Army Veteran Discusses Middle East, Religion and Oil at Oconee Library

Caches of pornography, overweight high school seniors and the Virgin Mary were three subjects mentioned Wednesday evening at a lecture about the Middle East. Oconee County resident and retired Col. Lawrence Saul, a 34-year veteran of the United States Army, delivered the presentation at the .

Saul described the difficulties in the Middle East, including speculation about what could happen as American troops withdraw from the region and why animosity toward the West exists among Muslim fundamentalists.

"Muslims [abroad] perceive the West as being perverted," he said. Homosexuality, idolization of youth and the American infatuation with sweeping the elderly into nursing homes are some reasons their culture doesn't jive with the West's, Saul said.

Not all Muslims are American-hating extremists, though, according to Saul.

"Their faith has been hijacked," he said.

The bonds between the major monotheistic religions are tighter than they may seem, Saul said; Christianity, Islam and Judaism all trace their roots to the same man -- Abraham -- and ties can be seen between them.

Muslim women who wear the hijab are doing so as a sign of respect and the Virgin Mary did likewise for the same reason, he said.

Reflecting on the past nine years and 263 days of military action, Saul relayed how many American military personnel have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan: 6,091.

He also said America could one day be ill-equipped to engage in military action, as only 25 percent of high school graduates would be considered eligible to join the armed forces. The other three-quarters are ineligable due to health reasons, legal trouble and intelligence delinquencies, he said.

Iraq was also a topic of discussion Wednesday evening. He said though the war was not ours to fight, the nation is on its way to becoming a respected nation on the world stage following the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

"It's not a matter of winning, it's a matter of not losing," he said. "And we didn't."

As for the Taliban in Afghanistan, Saul said they've lost the moral high ground they once were perceived by people on the region to have - not only because of the violence in the region and the stash of pornography found in Osama bin Laden's compound, but for drugs as well.

"The Taliban were evil and are evil and they ruined that nation," he said.

He said the opium produced in the country poses a major risk for Western Europe and beyond as heroin use continues worldwide.

Farmers can make six times more money producing opium than they could producing Afghanistan's second-biggest import, pomegranates, he said.

Finally, Saul discussed America's dependence on oil and the future ramifications of our addiction to the pump.

"There is no alternative to oil today," he said. "We'll never find in our lifetime, or probably our children's lifetime, an alternative to oil."

But where exactly do we get most of our oil from?

Nope, not there. Think colder. Think hockey.

Canada provides about a quarter of our oil, Saul said. In fact, among the United States' top four oil providers, only Saudi Arabia is in the Middle East, he said, adding that the other two are Venezuela and Mexico.

Oconee County resident David Williams, a longtime friend of Saul, attended the lecture.

"I have followed him and his professional career all the way from when we were back in the Army 40 years ago," he said.

Williams said he saw Saul as a viable source for information because of Saul's experience working for the Department of Defense.