Contemplating the Middle East

What a mess we have made in Mesopotamia. Moderate Islamic states are moving toward theocracy and Israel finds herself isolated, a tiny blue island in a sea of green.

Lets consider how we got to this point, shall we?

Things were cruising along pretty smooth until the late 1800's, when some British geologists discovered that the dinosaurs had chosen to lay down and die in the current middle east.

Prior to the oil rush of the turn of the century, Emirates fought over scarce resources and kept the population down, and everyone else just pretty much left them to their own tribal customs because, well, who the hell cared? After 1250 AD anyway. Christendom cared when Islam was young, to the point of sending children into battle to "defend" it. (see the Children's Crusades.) That pretty much turned the tide of public opinion against the blue-eyed infidels at home, and the crusades came to an ignomonious end.

And except for the trade routes through Persia, the middle east was pretty much ignored by the western world for several hundred years. Until oil was discovered. And the west had a wet dream when they realized just how much oil was there. There, under all that sand, was the fuel for the economic engine that had been sitting in the garage for the last 50 years.

And the race was on. Who could meddle first, best, and most effectively? Who could screw the natives the hardest? At that point, BP and the rest of the crown was the focus of Arab and Persian hatred, and remained so until the UN forced the state of Israel down their throats at US insistence, and then installed the Shah in Iran. The Shah was at best a feckless thug, but he was our feckless thug, and we propped him up as long as we could, until his dictatorship fell under the weight of a popular uprising.

A lot of the meddling done by western (oil) interests in the Arab world prior to 1979 was done with mostly covert, sometimes overt, assistance from Iran/Persia. In spite of being conquered and Islamized by the arabs, the Persians retained their culture and their language, and if you have ever enjoyed a truly fine Shiraz, thank them. Read your Omar Khayam for a primer on Persian culture. I won't get into the whole "Ketman" thing - I just want to make sure that Persia, unique, beautiful, and non-arabic gets her due. Persian culture prevails in the face of the mullahs. The women make an erotic art of following the letter of the law while bitch-slapping the spirit of it.

Whenever I am involved in a discussion of middle eastern issues, inevitably I am asked the following: If the US at that time were so overwhelming concerned with securing Arab oil, why go to all that effort to plainly antagonize them?"

The Turks have a saying that covers this question nicely: Ofke ile kalkan zararla oturur. Translated, that means "He who rises in anger, sits down at a loss." Keeping someone in a constant state of aggravation is it's own victory in warfare. Never allowing a moments peace. That takes it's toll...(Ask Israel if you don't believe me.)

Anyway, that is my take on it - I'm no historian, but I have lived outside the United States and read a book or two.