09-11-2020, 10:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-11-2020, 10:43 PM by Bob Butler 54.)
The Israel Bahrain treaty reflects how the clash dominating the Middle East area is not Israel vs Arab, but Iran vs Saudi Arabia. It may well be that the interest of the Palestinians are still leaning to the old days, but the new conflict is between an Agricultural Age religious perspective and an Industrial Age colonial perspective that is much more comfortable making profits on oil and dealing with the West.
There is a question is how the leaders will profit from conflict. The dominance of insurgent proxy wars is moving towards the local population determining who is in control. Loyalty to the various religions is part of it, as well as who which area before the Europeans scrambled the borders. Autocratic leaders attempting to keep their positions is part of it. People kept in power and riches by established colonial era borders and oil profits is part of it. The West caring about who takes ‘terrorism’ abroad rather than the local issues is part of it. The affinity of the Trump administration not for traditional allies but towards Russia’s interests are part of it.
Even the European way of making war by infantry standing and fighting as opposed to the Arab tradition of cavalry is part of it. Israel would stand and fight while the herders - cavalry men of the Arabs were into a fast maneuver style of war. Their war culture was based on horse archers. It seemed obvious to them that if they were taking casualties they were doing something wrong. Thus they would retreat. When confronted by Israel with the European habit of standing their ground, they were at a disadvantage that may or may not still exist.
There is a lot more to the Middle East than bunches of people not liking each other and starting a fight. I am not part of any of the idealistic loyalties to religion, tribe or ideology. I do not care what tribe as traditionally dominated a particular plot of land. That leaves me looking at war as a racket, asking how the leaders will want to use violence to increase their power and profit. That occurs a lot less than people not liking each other. In a time of proxy insurgent war, direct use of violence to take some land over is rather hard. It results in a different perspective than Generational Dynamics obsession with xenophobia resulting in a simplistic one dimensional and dated perspective.
There is a question is how the leaders will profit from conflict. The dominance of insurgent proxy wars is moving towards the local population determining who is in control. Loyalty to the various religions is part of it, as well as who which area before the Europeans scrambled the borders. Autocratic leaders attempting to keep their positions is part of it. People kept in power and riches by established colonial era borders and oil profits is part of it. The West caring about who takes ‘terrorism’ abroad rather than the local issues is part of it. The affinity of the Trump administration not for traditional allies but towards Russia’s interests are part of it.
Even the European way of making war by infantry standing and fighting as opposed to the Arab tradition of cavalry is part of it. Israel would stand and fight while the herders - cavalry men of the Arabs were into a fast maneuver style of war. Their war culture was based on horse archers. It seemed obvious to them that if they were taking casualties they were doing something wrong. Thus they would retreat. When confronted by Israel with the European habit of standing their ground, they were at a disadvantage that may or may not still exist.
There is a lot more to the Middle East than bunches of people not liking each other and starting a fight. I am not part of any of the idealistic loyalties to religion, tribe or ideology. I do not care what tribe as traditionally dominated a particular plot of land. That leaves me looking at war as a racket, asking how the leaders will want to use violence to increase their power and profit. That occurs a lot less than people not liking each other. In a time of proxy insurgent war, direct use of violence to take some land over is rather hard. It results in a different perspective than Generational Dynamics obsession with xenophobia resulting in a simplistic one dimensional and dated perspective.
That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
