The Middle East - Global Issues

The Middle East - Global Issues
by Anup Shah

Oil. That is what the modern Middle Eastern geopolitics have usually been about. Given the vast energy resources that form the backbone of western economies, influence and involvement in the Middle East has been of paramount importance for the former and current imperial and super powers, including France, Britain, USA and the former Soviet Union.

Prior to the discovery of oil, the region has been a hotbed for religious conflict, and wars over other rich resources and arable land....

A 1300 Year Struggle for Control of Resources
With kind permission from J.W. Smith and the Institute for Economic Democracy, part of chapter 14 from the book, The World's Wasted Wealth II, (Institute for Economic Democracy, 1994) has been reproduced here. It looks back at the last 1300 years of struggle over control of resources in the Middle East to give some context to various events in recent history. Read the excerpt.

Control of Resources; Supporting Dictators, Rise of Terrorism
After the Second World War, with former Imperial Europe weakened, countries around the world had a chance to break for their freedom away from colonial rule. This struggle for freedom and the Cold War had a geopolitical impact on the Middle East. Control of resources and access to oil became paramount, to the extent that dictators and human rights abusers were supported. Within this backdrop, we see another complex reason for the rise of terrorism and extremism. Find out more.

The Iraq Crisis
Madeline Albright, then US Secretary of State, was asked on US television if she thought that the death of half a million Iraqi children from sanctions in Iraq was a price worth paying, Albright replied: "This is a very hard choice, but we think the price is worth it."
Sadam Hussein, a brutal dictator whom the West supported until he overstepped his bounds (and Kuwait's), had been largely unaffected by the (US/UK-enforced) UN sanctions that were responsible for over one million deaths since the Gulf War ended.
Hardly reported by the mainstream, Iraq was bombed almost daily at some points during the sanctions. Medical supplies were denied for fears that they could be used for chemical or biological weapons.
Yet the sanctions themselves have been described as weapons of mass destruction.
Even though members of the US administrations had admitted that Saddam Hussein had been contained and was no longer a threat, in 2002 and 2003, US president George Bush and UK Prime Minister attempted to convince the world that Iraq was a threat to the world, and a mostly unpopular and illegal war (for not having United Nations authorization) was waged.
Around the world protests were immense. Saddam Hussein was eventually toppled though, but the aftermath has led to insecurity in Iraq while fears of geopolitical interests by the US and UK for the war are coming to the surface. Furthermore, the justifications used by the U.S. and U.K. for war are proving false, leading to implications of war crimes. Find out more.

Palestine and Israel
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is perhaps one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East. From the religious backdrops (the region being centers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam) to the regional ally for the US that Israel is, the Palestinian people have been denied a right to their land. Recent events have destroyed the "peace" processes and extremist sentiments on both sides are on the rise again. The US mainstream media provides a very biased view of Palestinians. Yasser Arafat and other Arab leaders too are criticized for not truly representing their people. The West have heavily armed and backed the mighty Israel. To the West, Israel is an ally only because of the oil interests in the Middle East region. Find out more.

The "Threat" of Islam
Often when Islam is mentioned negative impressions of fundamentalists, intolerance and terrorism is conjured up; Islamist movements and organizations are automatically linked with terrorism and is blamed for the lack of progress in the Middle East peace process. Islam is stereotyped as a threat to democracy without distinguishing it from terrorism or corrupt leaders who use the ideals of Islam to their own ends. Find out more.

The Strikes against Afghanistan and Sudan
When US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed, the US retaliated by bombing two sites suspected of being involved in the appalling bombing which cost the lives of many innocent people. Eight months after the bombing, the US quietly admitted it made a mistake. Find out more.

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