Submitted by : admin on Palestine

The AXIS of EVIL
by O.E.H. Johansen alias MYSPEAK (Denmark).

Reproduced here with permission of the author.
For a brief note about the author, and how to contact, see end of poem.
You are invited to read the original, which is visually much stronger,
on the author's website, see end of poem.

INTRODUCTION:
This wide-ranging poem, at well over 500 lines, is neither
a romantic nor a philosophical poem but a political one,
dealing with Islam and the West. It was completed in late
2005, shortly before Ariel Sharon had the stroke but in truth,
does his absence from politics change anything?

The following is a synopsis of the poem:
It starts in Iraq with a series of 'sound-bite-as-if-embedded'
journalistic verses, quickly moves on to survey current
American political philosophy, nuclear proliferation, the
attacks on America on 11 September 2001, then the main
theme -PALESTINE- is introduced and examined at length
and in a number of ways, after which the poem looks back
to the Nazi persecution of the Jews, then addresses America
and its subservience to the Zionist lobby in complete contradiction
of US national interests, a brief look at the demise of the Soviet
Union and corresponding rise of America, questions why the rest
of the World and particularly the European Union accepts
American behaviour, suggests that oil could be used to tame
America, explains why the term anti-Semitic is used incorrectly,
suggests that Israel has forfeited its right to exist, examines
the current and possible future status of Jerusalem, describes
briefly a just solution to end the occupation, returns to America
and Israel to show that democracy in itself is no guarantee
of civilized behaviour, names the true AXIS of EVIL, guesses
the results if Israel continues its unilateralism, there is a quick
but relevant flashback to the Nuremberg Trials, then rounds off
with comparing rock-throwing Palestinian youths with the
September 11 hijackers, and the poem comes full circle
by ending where it started, in Iraq...

PS: As it is now increasingly obvious that the attacks on America
on 11 Sept 2001 were indeed an inside job, the sections of the
poem giving Islamic militants the credit for that should now be
read with this in mind. Those lines may be reworked later or
reluctantly deleted.

*

DEDICATION:
To Palestinians everywhere but in particular those
Who live in the territories illegally and brutally
Occupied by Israel since the Six Day War in 1967.
May your struggle for justice soon be over!

*

The AXIS of EVIL

The news coming in from the Middle East
Is remarkable, to say the least:

The main US export being liberty
The Americans invade to set all Iraqis free
With a fireworks display the lesson starts
From wedding party to body parts...

Neo-Crusaders destroy Fallujah
To chants of “Gloria Hallelujah!”
All together now for the final chorus
Silhouetted against burning phosphorous

Yanks and tanks and bubble-gum
Desecrate ancient Babylon
You can look back on a few hundred years
But recorded history started here
Has roughly a six-thousand year span
And Mesopotamia is where it began

It sounds like a joke but is apparently true
And should soon be coming to a TV near you:
Saddam and Rumsfeld sipping tea!
Oh yes, watch the trial and you’ll see

Truth will out and did escape
From the amusement arcades of Abu Ghraib
Weblogs and photos, truly perverse
Shock and Awe, in reverse

Pick your choice: Iyad Allawi?
Abu Muzab Al-Zarkawi?
Maybe Jalal Talabani?
Ayatollah Al-Sistani!!

Instead of dancing in the streets
Greeting the heroes with flowers and sweets
It’s car-bombs, beheadings and insurgency
Instead of normality, emergency

If you think about it and truth be told
It’s the heads in Washington which should roll!

Now you argue about what could have been done
Better (stay home!) but, having begun
You insist you will stay to see the job through
Inshallah, this job will finish YOU!

From holy Najaf to Hindu Kush
The Coalition of the Killing, led by Bush
Yesterday Afghanistan
Tomorrow Syria? Iran?

*

We get brainwashed about militant Islam
What? I see no reason for alarm
Not a word about militant Christianity
Although it is there for all to see:

There’s a born-again Christian in the White House
Whose fiery sermons from the pulpit rouse
The folks of many nations to join his War on Terror
What a tragic, maybe fatal, fundamental(ist) error…
The way you fight it, that ‘war’ cannot be won
Will you ever understand that in Washington?

