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[branford]

66. I never served in the army, but I agree with many of your points. (Go, Army!)

Last edited Tue Aug 6, 2013, 03:27 PM - Edit history (1)

You raise many pertinent points, particularly about natural gas and evolving energy politics in the Mideast.

I do object to your stressing Israel as a primary reason for our forces and involvement in the region. Our relationship with Israel no doubt is a factor, but in recent years I believe it has substantially diminished and is overshadowed by other concerns.

The Mideast is violent and unstable. Conflict in the region is bad for everyone, including the United States. However, recent instability is totally unrelated to either Israel or the Palestinian conflict. The Arab Spring, Libya, Syria and now Egypt are primarily sectarian and religious conflicts unrelated to Israel or American support thereof. These conflicts nevertheless have significant domestic and international (primarily economic and security) repercussions that must dealt with effectively. That is the reason that Europe has also now chosen to significantly increase their regional involvement (also their lack of energy resources and souring relations with Russia).

Additionally, even though American reliance on Mideast oil has vastly diminished (I believe we now even export and have always primarily relied on Canadian and Mexican oil), the overall worldwide demand for Mideast energy resources is increasing, particularly as the third-world industrializes. China and the rest of Asia are certainly interested in Mideast oil and politics, and realpolitk demands no less of us, lest we be left behind the curve.