Middle East Sectarianism Defies Western Influence
What's happening in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and other nations in the Middle East should really come as no surprise to anyone. The region has been mired in sectarian conflicts for a very long time. That is almost certainly not going to change anytime soon.
Here in the USA, interests like Oil and other economical issues are our reason for attempting to control the direction things go in these countries. As we should have learned a very long time ago, that trick never works. (Sorry, Rocky.) In our attempts to retain some sort of relationship with governments in that part of the world, we err again and again.
The United States does not understand the Middle East at all. Neither our Presidents or our State Department bureaucracy has a clue about that part of the world or what makes it tick or explode. We cannot influence what happens there in any real way. We speak of democratic rule, but must support military rule in places where democratic governments can't function, or risk losing whatever small amount of influence we might have.
The errors never end. When we stopped using troops to fight in Iraq, Iraq's sectarian battles resumed. The same will happen in Afghanistan, as we leave there. We didn't belong in either country in the first place, but GWB sent us there for reasons that were wrong, stupid, and ill-founded.
We send money, arms, and other support willy-nilly to that part of the world, in hopes that our economic interests will not be interrupted. In the process, we make friends with nobody and enemies of all, over a period of decades.
Israel is part of the problem. Despite a centuries-old conflict between Judaism and Islam, we insist that Israel is an important ally, and spin around again and again to attempt some sort of peaceful resolution of that conflict. We fail there, as well, since Judaism also has its sectarian conflicts, along with the regional conflicts that date back to Biblical times.
The Middle East is a mess. It has long been a mess. The West drew boundaries where they made no sense and has attempted to control the disaster with money and military force. It does not work. It will not work.
In my amateurish opinion, I believe the US and all western nations should agree with each other not to supply any arms to that region. No arms or military assistance at all. If we can, we should disable or remove the ones we've already put there. We can buy petroleum from that region, but only if it requires no concessions of any kind from us or assurances of support of the evanescent regimes that go in and out of power with such regularity.
Let the Middle East find its own balance. We do not understand the Middle East, and should cease meddling in the affairs of that region. If the people are to rule there, they must take control. We cannot give them control. That is not within our power. We must stop attempting to control the region. Period. That's my opinion. It's not jingoistic. It's just realistic. Pacifying and manipulating the Middle East is not within our competence. We will fail every time we try.