Having worked in or traveled to every country in the “Cradle of Civilization” Middle East, what I best remember and cherish most was the generous warm hospitality and opportunity to make lasting friendships, especially with the students I taught. As an avid fan of ancient Greco-Roman architecture and archaeological wonders, dominant impressions of the varied region include the Pyramids of Giza and Abu Simbel in Egypt, Hagia Sophia and Ephesus in Turkey, Baalbek and the cedars of Lebanon, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Dome of the Rock and Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Madaba and Petra in Jordan and Palmyra and Aleppo in Syria. Now, following the nightly news and watching the devastating regional destruction has undermined my naive faith in less than civilized humankind. All 6 of Syria’s World Heritage Sites were damaged during the very uncivil Syrian War. In Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, the Minaret of the Great Mosque was destroyed in fighting and the central Citadel, built in the 12th Century was shelled, occupied and artifacts looted by army or rebel militia occupiers. Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, has lost its precious image status and endangered Palmyra, Syria’s once proud millennia-old oasis city is on the verge of vanishing. According to the U.N., more than 2 million Syrians have fled their homeland and are now registered as unwanted and unwelcome refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Iragi Kurdistan, placing an overwhelming burden on scarce resources, infrastructure, economies and education. About half of those forced to leave are children, three-quarters of them under 11. Another 4.25 million have been displaced within Syria in this tragic sectarian strife between the majority Sunni population and the Alawite Muslims and sordid others. More than 100,000 people are said to have died since the uprising against the Syrian president began in March 2011. Before World War I, the West was largely unfamiliar with and disinterested in the Middle East, but in the past hundred years it has become the world’s most volatile hot spot – a tinder box waiting to ignite spitfire tribal, sectarian, nationalistic or cross-cultural strife. 4 nations remain at the forefront of conflict, making the peace process a political minefield. Iran was home of the Persian Empire and once had peaceful nuclear program ambitions with western cooperation under the Shah before the Islamic revolution. Today Israel regards Iran as its archenemy nemesis and most threatening adversary. In Afghanistan, dubbed “the graveyard of empires”, NATO’s uphill operation against the Taliban and al-Qaeda has dragged on for over a decade and the border with Pakistan, infiltrated with jihadists, is one of our dysfunctional planet’s most tense and dangerous trouble-spots. From Israel and Lebanon to Iran and Iraq, the convoluted region suffers from a history of turbulence, violence and political intrigue, with local religious sects battling for territorial control while foreign powers vie for influential vested interest domination. In order to ensure regional superiority alongside Israel, republican neo-cons developed a geo-strategic plan called “A Clan Break” in 1996 to “construct chaos”, lay waste Iraq, neutralize Syria and ultimately destroy all existing national states, known for many years as the Bernard Lewis plan to brazenly redraw the New Middle East, using underhanded divide and conquer tactics to foment sectarian strife and bring the simmering pot to boil. The aim would be for NATO to feel free to seize whatever global assets they covet and deem important for the future – oil, natural gas, water, access to ports, etc. Humanitarian variables and needs to assist the poor (poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, alleviating corruption) would be cavalierly ignored. We’re not that stupid, or are we?! Charles Frederickson No Holds Bard
Posted on: Mon, 09 Sep 2013 03:18:47 +0000
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