The Prince And The Showgirlman

TBogg reminds us that it's been a while since Megan McArdle promised to deliver Part II of her epic destruction of Elizabeth Warren; in fact, it's been 26 days. Nearly a month has gone by, a long, hot summer month of little news or government activity. Since everyone and his brother are taking vacations at this time, now would be the perfect opportunity, at least for McArdle, but fortunately she has delayed her magnum opus. We hope she waits until September when school resumes, and bored housewives have a lot more time to sharpen their knives, tie on their bibs, and anticipate the feast to come.

Meanwhile, we must find our entertainment where we can. And it seems that News Corp., which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, Saudi prince Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and others, has donated a million dollars to the Republican party. What can the Republicans expect from their Saudi patron?

Q: Do you think the world's perception of Islam is misunderstood?

Prince Alwaleed: Oh, yes, for sure. After 9/11, the world changed, and Islam came under attack. You had all these terrorist acts on U.S. soil committed by Muslims and Arabs and Saudis. So I don't really blame the West for being worried about Islam. But you cannot generalize and say all Arabs or Muslims are terrorists. All the discussion has been around the Somali guy who tried to bomb the [Northwest (DAL)] airplane, but his father...

Q: ...Turned him in.

A: This guy represents Islam. He went to the U.S. Embassy and said, "My son is a terrorist in the making. Please take care of him." This guy represents me and all my 1.3 billion Muslims. Not the guy with the bomb. Islam means peace. That's the irony of it.

The prince has been less discreet in the past.

World Trade Center attacks
In October 2001, following the World Trade Center attacks, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani turned down a $10 million donation from Al-Waleed for disaster relief after the prince suggested the United States "must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack," and "re-examine its policies in the Middle East." However, Giuliani interpreted his statements as drawing "a moral equivalency between liberal democracies like the United States, like Israel, and terrorist states and those who condone terrorism."[8].

Palestinians
In 2002, Al-Waleed donated 18.5 million British pounds ($27 million) to the families of Palestinians during a TV telethon following Israeli operations in the West Bank city of Jenin. The telethon was ordered by Saudi King Fahd to help relatives of Palestinian martyrs. The Saudi government said the term "martyrs" referred not to suicide bombers but to "Palestinians who are victimized by Israeli terror and violence." However, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council said that "some money will go to the families of suicide bombers. " [9][10][11]

He is, however, not a fan of Iran.

Q: You know the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, well. Does Syria intend to play a positive role in the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis?
A: My friend Bashar al-Assad wants the Palestinians to live in peace with Israel. I can assure you that Bashar is going to play a very big role in getting the peace process moving.

Q: What stands between an accord between Syria and Israel?
A: A small piece of land—the Golan Heights. It's very technical and could be resolved if there is a will from the Israelis. Bashar just wants his land back, period. The Golan is Syrian.

Q: What is your assessment of the possibility of something happening between Israel and the Palestinians?
A: I believe the Middle East is the core problem. The terrorist acts and all these things are really side effects. [The situation] needs to be resolved as soon as possible. I think that if Israel wants to have peace, they can have peace within a month or two...to be honest with you.

Q: But just last week there was some shelling from Gaza into Israel.
A: Israel is a dominant force in Middle East. We all know that it has the biggest military. It has nuclear bombs. So Israel is untouchable. Now, if Israel can get its house in order and have...

Q: What do you mean by get its house in order?
A: The Netanyahu government does not want to have peace with the Palestinians.

Q: So your answer to the conflict in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians is that the United States must pressure the Israelis to do more? That's your answer?
A: That's right, because all the power is in the hands of Israel. They have the land in their possession. They have Jerusalem in their possession. Everything is in their hands.

Q: What should be done about Iran?
A: I think the United States has to take a very firm position against Iran...really just box them in and give them an ultimatum. Right now what's happening in Iran reminds us of the pre-revolution era of the Shah.

Q: Will Ahmadinejad survive?
A: The way he's handling his opponents is really very savage. We don't know how this thing is going to end. But at this stage, you must engage with Ahmadinejad until we see what happens.

Murdoch, in turn, owns part of the prince's media company.

In late February, News Corp. purchased a 9% stake in Alwaleed's Arab media and entertainment company Rotana, valuing the company at $770 million.

No doubt we will immediately see the yapping lapdogs of the right attack Fox News' owners for supporting Islamic studies programs in the US and supporting Palestinians over Israelis. On the plus side, the prince wants to weaken Iran, which will make the Fox viewers happy. Fortunately for Murdoch, his followers are perfectly able to both hate the prince for helping Palestinians and love the prince for hating Iran. Where there is no cognition, there is no cognitive dissonance.