Trouble in the Muddle East, again

[bob10]

Hope they keep cool heads, Bob


Convoy of Iranian Ships Parked in Arabian Sea, U.S. Officials Say - NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/convoy-iranian-ships-parked-arabian-sea-u-s-officials-say-n345451)

[Pickles2]

Good pick up.
Personally, I can't keep up with Who's fighting Who, in the Middle East.
I didn't think the Iranians would want to have any more additional issues with the U.S. at the moment, with the prospect of having sanctions lifted.
In fact, I'm sure I've read that in one of the "conflicts" (there are so many), the Iranians & the U.S. were fighting against the same "enemy", whoever that is?
Very complex, Pickles.

[jimr1]

Bob as I watch the news that is coming out of the middle east , week after week . Year after year . It's not just one country It's right across the middle east . There is so much death and destruction , peoples lives destroyed , Homes and businesses lost . There doesn't even seem to be any light at the end of any of It !!.. Jim

[bob10]

Yeah Jim, me either. I don't mind if they keep the fight between themselves. Somehow, we always seem to get involved. Bob

[jimr1]

Yeah Jim, me either. I don't mind if they keep the fight between themselves. Somehow, we always seem to get involved. Bob
Bob I can't see these token forces , that different country's send being a solution . But in saying that I can't see a solution . I'm buggered if anyone can . The thing is if anything It's getting worse .The only winners are the arms dealers !!..

[Ausfree]

Bob I can't see these token forces , that different country's send being a solution . But in saying that I can't see a solution . I'm buggered if anyone can . The thing is if anything It's getting worse .The only winners are the arms dealers !!..

Bingo!!!!!

[DiscoMick]

Good pick up.
Personally, I can't keep up with Who's fighting Who, in the Middle East.
I didn't think the Iranians would want to have any more additional issues with the U.S. at the moment, with the prospect of having sanctions lifted.
In fact, I'm sure I've read that in one of the "conflicts" (there are so many), the Iranians & the U.S. were fighting against the same "enemy", whoever that is?
Very complex, Pickles.

That's Iranian-supported forces helping the Iraqi Government, the Kurds, the US and us to fight IS.
Meanwhile the opposite is true in Yemen with the US, Saudis and others bombing the Houthi rebels in Yemen who are supported by Iran.
Iran and Russia also support the Assad regime in Syria which is being opposed by IS and other rebels.


Iran and Saudi Arabia are competing for influence in the region. Its a quagmire. We should be very wary about getting dragged into it.

[Pickles2]

Good info there Disco.
What is it with these guys?
Will things ever "settle down"? Every year things appear to be getting worse?
Who do we "support" in Syria?
Thanks, Pickles.

[bob10]

Check this out, Monty Python could not have a better script, Bob


Who is fighting whom in the Middle East as of January 2015? - Quora (http://www.quora.com/Middle-East/Who-is-fighting-whom-in-the-Middle-East-as-of-January-2015)

[DiscoMick]

Good info there Disco.
What is it with these guys?
Will things ever "settle down"? Every year things appear to be getting worse?
Who do we "support" in Syria?
Thanks, Pickles.


So far we've been smart and not supported anyone in Syria, which is a good thing as both Assad and IS are very dangerous, while the moderate poor old ordinary Syrians who just want to be free have been flogged by everyone else and most have racked off to refugee camps in Lebanon, since Syria is now just a war zone. Similar situation in Libya, which now has two rival governments and is in chaos.
Its no wonder so many people just want to get away and escape by boat to safety in Europe.

[jimr1]

Check this out, Monty Python could not have a better script, Bob


Who is fighting whom in the Middle East as of January 2015? - Quora (http://www.quora.com/Middle-East/Who-is-fighting-whom-in-the-Middle-East-as-of-January-2015)
After reading this , I used to think I was confused ! Now I know I am . Jim..:D:D

[DiscoMick]

After reading this , I used to think I was confused ! Now I know I am . Jim..:D:D


That was a good read.
What a mess! Can you imagine what a diagram of that would look like - there would be lines going everywhere.

[Pickles2]

Check this out, Monty Python could not have a better script, Bob


Who is fighting whom in the Middle East as of January 2015? - Quora (http://www.quora.com/Middle-East/Who-is-fighting-whom-in-the-Middle-East-as-of-January-2015)

It would be funny if it wasn't so serious.
Like I said, I can't work out who's fighting who,..still can't.
But, at least I know that others are confused as well.
I can't see how such a complex situation will ever be resolved.
Pickles.

[DiscoMick]

It would be funny if it wasn't so serious.
Like I said, I can't work out who's fighting who,..still can't.
But, at least I know that others are confused as well.
I can't see how such a complex situation will ever be resolved.
Pickles.

It certainly won't be solved by the West blundering in and taking sides, as we've been doing for most of the last century.
For example, Bush's invasion of Iraq drove out a mainly Sunni majority government led by that monster Saddam and replaced it with a Shia government supported by Iran. Iran, which had fought a bloody war with Saddam, was very happy to make sure his Sunnis lost power.
Some of the displaced Sunnis moved north to their tribal homelands and the more extreme ones have joined IS as a way of carving out their own state crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border.
So, you could argue that our invasion of Iraq created the conditions which resulted in the formation of IS. Talking about shooting ourselves in the foot.
Now the Shia Iraqi Government is so weak we have to go back and try to prop it up, so the millions of deaths and billions of dollars were not wasted.
Its no wonder some people say it would have been better if we had never invaded Iraq.

[Pickles2]

Mate, sometimes ya just have to "take sides",...it's happened right through history.
West "blundering in",...I know & agree with what you say, but hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?
However, I agree with the thrust of your post.
Pickles.

[jimr1]

I think that what's happened in Iraq , and getting rid of Saddam Husein , has become a total mess . Then they got rid of Colonel Gadaffi and the same mess is now in Libya . The western nations employee all these advisors , probably at great cost to there tax payers . Yet have got It so wrong . The sad thing is there mistakes cost the lives of thousands of innocent people . Yet there never held to account !!.. Jim

[bob10]

The beginning of the mess, the Sykes / Picot agreement, Bob


Why border lines drawn with a ruler in WW1 still rock the Middle East - BBC News (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25299553)

[bob10]

If you have the interest & the attention span, check this out, Bob


BBC Radio 4 - The Making of the Modern Arab World - Episode guide (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03m359l/episodes/guide)

[DiscoMick]

I think that what's happened in Iraq , and getting rid of Saddam Husein , has become a total mess . Then they got rid of Colonel Gadaffi and the same mess is now in Libya . The western nations employee all these advisors , probably at great cost to there tax payers . Yet have got It so wrong . The sad thing is there mistakes cost the lives of thousands of innocent people . Yet there never held to account !!.. Jim

In Iraq they made the mistake of sacking thousands of people and dismantling the apparatus of government, which just caused chaos. They're still trying to repair the damage.
The British and Romans were smarter as colonial rulers - they just replaced the top person with one who would do what they wanted and left the state apparatus largely unchanged.