The neo-Con credo, made in the USA
Is “Don’t do as we do, just do as we say
Or we label you a terrorist and blow you away”
My God, the founding fathers would be horrified
That is not the ideals for which they lived and died

All you say about Democracy may sound serene
But look at the reality and the same words turn obscene
America, no-one believes you anymore
The lies you tell to justify war
The massive deception on a scale unlike any
Since the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany
“The broad mass of a nation is more likely to fall
Victim to big lies than to small”
(Quote: Adolf Hitler, ‘Mein Kampf’, nineteen twentyfive)
You see? That spirit is still alive!
And so the greatest show on earth plays on, oh yes:
The whole World must agree with you, no more, no less!


*

The Islamic Bomb is nothing new
Matching those of Christian, Hindu and Jew
Pakistan led the way
Why are you surprised that today
Iran appears to want them too?
They need some as a defence against you!
One look at the map will tell you why:
Iran can’t be moved, so continues to lie
Between Iraq and Afghanistan
Both now swallowed up by the Great Satan.


*

The Islamic World detests the West
And not without reason, you have done your best
To make sure this would happen, year after year
Pushing your luck to bring us all here
Where we are today and it’s not a pretty sight
Blind to the fact that might is not right
You showed them how evil deeds are done
And on September eleven two thousand and one
The time had come to even the score
What happened that day had been done before
But now it was your turn to suffer and die
So the boomerang flew across the sky
Returned to sender and with two mighty blows
The towering arrogance was laid low
Burnt to cinders, reduced to dust -
One exception to the rule that this World is unjust

May I ask why so many stayed away
From work on that particular day?
Exceedingly interesting, don’t you think?
Had all those really had a bit too much to drink
The night before? Or had they been warned?
And therefore ‘overslept’ when doomsday dawned?

Surveying the scenes of devastation and loss
“Why? Why here? Why now? Why US?
Could anyone really hate us that much?”
You fools! Are you totally out of touch
With reality? Why the surprise
And indignation? Open your eyes!
And rudely awoken, your American Dream
Turned to nightmare as you sensed the silent scream
Of rage that rose from the Muslim World
In a flash, the banner of Islam unfurled

A small price to pay for your reckless past
And unless YOU change it will not be the last…

In my opinion and I will not repent
As an act of defiance, it was magnificent!


*

The heart of the problem we can define
By one single word - P A L E S T I N E
That says it all, doesn’t it?
What happened to justice, you hypocrites?
The West caused that problem and it will not go away
So must be solved without delay
But after decades of inaction it is still right there
A beacon for Muslims everywhere

Some of their methods may not be in good taste
Like strapping explosives round your waist
And blowing yourself up on a crowded bus
But, appalling as that may seem to (most of) us
‘Taste’ is a luxury and I ask you:
They have nothing so what else can they do?

Now this may disappoint you but I will not condemn
The suicide bombers until Jerusalem
And the rest of the Occupied Territories are
Liberated from the tyranny of the Star
Of David. Would that mean Peace on Earth?
Of course not but, not only well worth
The effort, it simply has to be done
And standing in the way? Tel Aviv and Washington

The Road Map? Is a load of crap!
Just one more Jewish booby-trap
For buying time and wasting time
And every day another crime
Prepared and primed to detonate
At some specific time and date
When we are not expecting it
Decided by Sharon to fit
Into his secret master-plan
For grabbing more Palestinian land
Four hundred thousand now settled there
Illegally and if we dare
To speak out loud they label us
Anti-Semitic and make a fuss

Now the Butcher of Sabra and Shatila
Did indeed recently abandon Gaza
But don’t you believe his latest prank
He’ll be laughing all the way to the West Bank
To create still more Facts on the Ground
I did try but sadly never found
Anything nice to say about him -
Is he really a descendant of Ibrahim?

Yasser Arafat is dead and what a travesty
Of justice that he was not allowed to see
His life’s work completed. Did you watch his funeral?
Tragedy, glory, love - so moving and beautiful
Chaos, anger, pride and hope - it really had it all
Most memorable television since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

For all his faults it is clear the obstacle
To Peace was never Arafat but Israel
And the West in general but we all know that -
Rest in Peace and God bless you Arafat

Here, one vital point should not be missed:
My Freedom-Fighter may be your Terrorist.


