Why are we in the middle east?

[Skip Intro]

we are latched onto that part of the world with every tentacle we can spare.

what is the real reason? its been that way for as long as I can remember. israel, iran, syria, iraq, egypt, persian gulf - I remember reagan declaring we have vital interests in the persian gulf. what interests? who are we to declare dominance in another part of the world? what gives us that right over the people who actually live there? it doesn't look humanitarian.


and to take that a step further, is it our presence in those foreign lands (assuming the whole islamofascist boogeyman routine is genuine) that gives birth to radical members of those societies telling us, with bombs, that its not ok for us to be there, in their homelands? that's what their videos say.


are we reaping what we've sown, as we fight for our right to our self-declared power there?

[Liberal In Texas]

1. You must read Greg Palast's "Armed Madhouse"

It pretty much explains why.

And why, if we don't stop it, the 2008 election is already lost.

[pocoloco]

2. Short answer

Israel and oil

[liberal N proud]

4. Bingo

Which is the bigger reason is irrelevant.

[Babsbrain]

3. It all falls into place now

The busheviks had to replace the State Attorney Generals to ensure they were all in lockstep.

Same with world leaders. If you don't play, we'll replace you. By any means necessary.

World Domination.

[question everything]

5. Started with the interest by the Soviet Union

If they were there we were interested, too. During the 50s they had many advisers in Egypt and in Syria, they build the famous Aswan Dam in Egypt.

Then we decided that oil is vital for our interest. It is not as if we did not have our own oil, but once the oil and the automobile companies decided that we each need a personal car - and exerted influence to destroy any infrastructure of public transportation - our dependency on the nations of the Persian Gulf was sealed.

A slight problem though: except for Israel and for Lebanon - most of the time - the nations of the Middle East are not democratic. They are either monarchies or ruled by "strong men" like Hussein, Nasser, Assad and with history of military coups.

So once you decide that you need to protect your vital interests..

As for Israel - it is a great testing ground for our military equipment. You may not like the military complex but Israel and other nations that get foreign aid have to turn back and spend most of it on American-made products and in many cases these are military equipment.

During the Vietnam war - Israel was a place to check Soviet MIG aircraft and tanks, etc.

During last year Lebanon war - we had an opportunity to see how our missiles perform against Iranian made ones.

And then, yes, many of us do feel a strong tie with Israel, the same way that we have traditionally felt with the countries of Western Europe.

Our presence there is a convenient excuse for radical Islam. Or their presence here. Before there was Al Qaeda there were - still is - the Muslim Brotherhood. Their founder, an Egyptian, visited this country in the 50s and got disgusted with the way women behaved, dressed, etc. So he went back to Egypt to start his own brand of Islam that dreams of the glory of Islam in the 10th Century and which demands to dismantle modern Western Civilization.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. Frank Herbert nailed it a long time ago.

"He who controls the spice, controls the universe".

Until we find a better way to power our shit, nothing will change for the better.

[madrchsod]

7. oil , russia/soviet union, and israel

[unkachuck]

8. for money and profit....n/t

[TwilightGardener]

9. Israel, oil, destabilization of the ME to increase price of said oil and to make the

regional sects and tribes fight--they keep each other in check, they stay weak, and the fighting keeps us there as a presence. If a strongman dictator-type took over Iraq, how could we stay and use that country for our bidding? That's why no one gave a shit about diplomacy in Iraq, and why "democracy" is a code word for weak puppet government and broken-down populace that allows us to exert our will. Now we can stay in Iraq and use it as a base to launch shit against Iran.