By Mehrdad Damavandi
In the Middle East there are proxy wars, civil wars and the unnecessary deaths of civilians and children. For example, as a result of the civil war in Yemen Save the Children predicted that 50,000 children alone will have died in 2017, and this is only one of several examples I could pick from.
Nevertheless, what the region needs to get close to sorting anything out in the war-torn areas is a diplomatic, calm president. A humble, liberal leader who will not involve himself in the affairs of the Middle East in the aggressive manner which we have been used to, particularly prior to 2009. A person who will be a diplomatic line between the many warring parties in the region (funnily enough this sounds like Barack Obama, but I’ll let the American people be the judge of that). Instead, the region received ‘he who shall not be named’ (refer to my previous article to see why), a nepotistic man who through his decisive yet unenlightened actions has and will only cause more trouble in the region than previous American leaders before him already have.
So one can see how the situation in the Middle East is only going to worsen. To go into more detail, at this moment in time Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting it out for regional hegemony through their own version of the Cold War. This is while the Syrian Civil War will soon enter its seventh year without any indication that it will end anytime soon. Oh and of course, the president has decided to throw another spanner in the works with the wise decision to move America’s embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, in doing so declaring it the state’s capital city, a move which has risked ‘destroying peace hopes of Israelis and Palestinians’.
Past
But how is America actually ruining the Middle East? Well, one could start in 1953 in the way America overthrew the liberal Iranian prime minister Mohammed Mosaddegh, which resulted indirectly in the rise of the anti-American Ayatollah Khomeini, a man who is almost a symbol of how America has intervened in the affairs of the region consistently for its own benefit and has created egregious problems by doing so.
However, I will start in a more modern time and give a whistle stop tour of how America in an incredible 16 years since 9/11 has ruined, and still is ruining, the Middle East.
Ever since the tragedy of 9/11 America has been involved more than ever in the affairs of the Middle East. From operations in Afghanistan to the infamous Iraq War in 2003 to a less involved role in Syria, America has been actively engaged in area. An obvious reason for such involvement is in retaliation against the 9/11 attacks and to destroy Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group who was responsible for them. In addition, amongst those America wanted to dispose of, there was also the Taliban in Afghanistan, a non-state terrorist group who at the time was providing a safe-haven for Al-Qaeda and one of its infamous leaders, Osama Bin Laden.
Yet, the only reason the Taliban formed was due to the United States funding the now terrorist organisation in 1979 as an anti-Soviet proxy group during the Cold War. One can see how the state’s previous historical engagements in the region for its own personal gain have created problems which it decided it just had to fix. But America did what it does best and made the situation worse. Yes, to a certain extent it nullified the threat of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and yes, it did kill Osama Bin Laden later on. Nevertheless, terrorism in the state has risen monumentally ever since and now there is nothing but instability in the country, as in 2016 there were 4,561 deaths from terrorism alone. Considering that the number of deaths due to any type of conflict, including terrorism in the country was a massive ZERO in 2000, one might suggest that America didn’t deal with the undeniable threat they created in the from of the Taliban in the best way possible.
Let us not forget about another failure and absolute disaster in the form of involvement in Iraq. The United States had previously invaded the same country for more credible reasons in 1990 as it felt the need to protect Kuwait (let’s not forget about also protecting its own interests of power just after the Cold War had finished). Nonetheless, America thought it to be a good idea to involve itself in Iraq due to its ‘nuclear capabilities’ in 2003. They did get rid of dictator Saddam Hussein, but along with that they threatened the stability of the whole region. He was a dictator, and his removal was beneficial for the Iraqi people. Yet, due to America’s poor dealing of the situation, failure to create a stable government and incredible ability to make power vacuums in unstable states in the Middle East, the state created the biggest problem the region has faced so far since 9/11.
Yes, you guessed it, ISIS, the most feared terrorist group on the planet, which has launched attacks in states all over the world. ISIS, the monster America indirectly created and now feels a need to nobly rid the world of.
I guess by now one can see the pattern here. America feels the need to fix a problem which it ultimately created, its does an awful job at it and then creates a bigger monster, which its feels the need to fix yet again. It can only get better though under the new president though, right?
Present
Today, one might’ve said the situation was getting better. Under the presidency of that humble, liberal leader in the form of Barack Obama, America had taken a more diplomatic role in the region. Taking a majority of troops out of Afghanistan and forming the Iran Deal offered suggestions that the state which had created so many problems in the region might be learning from their mistakes.
But then again, one must remember that old habits don’t die hard. Ever since Trump’s election there have been fears that the already unstable region is reaching breaking point. The manner in which the administration supports Saudi Arabia almost unconditionally, inevitably antagonizes Saudi Arabia’s regional enemy, Iran. Thus, tensions rise between the two states as Iran will feel threatened which will result in even more proxy wars in the Middle East.
But this is just minor in comparison to his decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, which was probably not the wisest move in the world. We must not forget that the mighty Guatemala has too done the same. The city, important to the three Abrahamic religions, is an important issue and agreements on what happens to the holy city in a potential two-state solution is crucial. Yet, it did not take much time for POTUS to ruin the slim hopes the two states had of making peace deal. The decision Israel almost gave the right to write off any potential peace deal with Palestine.
This will only create more issues in the region as inevitably Hamas has stepped up its attacks since America’s decision. In retaliation, Israel has carried out air strikes on Hamas training compounds in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, with such escalation one cannot rule out another Palestinian intifada and create more instability in the Middle East.
Of course, the rest of the region was not best pleased with the decision, and it has created a more vitriolic atmosphere towards Israel. Iran recently claimed that Jerusalem was the ‘eternal capital’ of Palestine. This is whilst Iraq, after the successful UN resolution to condemn America’s actions at UNGA, claimed that the vote signified “the legitimate and legal right for Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.” Therefore, tensions are only rising between states in the region and one can only see them being exasperated.
Thus, today the situation in the Middle East is worsening. Tensions are rising, war is becoming commonplace, and it’s fair to say America has definitely played its part in creating yet another mess. A mess it will naturally try to solve with only failure and in doing so producing more devastating consequences as a result.
Future
So, as time goes on how will American involvement take shape in the region? At this rate, one might suggest that the region will be the next zone for the next major war between multiple states, so one might hope the country takes a more diplomatic role. Yet, with tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia rising and America doing a great job at ruining any chance of a peace deal being brokered between Israel and Palestine it seems that the state is intent on creating more instability in the region, whether indirectly or not.
But to fix anything, America must stop being so selfish in the region. As interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and other states have shown, it has only left the region in a much worse position and created different monsters from it. Moreover, America must control its new trigger happy president, otherwise the already unstable region will only fall into more war, poverty and unnecessary bloodshed which the most powerful country in the world has already contributed more than enough to.
