May 14, 2003 - There is an old fable that I learned too long ago in elementary school:

A frog was sitting on a lily pad in a backwater at the side of the Jordan River. He was just sitting there waiting for a tasty fly to come by for breakfast. "Ribbit", he said full of complaciancy in the warmth of the early morning sun, "Ribbit" came an answer in a feminine voice from the other side of the Jordan.

"Hmmm", he thought, "I think that I just might swim over there and see what she really means by 'Ribbit'"

As he gathered himself to plunge into the water a scorpion from the desert scurried up.
"Friend Frog", said the scorpion, "I see that you are preparing to cross the river. I, too, wish to get to the other side but, alas, I cannot swim. I could ride across on your back and then we would both get to the other side."

"Do you think me a fool? If I were to let you ride on my back you would surely sting me. You are a scorpion! I would die."

"But frog, think about what you are saying. I cannot swim. Should I sting you you would die, it is true. But so would I. We would be in the middle of the River Jordan and I cannot swim. I would surely die. Thus you can be assured of your safety. We would be in the river together."

The Frog thought and he could appreciate the logic of the Scorpion's argument. He suffered the Scorpion to climb upon his back and started the long swim to the other side of the broad river secure in the assurance that he and the Scorpion were in the water together. When they had reached the middle of the river he felt the sharp bite of the Scorpion's tail. His eyes commenced to dim and the strength of his legs waned as his muscles went numb. He knew that he was dying and shouted at the scorpion.

"Why? Why did you do that. Now you will surely drown! You cannot swim and you have killed me."
"It is true, Frog. It is true, but I am a scorpion and we are East of Suez."

The Arabian regime has been riding on the West's economic back since the discovery of oil in the desert. In this dawn of the 21st Century we have suffered the Afghans and now the Iraqis to join the Arabians on our back and have plunged into the Jordan. We should not be surprised at the pain of the scorpion's sting. We have come, you see, East of Suez.