*

The West must explain to the World of Islam
Exactly why it was that Iraq under Saddam
Had to comply to the letter with the law
When Israel is allowed forever to ignore
Trample underfoot, ridicule and spit
On all resolutions and judgments against it

Israel gets away with murder every day
But instead of condemnation the World dares only say
In a cautious little voice, meek and faint
That both sides really ought to exercise restraint
That all forms of violence against Israel must stop
Or the promise of statehood for Palestine might drop
Off the agenda, and that sick old preference:
Israel has the right to self-defence

With methods that can only be described as vile
If you give them an inch they will grab a square mile
In law the World should long ago have thrown
Them out but the Devil looks after his own
And instead of heavy fines you give them massive aid
Instead of tough sanctions you continue to trade
Weapons and other imports-exports of all sorts
Diplomatic relations, culture and sports
And wait for this, the worst is yet to come:
Folly of all follies, you helped them to the bomb…

The West has linked its values, policies and views
Inextricably to those of a few million Jews
The West is Israel, Israel is the West
That is the reality observed by the rest
Of this World in which all of us live
And clearly something somewhere has to give
That’s unlikely to be the arrogant West
Which will no doubt continue its incessant quest
For making all men and women join in their song
Which goes: “WE are right so THEY must be wrong”
Really? How can you be sure? Do you know what I say?
The West must give: THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!

And if you will not change but continue to split
Up everybody else’s World as you alone see fit
By imposing your perverse contemporary norms
Replacing one corrupt and bankrupt form
Of government with another, through illegal wars
(And YOU always preach the rule of law!)
You should neither be surprised nor should you complain
If in due course the revenge for the inflicted pain
Visits your cities, one by one
And not only New York, Madrid, London
Watch out Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Rome:
With friends like Israel abroad, you breed enemies at home!


*

One question to the World please: who will compensate
Palestinian victims of the Jewish state?
For simply by accepting the state of Israel
In its fortyeight borders they have said farewell
To more than three quarters of their sacred land
And no-one should expect, even less demand
That they surrender still more for they have nothing left to give
Like all other peoples they need space to breathe and live

But there they are, more than fifty years on
And still nothing useful has been done
Some still clutching keys to homes they fled
In fortyeight, hoping to return soon, but instead
In refugee camps they are waiting in vain
For the day they will be able to go home again
Their minds growing feeble, their hands now growing cold
Allah is counting the lies they were told

Without justice for Palestine there simply WILL NOT
Be peace in that region, if you have not got
That message by now you must be deaf and dumb!
Ignore it and regret it for a long time to come
For no peace there will mean no peace anywhere
NOR SHOULD THERE BE! Still you just stare
At the biggest political problem of them all
Kicking it around like an unwanted ball
Hoping it will just disappear some day
But it won’t, however long and hard you pray
And failure to solve it will bring lasting shame
On Mankind for no-one else will be to blame.


*

The World still suffers from a strange collective guilt
And shudders when reminded of the Jewish blood spilt
By the Nazis, therefore the strategy:
Remind the World of it frequently
And it might result in some new memorial
Or new legislation outlawing denial
Or further reinforce that ridiculous myth
That the Jews are a threatened species with
No friends anywhere, and when all seems lost
Just whisper those two magic words: “the Holocaust!”
And the World shuts up, pays up and bows down
Like some stupidly smiling mechanical clown
In the circus of business, law and politics
The World is their stage, and for their next tricks…?
Cynically manipulating their puppets on strings
They seem, at different times, to have both horns and wings!

Heads they always win, Tails they never lose
And all because of what Hitler did to the Jews!
Small wonder they believe they can now do what they want
But THAT was never part of the Covenant!

I fear I shall be crucified for my views
But the World MUST learn to say NO to the Jews
What is so special about them anyway?
Nothing as far as I can see, no matter what they say
The Chosen People? By whom? And for what?
The Almighty would surely disown that lot!
On two occasions already He has done
Just that, is it futile to speculate on
What might happen now if it really came to blows?
Third time lucky? God only knows…

To most this may well sound like heresy
But remember there is an ancient prophecy
Known as: The Exile Under Ishmael
When will it happen, if at all? Time will tell…


*

America:
We have all heard your mantra: “We will defend
Our strategic interests World-wide, until the end”
And your strategic interest in Israel?!!?
There isn’t any, non-existent, zero, nil!
Agreed? Thank you, I’m glad we got that straight!
So why your unconditional support for that state?

