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Middle East Outlook

Samerron

Samerron

New Member
What will happen in the Middle East?

Israelis and Palestinians are continuing with their endless fight.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6686503.stm

Iran is continuing with their plan, and US warships in the Gulf.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/23/gulf.training/index.html

Lebanon is having more troubles on it land.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,,2085969,00.html
In the last article, it's interesting to know that Washington is helping the Lebanese goverment. I'm glad they are, plus I started to notice the difference.

Not to forget about Iraq!

So, what do you think will happen in the Middle East, it's very unpredictalbe. Will there be WWIII?
 
Things have gotten so complex and out of hand that I have no idea what to think any more. I remember a time when leaders would hold a thing called a "summit." Hopefully when Bush leaves office, the U.S. will elect someone who can lead others to the table and come up with a smashing success like the Camp David agreement. Come to think of it, can anyone name one Bush administration negotiation success?
 
Store this one away in your the-idiot-should-have-known file.:rolleyes:

May 26th Washington Post article.
Months before the invasion of Iraq, U.S. intelligence agencies predicted that it would be likely to spark violent sectarian divides and provide al-Qaeda with new opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report released yesterday by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Analysts warned that war in Iraq also could provoke Iran to assert its regional influence and "probably would result in a surge of political Islam and increased funding for terrorist groups" in the Muslim world.

The intelligence assessments, made in January 2003 and widely circulated within the Bush administration before the war, said that establishing democracy in Iraq would be "a long, difficult and probably turbulent challenge." The assessments noted that Iraqi political culture was "largely bereft of the social underpinnings" to support democratic development.
Click to expand...
 
I think one of the biggest problems in the Middle East is that it contains three major world religions. When you put people next to each other who are very, very different, things tend to get out of hand. It happens everywhere. Between the groups in the Middle East, it's just been going on for so long that it's not going to stop easily. I mean, the Christians and Muslims have been fighting over Jerusalem for ages. Things like that have to stop. Everyone has to feel that they have an equal share in it.

If there is a WWIII, I think it will certainly be in the Middle East because there's so much instability in some of the countries. It seems like ever since I can remember there have been wars going on there. But I think things can be changed with time and effort. I don't think it's a hopeless situation because I'm sure that the people who live there want change more than anyone. And also...I think we--meaning the US--need to offer support but keep our noses out of it unless our help is requested. Where we aren't wanted, we're probably not helping much.
 
ValkyrieRaven88 said:
I think one of the biggest problems in the Middle East is that it contains three major world religions. When you put people next to each other who are very, very different, things tend to get out of hand. It happens everywhere. Between the groups in the Middle East, it's just been going on for so long that it's not going to stop easily. I mean, the Christians and Muslims have been fighting over Jerusalem for ages. Things like that have to stop. Everyone has to feel that they have an equal share in it.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with you here. These three religions can live together in a very constructive and peaceful environment. There are some periods of time where it was true, but pardon my memory. Now, in Lebanon Christians and Muslims go along very well, but unfortunately the country has 101 problems.[/QUOTE]

ValkyrieRaven88 said:
If there is a WWIII, I think it will certainly be in the Middle East because there's so much instability in some of the countries. It seems like ever since I can remember there have been wars going on there. But I think things can be changed with time and effort. I don't think it's a hopeless situation because I'm sure that the people who live there want change more than anyone. And also...I think we--meaning the US--need to offer support but keep our noses out of it unless our help is requested. Where we aren't wanted, we're probably not helping much.
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It might become peaceful when the oil wells are depleted....:rolleyes:
 
Samerron-Your country is very unique in the region. I would agree that the members of the big 3 religion can get along together and at times, that has occured. Wouldn't you say the problem has to do with fundamentalist or orthodox believers who want to impose their belief system on others? People who not only worship their Imam or other leader, but who also want the old chap to run the country? In other words, aren't these problems created by a lack of a separation of church and state?, or at least a consciousness of it?

Even that isn't entirely the problem. You still have the situation with the Israelis and Palestinians, not to mention the power struggle within the Palestine leadership. Perhaps we should lock them all in a room with Jimmy Carter and piped in Barbara Streisand music until something gets worked out?, just a thought.

What I do know is that the Bush administration should have nothing to do with it. Send Clinton, send Carter, send someone who actually has had diplomacy success.
 
Samerron said:
I have to disagree with you here. These three religions can live together in a very constructive and peaceful environment. There are some periods of time where it was true, but pardon my memory. Now, in Lebanon Christians and Muslims go along very well, but unfortunately the country has 101 problems.
Click to expand...

That's not exactly the way I meant it. I know that the religions can interact peacefully. I just think in some areas it is difficult to do so. I've studied Lebanon a bit, and I'm pretty impressed with the way things have worked out there. I'd like to see other countries around the world take the same kind of stance. It would alleviate so many problems.
 
SFG75 said:
Samerron-Your country is very unique in the region. I would agree that the members of the big 3 religion can get along together and at times, that has occured. Wouldn't you say the problem has to do with fundamentalist or orthodox believers who want to impose their belief system on others? People who not only worship their Imam or other leader, but who also want the old chap to run the country? In other words, aren't these problems created by a lack of a separation of church and state?, or at least a consciousness of it?
Click to expand...
Yeah, you have a point here. It all starts with the fundametalist or orthodox believers who absolutely think that we are right, and the rest are wrong, and consequently we need to take control of the place because we are the rightous people. There is a lack of tolarence in here. They should be more open-minded. About the seperation of religion and state, it's a bit complicated here and it's harder to implement on the religion of Islam, since religion must be incorporated in many aspects of life. Well, I personally prefer secularism for many reasons and especially in Lebanon.

SFG75 said:
Even that isn't entirely the problem. You still have the situation with the Israelis and Palestinians, not to mention the power struggle within the Palestine leadership. Perhaps we should lock them all in a room with Jimmy Carter and piped in Barbara Streisand music until something gets worked out?, just a thought.
Click to expand...
Haha...nice one! :D
 
Interesting news as of late-Hamas overthrows Fatah in Palestine. It just keeps getting worse. The Israelies appear to loathe Hamas, I'm amazed that such a divisive group would come to power. Then again, perhaps Abbas didn't fulfill the will of the people as best he could. I don't know, should be fascinating to watch how this political drama plays out.
 
Samerron-I think the Palestinian thing will shake out in due time. Already, a new parliament has been formed by Abbas, excluding Hamas. Israel and the U.S. have pledged cooperation. Fatah is the larger group, though they have antiquated military weapons. They apparently need some new gear before they can sweep Hamas out of Gaza.

The Iran thing is very scary. Joe Lieberman(who stopped being a democrat a long time ago) keeps beating the old war drum and there are more than a few interesting articles about how Cheney and Rice are having it out over whether or not diplomacy or "limited military engagement" should be the answer. The U.S. is an over-strained empire right now and while our efforts in Afghanistan have been for a good cause and for good reason, the same cannot be said of our efforts in Iraq. I'm not crazy about Iran getting nuclear power, though for some reason, I'm not really worried about it-does that make me Neville Chamberlain or something?
 
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