Once Again, Our Failure to Understand the Entire Middle East Is Backfiring

[MineralMan]

Like the rest of western civilization, the United States of America has once again demonstrated that it does not understand the inner working of the entire Middle East at all. We've made that mistake in the past. So did the Soviet Union, and so did the religious morons who went on a Crusade centuries ago.

We do not understand the underlying complexities of that region. Never have. Never will.

That region is home to the very earliest civilizations of mankind. And it has been in a state of constant disputing for its entire history. And that history goes back not just centuries, but millennia.

It's partly a religious thing, partly a tribal thing, and partly a land and resources thing. It's the freaking "cradle of civilization," and there has been fighting between factions and nations throughout its history.

Our government and western governments in the past have consistently let our belief that we are superior in every way to the dusty desert people who inhabit the Middle East. We believe we know what is best for that region because we believe we are simply better at civilization than they are.

So, time after time, we have attempted to force our standards and philosophies on a series of civilizations that predate us and that have tried just about everything to live in a demanding and unforgiving environment. We are the late-comers and they are the ancients. So, people like Donald Trump and others think they can apply western logic and societal norms and insist that the Middle East behave in ways that benefit us. Since we're "superior" to them, we think we should be able to order them around as we see fit.

Problem is that they've seen it all. They've tried it all. And all of it has failed to bring the region together in peace. We can order them to live in peace as much as we want, but we do not understand the dynamics there at all. So, we fail. Again, and again, and again.

We will continue to fail. Trump, being more stupid than most western leaders of power, knows even less, and acts on beliefs that are simply erroneous.

Trump will lose. The Soviets lost. The Romans lost. The Greeks lost. The Byzantine's lost. Everyone who has tried to dictate to that region loses. It is old and set in its ways. Very old. Very set. They don't get along with each other. They sure as Hell aren't going to get along with us. We're just newcomers to civilization. They're veterans of the folly of believing that humankind can just "get along."

Once again, we will lose in this quest to pacify and exploit the Middle East. Won't work.

[Ocelot II]

1. Wasn't Afghanistan once called "the graveyard of empires"?

That description could refer to the entire Middle East.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes, exactly.

And you're right. It does describe the entire region.

If you get familiar with the Old Testament, you can see it all play out, once you know where those old place names are.

[MustLoveBeagles]

3. Medling in that region only makes things worse

[MineralMan]

5. Yes, it does. Always.

The Soviet Union ended because of it. The Ottoman empire disappeared. What remains? The Middle East and its conflicts. Messing with that never works out well.

[fujiyamasan]

4. I agree with the general gist of what you're saying

And it may be pedantic, but Afghanistan isn’t really part of the Middle East. It’s considered South Asia or Central Asia. They’re pretty distinct culturally. It’s like saying Iran is an Arab country.

I know you’re not necessarily saying that, but these are important distinctions and I just want to lay it out there.

Overall though, yes you’re right. The US doesn’t understand the complexities of the region. It’s like when the US invaded Iraq and Bush had no idea of the difference between Shiites and Sunnis. That’s probably one of the most basic concepts.

[MineralMan]

6. You're right, of course.

I'm using the term very broadly. I'm not trying to educate people about the region. There are many resources for that. It's difficult to learn completely. I don't understand all of it, either.

Iran is Persia. And that's just the beginning. Asia, Northern Africa, and more are involved. It's very, very complicated. We don't understand it in the West.

So, we screw around with it at our own risk. You'd think we'd learn.

[Ocelot II]

7. It's pertinent, though, because the various Western attempts at conquest failed at least in part

because they had no clue about the history or culture of the region - it didn't help that the geography is inhospitable; the little-understood tribal politics plus guerrilla warfare in difficult terrain made taking Afghanistan a protracted effort that was expensive and likely to fail.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

8. Surely, Jared the Great has it all under control:

[MineralMan]

9. Oddly enough, he may be the only person in this

situation who sort of understands the reality of the situation.

That does not mean, however, that he has good intent. I suspect the opposite. However, I think he make have a clearer picture of things than Trump does, and certainly more than his official partner on the scene.

Which is also not to say that he isn't trying to give daddy-in-law what he wants, since he will benefit from that as well.