Tiny Israel has nothing worth having but behold
The huge deserts next to it are Seas of Black Gold
Shimmering in the harsh light under a skye-blue dome
For the Land of Opportunists, your spiritual home!
THIS is where your self-interest begins and ends
And the Arab nations could yet become your friends
But that is up to you and not to them:
Reverse the construction of the New Jerusalem
Now in progress illegally on land occupied
Illegally for decades. If you tried
To change places with those people for a moment you would know
What it feels like but instead you let the cancer grow
With your money and your weapons, always turning a blind eye
When with your connivance and your blessing more refugees die
Stateless and homeless in their own land
Impossible for them, and for me, to understand
But they are only Arab Muslims, so who cares?
I tell you: anybody with a heart and soul despairs…

By all means be friendly towards Israel
But you always defend the indefensible
The World is waiting to hear the true Voice
Of America but you don’t have the choice
For a tiny minority twists and distorts
Not all but most of your actions and thoughts
And that is not Democracy. Ha! We got you now!
The Gospel that you preach never did ring true somehow
New World Order Prophets, go back the way you came
You were never wise enough to spread Freedom’s flame
If you must play with fire you are likely to get burnt
That is one lesson that America still has not learnt
The World should stand well back now and watch this space:
May that which you ignited blow up in your own face!
America the Beautiful, disfigured by so few
Corrective surgery is L O N G overdue...

Do your citizens really know the true cost
Of Israel to them? They should and they must!
It’s a Profit and Loss Account deep in the red
Written with the blood of the maimed and dead
Of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan
And also, small justice, a few Americans

More little steps for Megalo-Man
Can do, we’ll fix it, no job too big or small
For the self-ordained trigger-happy Sheriff of us all
His brand of Freedom gets the real hard sell
Making giant leaps on the sure road to Hell
Or is he on the road to Damascus now
Uttering some unrepeatable vow
To his Jewish masters who must give the nod
Before he can take any orders from God...


*

Nowhere to be seen, from the West to the East
The International Community, that mythical beast
Should rear its fearsome head now but it has gone to ground
May already be extinct or toothless, if ever found

Our World has been unbalanced since the recent demise
Of the Soviet Empire and, now on the rise
In the absence of a counterweight, America redefines
The art of making hay while the sun shines

Savages in pinstripes and combat boots
Are re-engineering the World to suit
Themselves and to carry off the loot
Please will someone stop those pathological brutes!

American culture. Excuse me - is there one?
Scientists at work yes, but the masses chasing fun-fun-fun
Hollywood sex and violence, moronic rock’n’roll:
Brilliant technology but what a crippled soul…

How on earth can three hundred million people do
So much damage to our planet? Where’s the voice of the EU?
Stop babbling amongst yourselves, sing all from the same sheet
You’re four hundred and fifty million and well able to meet
Any challenge anywhere but ONLY IF YOU WANT
And how will history judge you if you don’t?

America, all powerful! Or just a house of cards?
What should the World do when one nation disregards
All standards of behaviour, holds itself above the law
And believes it is the greatest that mankind ever saw?
A trial of strength we can ill afford
But remember the old saying: “If you live by the sword…”

Oil as a power-tool? Now that is interesting!
It could probably be utilized intelligently to bring
The Monster to its senses or if need be to its knees
To plead for its life-blood: “I beg you please!
Don’t leave me like this! I might thirst to death!
I promise to be really good until my last breath!”
And if you don’t behave, we’ll turn off the taps
And watch with Arab patience until you collapse
How long would it take before you slowed to a crawl?
That’s difficult to say but when you had exhausted all
Your emergency stockpiles and hoarded energy stores
Joy to the World for that would stop you starting wars!

*

As for anti-Semitic, it is a misleading term
As any decent dictionary will confirm
All Arabs are semitic peoples too, now you know!
If we mean anti-Jewish, then we should say so

But I don’t hate the Jews, honestly I don’t
They made me dislike them and if they won’t
Behave in a way that approaches civilized
They must expect to get more than criticized

The World chose in its wisdom (?) in nineteen fortyeight
To partition Palestine in order to create
A homeland for the Jews who’ve had more than fifty years
To prove to us all that it was a good idea
As far as I can see, and you may disagree
On balance they have failed and done so miserably
For reasons that would make a long unpleasant list
Israel has forfeited its right to exist

Look around and listen and it is clear that some
Of us have had enough, maybe the time has come
To dissolve the state of Israel, resurrect Palestine
And give one person one vote. That would be fine
By me and if the Jews say: “Not now, but soon”
They can all go to America or to the dark side of the Moon.

