XPost: soc.culture.kuwait, soc.culture.polish, soc.culture.scottish   
   XPost: soc.culture.turkish   
   From: tartan_army@msn.com   
      
   "Alistair Sim"  wrote in message news:...   
   > The Problems With The Middle East   
   >   
   > It seems no other region is in the headlines or nightly news programs as   
   > much as the Middle East. It is the crucible of civilization, and of   
   > religion. It is World's largest fossil fuel deposit, and recently it has   
   > become the flashpoint of a World wide conflagration.   
   >   
   > One just has to look at any country in the Middle East and their troubles   
   > and strife are apparent.   
   >   
   > Egypt: Decades of political oppression and a tenuous alliance with the   
   > United States. Birth place of the Muslim Brotherhood, an umbrella group   
   > for most Islamic militant groups.   
   >   
   > Sudan: Scene of the World's most recent genocide. A brewing storm on the   
   > horizon as UN troops are poised to enter the country by force if   
   > necessary.   
   >   
   > Ethiopia: A country brought to the World's attention in the 1980's due to   
   > endemic starvation. This once starving country fought a protracted war   
   > against its miniscule neighbour - Eritrea.   
   >   
   > Eritrea: Just over a decade old, the tiny nation state of Eritrea gained   
   > independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting   
   > Sudanese rebels. This young country of 4.5 million people could be   
   > swallowed up by any number of its larger neighbours.   
   >   
   > Somalia: Yet another starving nation on the Horn of Africa. The warlords   
   > of this nation apparently brought the United States military to its knees.   
   > The warlords calculated correctly that the American public did not have an   
   > appetite for war in their post-Cold War bubble.   
   >   
   > Djibouti: A one party dominated authoritarian dictatorship until as   
   > recently as 1999. The old French colonial territory is home to the only US   
   > base in sub-Saharan Africa. This nation of less than half a million people   
   > is one of the major assets in the War on Terror. Potentially a flash point   
   > in the ever widening global conflagration.   
   >   
   > Yemen: A nation founded from two states in 1990, it was the scene of the   
   > USS Cole bombing terrorist attack. This Islamic nation produces a large   
   > number of Islamic terrorists.   
   >   
   > Oman: Quite possibly the most peaceful nation in the Middle East. A   
   > sultanate, Oman maintains a close military and political relationship with   
   > the UK.   
   >   
   > United Arab Emirates: Most recently the UAE has come to the fore because   
   > of the hotly disputed take-over-bid of British firm P&O. The deal would   
   > place the UAE in control of 6 major American ports, including ports across   
   > the Globe. The UAE is a key American ally in the War on Terror. The major   
   > ongoing dispute concerning the UAE is with Iran's occupation of it's   
   > northern islands.   
   >   
   > Saudi Arabia: The birth place of Wahabi Islam, Saudi Arabia is also the   
   > birth place of Osama Bin Laden. The nation enjoys extremely close ties   
   > with the United States, and in particular the Bush family. The Saudi's are   
   > fighting an internal struggle against Islamic militants who protest the   
   > presence of Americans in the Middle East.   
   >   
   > Jordan: Jordan holds the largest border with Israel and in 1994 signed a   
   > peace treaty with the Jewish state. Home to over 1.7 million Palestinian   
   > refugees, Jordan holds a large stake in the Mid-East peace process. Jordan   
   > was a member of the pan-Arab forces that attacked Israel in 1967.   
   >   
   > Israel: Quite arguably the focus point of Western interest in the entirety   
   > of Middle Eastern conflict. The partition of the Palestinian mandate into   
   > Jewish and Arab states was created by a UN assembly vote in 1947. A   
   > negotiated peace treaty between Israel and the rest of the Middle East,   
   > including the creation of Palestine, would be the single biggest blow to   
   > militant Islam.   
   >   
   > Iraq: The once US-backed nation of Iraq fought a protracted war against   
   > Iran in the late 1980's. It's long-time dictator, Saddam Hussein, was   
   > deposed in an American-led invasion force in 2003. The nation now stands   
   > on the precipice of civil war as Sunni and Shiah muslims vie for control   
   > of the fledgling Iraqi government. Second only to Israel as the biggest   
   > source of Islamic militant anger.   
   >   
   > Syria: Syria was recently forced to remove its stranglehold over Lebanese   
   > government and security. Syria moved into Lebanon in 1976 to prevent   
   > Palestinian forces from overthrowing the Maronites. Syrian officials have   
   > been accused of assassinating the popular ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik   
   > Hariri. Syria has signed a mutual defence pact with Iran.   
   >   
   > Lebanon: The scene of much conflict in the latter decades of the 20th   
   > century. Lebanon was twice invaded by Israel who were aiming to remove the   
   > PLO's presence in the fractured nation. Syria held sway in Lebanon until   
   > 2005 via its domination of Lebanese puppet governments loyal to Syria.   
   >   
   > Iran: Animosity between Iran and the United States harks back to the   
   > Iranian revolution and the American support for the deposed Shah (king) of   
   > Iran. America's denial of Iranian requests to hand over the Shah who fled   
   > there sparked the Iranian Embassy hostage crisis.   
   >   
   > Another hostage crisis tied to Iran, this time in Lebanon, nearly brought   
   > about the collapse of the Reagan Administration. The Iran-Contra affair   
   > had the Reagan administration selling arms to Iran to secure the release   
   > of American hostages. However the sales of weapons to Iran began before   
   > the hostages were taken and continued until after their release.   
   >   
   > Iran has come to the fore recently due to its nuclear enrichment   
   > programme. The process of nuclear fuel enrichment is expressly provided   
   > for under the NPT, which it signed, but due to the history of animosity   
   > between the US and Iran the United States protests this nuclear   
   > enrichment. The United States asserts that the Iranians are aiming for   
   > nuclear weapons and that they should not be allowed to enrich uranium.   
   >   
   > Turkey: The only muslim nation to be included in the EU if accession talks   
   > are successful. Turkey is held up by the West as the role model for how   
   > muslim nations should be run. A prosperous nation with a secular   
   > government, Turkey is the darling of Europe. Turkey however is fighting   
   > against Kurdish militants who are seeking to create a Kurdish state which   
   > would span Turkish and Iraqi territory. This rebel presence was the main   
   > opposition point of Turkish involvement in the 2003 Iraq invasion.   
   >   
   > The interplay between the nations of the Middle East has far reaching   
   > consequences. One only has to look at the effects the Iranian oil shock   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)