Middle East Strategy

As the fighting continues between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza Strip I have been reading and listening to various commentaries on the crisis and have noted that this current crisis could have far more reaching effects than I originally thought.

Several commentators are of the opinion that Iran is behind the current Hamas rocket attacks on Israel and that soon Hezbollah will begin attacking from Lebanon, forcing Israel to fight on two fronts. More disturbing are concerns that both Hamas and Hezbollah are going to increase their activities against the Egyptian government, with the intention of hopefully collapsing that government and putting Egypt in the position where a theocracy could take power, much like that currently in Iran. With two strong theocracies at the northern and southern ends of the Middle East, the spread of Islam Fundamentalism could spread rapidly into Jordan, Syria, and once the USA withdrawals, into Iraq.

That would leave Saudi Arabia - which I believe is headed for a civil war within the the next five years -, Lebanon - which could go anyway at anytime - and Israel - fighting opposition on all sides.

When viewed in this light it is obvious that peace in the Middle East is highly unlikely, especially with extremist from both sides calling the shots. Since I do not see radicals being replaced by moderates anytime in the near future, I fear that the USA is going to be sucked into providing aid in one form or other for decades to come in the Middle East.

We as a country are going to need to seriously decide just how large a commitment we can make, what we can afford, and what good we can actually make.

It is sad to admit that many of our commitments in that region are oil based, not human based.
True, we have supported Israel for decades, but how much of that commitment is based on the fact that we need an ally where we can base troops if things get out of hand in Saudi Arabia and Iraq?

I mention our oil based commitments because of the violence currently taking place in Uganda and the Congo. Hundreds are dying, but no troops are being sent because the atrocities are not being committed by "terrorists" just crazed rebels. And of course there is no financial gain to be made, no natural resources the USA needs are being threatened, so we will sit back and watch things play out.

As 2008 comes to a close it is sad to see that the world continues to be run by greed and terror, rather than love and concern. When will people be willing to make a commitment for the good of all, rather than their own personal good?

If you reflex on the teachings of all of the major religions, the key to all of them is good works, peace and freedom to worship. Too bad that none of the nations who supposedly embrace these religious traditions actually practice what they preach.

Starting with 2009, we the people need to do what we can to force our governmental officials to live up to a code of honor and justice for all. We have to have the courage to speak out against injustice and call people to task when they fail in their duties to serve the people of our country. No longer can we afford to sit back and grumble among ourselves, we need to make our voices heard.

We will have to be patient, not get discouraged, and realize that some change will probably not happen within our life time. However, if we can inspire others by our example, one day we can be assured that this country will be ruled, if not perfectly, with a goal of commitment to the common good, rather than the individual.

Its Common Sense!