*

There is a romantic emotional bond
In the Christian World and far beyond
With Jerusalem, the Holy, Al-Quds
For most of us easily understood

But an irrational notion still pervades
So many centuries after the Crusades
That somehow Jerusalem is under threat
From the Muslims who would dearly like to get
It back, so is therefore now best left
In the custody of those who obtained it by theft
Not so! Outrageous the way they behave!
They have no right to encircle and enslave
Jerusalem to keep forever as their own
All illegal barriers must come down
Right now, for behind those, and paid for by the West
Any prospects for Peace are being laid to rest
In Maale Adumim as the Jews implement
Their Final Solution for Palestine, intent
On completing it before the World wakes up
To demand and if necessary force them to stop

Jerusalem belongs to all of Mankind
And it must be possible for us to find
A solution acceptable to all
For the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Wailing Wall
And that glorious beautiful Dome of the Rock
With nobody having the right to lock
Others out as they see fit
Well, World, are we up to it?

As everybody knows: East Jerusalem
Is Arab and MUST be given back to them
So future pilgrims will see the Dome shine
Above the Capital of Palestine.

*

The parties are urged to sit down once more
To somehow agree on what divided them before
In truth, there is nothing to negotiate
Except the Right of Return and how to compensate
Israel’s long-suffering captives. The rest
Is clear and will become the ultimate test
Of the World’s resolve to uphold its own laws
By insisting and enforcing that Israel withdraws
Every soldier and settler and returns all the land
Seized in sixtyseven, to the last grain of sand…
Then, and only then, might the Arabs believe
That the World is even-handed after having it deceive
Them time and time again in the recent past
And remember: ONLY A JUST PEACE WOULD LAST!

*

America stands for Freedom and Democracy
Ha! What nauseating hypocrisy!
Forever masquerading as that which you are not
Assuming you once had one, you have lost the plot

If you truly believed in Democracy
You would NOT abuse your veto in the UN-SC

And if it were about Freedom you would set your sights
On enormous China where human rights
Were crushed under tanks in Tianaman Square
(Admit it you liars, you don’t care)
Now that would be a proper virility test
For the Macho Cowboys of the Wild West

And yet, in itself Democracy
Is not a guarantee of decency
You want proof? Look (again!) at Israel
Most of its actions are illegal
Barbaric, deceitful - the list goes on
This World would be a better place without Sharon!
International law is there to flout
State terrorism without doubt
Examine the facts and, like me, you will call
Israel the roguest state of all

America follows close behind
Brothers in arms, two of a kind
An unholy alliance in the Holy Land
Always in step, hand in hand
Inseparable like grotesque twins
For your diverse and deadly sins
May your leaders, the war criminals
Burn for ever in the fire of Hell!

That AXIS of EVIL does exist and runs
Between Tel Aviv and Washington
All civilized nations must act as one
To save us all from Bush and Sharon.

*

And… if Israel succeeds? What a terrible mess!
Where would it lead? This is my guess:
The Jews would celebrate and the World would wring
Its hands, insisting it had done its best to bring
Peace to that persistent trouble-spot
And the Arabs? They would be left to rot
Blamed for our failures and expected to sit
There quietly just accepting it
For another generation, hopefully two
Well, if you believe that, here is news for you:
For they would not roll over and they would not lie down
And if violence were the only game you left them in town
Then that’s what it would have to be, they would not hide
Their heads in the sand: religion, culture, pride
Would not allow that. The bottom line:
Do we want this World, which is also mine,
Blown up because we did not resurrect Palestine?

*

Have you heard about that important birthday?
The Nuremberg Trials are sixty - Hooray!
We can learn from the past but not re-set the clock
So a perfect time to reflect and take stock -
And ask: when will Israel be in the dock?!!?

*

Boys hurling rocks at an Israeli tank
In Gaza or somewhere in the West Bank -
Men grabbing planes and hurling them like rocks
With fuel, passengers and themselves at tall tower blocks -
Look at it briefly and you surely cannot fail
To see the only difference is that of scale.

*

Are there foreign fighters in Iraq? Oh what a surprise!
They’re only there because of you and their numbers will rise
Jihad is not an option but a Muslim’s duty-call
And it works just like NATO: all for one and one for all
So get out while you can, bloody American killers!
Allahu Akbar! Al Hamdu Lillah!


*

Copyright © 2005-2006 www.myspeak.info All Rights Reserved

O.E.H. Johansen is a citizen of Denmark and a retired freelance IT-Consultant.
He has worked in many different countries including several years in Saudi
Arabia and has travelled extensively in Islamic countries, spent many years
living on a sailing yacht and is also a mountaineer.
His interest in Islam is growing deeper all the time and he expects
to formally become a Muslim soon.
He invites you to visit his website http://www.myspeak.info
and welcomes feedback on [email protected]