribes to that peculiar species, the Alawites.  Alawites venerate Imam Ali, possibly making them a Shia derivative. But they invest Ali with divine attributes. They also believe in incarnation and the celebration of the Zoroastrian new year. What a mess! The Alawites are not Islamic.

What can the US and other Western powers do? Nothing apart from a major infusion of ground forces. It’s too late.

Iran ascends. Saudi Arabia descends. There are three reasons for these trends: history, finances, and diversity.

Hegel called the Persians the first Historical People.  The Medes brought the nation together in 625 BC. Cyrus the Great later ruled three continents from Persepolis, creating the first world empire. The Seleucids, the Parthians, and the Sasanians followed finally competing with the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Monuments to these former kingdoms still exist and issue the promise of more to come.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, operates from tribal history with its major achievements marked by the rise of Islam in the seventh century and the unification brought by the great Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1932.

The finances of Iran, while troubled by the sanctions which have been recently released, can only improve.

The finances of Saudi Arabia are troubled. They have a 100 billion dollar budget deficit and no obvious way to get out of the problem. They tried to break the back of the US gas and shale industry, but failed. They threaten to sell their US assets. They must devote resources to combating ISIL.

The diversity of Iran has been concealed by the theocracy, but the power and reach of the Ayatollah is diminishing as new resources flood into the country with the fresh money.

Saudi Arabia has effectively limited its diversity and will now pay the price.

The Saudi dominance of the Middle East is over.

Al Jazeera has announced it will pull out of the US market.

What’s the reason? I suppose the decision is financially based. But why couldn’t an international news agency make it in the US?

I asked our cable supplier, Com Cast, to pick up the Al Jazeera news network. No response.

I question why the US is not supportive. Is this the beginning of a new xenophobia? Does it have something to do with a fear of Islam? Al Jazeera is more than fair in its treatment of religious and social issues.

I’m not concerned about Al Jazeera. They will be ok. I can get access to their news and opinion pieces through other sites. I’m concerned about the US. Does this mean we’re not open to new ideas if they have the mark of the Middle East?

Will Al Jazeera shake the dust off its feet?

All or most of the current crop of terrorists claim to be Muslim. Yet every Muslim I know, and I’ve known many, love peace.

What if the terrorists claimed to be Christian? As a Christian myself, I would want to know their Christian testimony and about their theology.

We usually don’t have an opportunity to hear the terrorists’ testimony, whether they really give a creditable claim to be Muslim or not. They’re usually dead by the time we know of them.

We’re left with the abstract. Therefore, we want to know the theology that led them to their act.

Can Muslim theologians clear this up for me, at least in the abstract? I’d like to hear or read what they say. We can dig all this up from various sources, but a cogent discourse from respected Muslims would be great. CNN, why don’t you invite a couple?

Theology is rarely simple, and maybe Muslim theologians figure no one is interested. Or maybe they’re concerned about getting in the news. I certainly would be worried if I were in their place.
But the ideas behind the acts are important.

As a Christian looking at the Quran, I can see its beauty of expression. But I also see how complex it is. And it’s not chronological, making it difficult for the Western reader.

Verses that deal with a Muslim’s reaction to non-Muslims seem contradictory.

One extreme is shown in the translation of Surah 8:12 “I will cast terror into the hearts of those that disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.”

The other extreme is found in this translation of Surah 29:46 “And argue not with the people of Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say. ‘We believe in that which has been revealed to us and to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’”

If these verses are the words of God, then they must be reconcilable. How do the so-called Islamist terrorists view these verses?

Or perhaps, and I am afraid this is the issue, theology just doesn’t matter to them.