BIZARRE, MAN – AT 8:36 A.M. ET:  How many times have you heard "analysts" and "foreign-policy experts" inform us, based on their special wisdom and regular program of dental care, that if only we understood the "Arab street" and the culture of Middle Eastern peoples, we'd avoid all this unpleasantness. 

What these self-appointed geniuses never tell you is that opinion on the Arab street comes in large measure from what Arabs are fed over state-run propaganda channels.  They've had regular feedings for decades.  What are, for example, Syrians being told today, after days of rioting?  Get this - this is what the Syrian street is being given:

Syrian President Bashar Assad clung to power after protests, saying he is responsible for keeping stability, in a Wednesday speech to his parliament.

"I am speaking to you at an extraordinary moment," Assad said, "it is a test of our unity. These tests repeat themselves due to plots threatening our homeland."

The Syrian president explained that Deraa, where some of the bloodiest protests have taken place, "is in the forefront in confronting the Israeli enemy and defending the nation."

"No one can be defending and conspiring at the same time," he said, "this cannot happen. The people of Deraa do not have any responsibility in what has happened. We are all with Deraa."

"There is a plot to break Syria apart," Assad claimed. "It began with incitement on the internet and on Facebook, and moved on to the media and the street. We were able to stop the American-Israeli plot."

COMMENT:  Yup, it's a Facebook/American/Israeli plot.  Syrians cannot possibly have any legitimate complaints.  And thre are plenty of people who will believe this in Syria, and plenty of useful idiots in the West who will label it a "legitimate alternative narrative." 

You feed a diet like this to people for decades, or even centuries, and you have a backward, failing civilization steeped in conspiracy theories.  And that's what we're looking at.

March 30, 2011