Monday, May 18, 2015

Jeff Faux — Why Are We in the Middle East?

Consider just one of the head-spinning subplots: We are allied with our declared enemy, Iran, against the bloody Islamic State, which was spawned from the chaos created by our own earlier decisions to invade Iraq and to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria, which has us fighting side-by-side with jihadist crazies financed by Saudi Arabia, whom we are supporting against the Houthis in Yemen, the bitter rivals of Al Qaeda -- the perpetrators of 9/11!
Since 1980, we have invaded, occupied and/or bombed at least 14 different Muslim countries. After the sacrifice of thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars, the region is now a cauldron of death and destruction. Yet, we persist, with no end in sight. As a former Air Force General Charles F. Wald remarked told the Washington Post, "We're not going to see an end to this in our lifetime."
Why are we in the Middle East? The oil? If its' oil, it's pretty expensive oil. Or is it just endless war to feed the military-industrial complex that furnished the military Keynesian that the US economy and political class have become dependent on?
When pressed for more specifics, our governing class offers four rationales for this endless war: 
  1. Fighting terrorism
  2. Containing Iran 
  3. Securing oil 
  4. Defending Israel.
But when the citizen in whose vital interest the war is supposedly being fought takes a close look, he/she will find that none of these arguments -- or all of them together -- justifies the terrible cost, or even makes much sense....
Common Dreams
Why Are We in the Middle East?
Jeff Faux

1 comment:

John said...

"Why are we in the Middle East? The oil? If its' oil, it's pretty expensive oil."

1. No matter how expensive it gets, presumably it's more expensive for your economic competitors.

It's a lever on world power. State Department and Pentagon declassified documents spell this out again and again.

2. Furthermore, as long as the petrodoallars are recycled through Wall Street and the US aerospace and military corporations, is there such a thing as too expensive but still within an acceptable range that doesn't send the world economy into depression?

3. On the other hand the price of oil may well be cheap. Imagine how expensive the oil would be if Washington-backed dictators didn't keep it at a price that made Washington happy.

"Fighting terrorism?"

4. US policy causes terrorism. If Washington wanted to fight terrorism, it could do so easily. Stop what it's doing.

5. "Containing Iran?"

Iran isn't a threat to anyone. Recent US and Israeli intelligence leaks spell this out in embarrassing detail, not that the US media noticed.

"Defending Israel?"

6. Again, if the US wanted to defend Israel it would stop Israel's mad rush to national suicide. The US will soon forget about Israel once the oil runs out, by which time Israel's deranged policies will have ensured permanent war with its neighbours. Once Israel no longer serves its function as spearcarrier and proxy for Washington's increasingly dysfunctional foreign policy, it can be wiped off the map for all Washington cares. That's why the neocon-Likudnik policies are so dangerous for Israel. Washington won't ride shotgun in Israel's never ending state terrorism and colonialism. Washington will have its hands full with its "pivot to Asia".