Middle East Subject to Upheavals Because America Is Addicted to War

These recent developments have created new realities for statesmen, soldiers, diplomats, businessmen and intelligence operatives to deal with as best they can, which is not very good:

- The first was the unwise secessionist referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, followed by the abandonment of the Kurds by the Western world including Israel, which clearly were behind this historic blunder and circumstance right from the outset.

- The second was the defeat of the ISIL Caliphate by the allied forces of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Russia, Hezbollah and Popular Mobilization Units that removed the hopes to the United States, Israel and their client states spreading their geo-political sphere of influence through the Levant to the Mediterranean. This also led to the precipitous decline of US influence and the simultaneous rise of Iranian-Russian influence in the region.

- Finally, the astonishing developments in Saudi Arabia.  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is simultaneously consolidating his own branch of the al Saud tribal complex, on the pretext of conducting an anti-corruption campaign resulting in the arrest of dozens of rival princes and businessmen. And now, the reports that the Saudis and company have been effectively defeated in the ongoing war on Yemen. 

The one thing we should know about is the future, but with the new developments, added to the already toxic brew in the Middle East since President Trump’s declaration of Jersualem Al-Quds as Israel’s new capital, prediction is rendered possible:

It's been going on for so many years – America’s endless war, looking for their next victim – with the devastating effect their actions could have had on their victims, which by the way doesn’t really matter at all for the War Party and the Military Industrial Complex. Through the announcement of sending even more US occupying troops to post-ISIL Syria, the permanent was has only spread.

By recognizing Jerusalem Al-Quds as Israel’s capital, by giving the green light to Kurdish proxies to seek secession, by weaponizing Saudi Arabia and allies to destroy and starve Yemen, and by sending yet more occupying troops to Syria, Donald Trump has simply given the US military and the CIA license to launch new wars, to build new bases, and to weaponize wherever they please.

In the process, across the Greater Middle East and parts of Africa, the US has taken out not just terror suspects but civilians in significant numbers, including women and children. The drones, which terrorize the populations under them, have proven to be ferocious assassins, capable of crossing borders without a blink and without respect for national sovereignty, not to speak of remarkable recruitment tools for terror groups.

On this, war has become a habit to which the United States is addicted.  In places like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, US forces have been unable to accomplish their assigned mission, be it fighting terror or regime changing. It’s not exactly a good news story, to put it mildly.  But the United Nations and most of its member states simply don’t care either. They remain studiously indifferent to the charade being played out before their eyes. They continue to allow a free hand to those who preside over those wars, while dismissing with respect the views of America’s victims who persist in fighting back.

Short of using nuclear weapons, expect US forces almost everywhere to be experimenting yet again with just about every approach imaginable: invasion, regime change, occupation, decapitation, counter-terrorism, and counter-insurgency, not to mention various surges.

In truth, the war addicts have quietly shelved any expectations of achieving an actual victory – let alone imposing their will on their victims.  Still, the “new strategy” devised by the Trump White House and Pentagon generals will amount to this: fight longer and shed more blood, settled into a melancholy and seemingly permanent rhythm. But never admit to defeat.