Environment, Culture, Geopolitics, Oil, Islam, Conflict, and War in the Middle East Region - Essay Example

Environmental studies Environment, culture, geopolitics, oil, Islam, conflict, and war in the Middle East region The course helped me to understand the issues of culture, geopolitics, Islam, war, and conflict in Arab world or Middle East in a rational manner. Initially, I did not understand the main factors and reasons leading to the instability, war, turmoil, and conflict in the Arab world or Middle East. The course has taught to analyze the real intricate nature of the relationship that exists between Israel and the U.S, and how this relationship plays a significant role in the conflict and war in Middle East especially Iraq and the Palestinian cases. In addition, the course has helped to ward off my ignorance about the environment, culture, geopolitics, oil, Islam, conflict and war in the Middle East region. From the course, I learned the importance of global significance of the Middle East to the entire world. The Arab world has a significant value at political, cultural, economic, and religious levels domestically, regionally and internationally. The significance of religion in the region centers on the fact that it is perceived to be the original place of single or monotheistic Islam (Mohamed n.d). There is changing nature of geopolitics in the Middle East or Arab world in the sense that the impact of Iranian and Turkish rapprochement will make the Middle East nations to experience pressure from Iran and worsen the situation in Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. These complexities and pressure may have been exacerbated by the U.S president’s recent moves. Combined, the nightmare in the Middle East has been redoubled. The United Arabs Emirates, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia form an effective political bloc in the Middle East. These countries would soon come up with a single currency for the Gulf countries thus isolating certain Middle East countries such as Iran, Palestine, and Kuwait. Israel has isolated itself and formed a formidable relation with the U.S. For instance, I learned that currently, both Israel and the U.S. clearly expressed their goal to control their competitors economically throughout the next 10 years. Furthermore, California is currently a laboratory for energy research and development led by Israel such as the Bright source Company energy. It is vital to note that the U.S. support to Israel is destroying the country. The U.S. is been supporting Israel financially when its own internal economy is weak or struggling (Wright 78). Issues and problems in the Middle East The main issues and problems in the Middle East are the water crisis, war or conflict and dictatorship. In countries of Middle East, water shortage is a common problem. For example, in Jordan ‘the drying of streams has led to the lowering of water levels across the country. The water scarcity or shortage in the Middle East has been attributed to the extremely dry climate and the rapid economic development of the country supported the increase of population, which, in its turn, led to the increase of need for water (Wright 89). Water has an additional economic aspect in countries that have scarce water resources. Due to this, the Arab world or Middle East import water for both agricultural and domestic use. This is costly because under certain circumstances, the needs surpass the availability of the resources. The above issue is of critical importance if taking into consideration the fact that the needs for water tend to be increased in countries where the rate of increase of population is high; in Middle East countries such trends have been reported the last decade. For example, the population of Abu Dhabi ‘has been increased with an annual rate of 6.5% since 1975. In addition, in Jordan, a key member of the Arab league or Middle East, the needs for water supply are expected continuously increase for the next 27 years. The crisis of water in the Arab world or Middle East has been worsened by the deteriorating quality of water in recent years. The utilization of water for industrial, agricultural, domestic and in salt extraction purposes leads pollution McConnell and Bremer (67-69). Additionally, the course helped me to understand that another cause of friction in Middle East is Zionism. Zionism is the Jewish nationalism maintained and sustained by violence. It became serious in the region about hundred years ago, inspired by breakup of the Ottoman Empire, and conflicted with the British promises of giving Zionists a land in Palestine. Apart from the Zionist issue, there is also conflict and war in the region in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. The U.S invaded Iraq and Afghanistan with the argument that these countries were developing weapons of mass destruction. The invasion led to persistent turmoil and instability in these countries. Additionally, since the U.S invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan, these countries have never realized peace. According to Senator Joseph Biden, the U.S has to move in stages in partitioning Iraq. This is because of the hostility of the Shiites in the South, the Kurds in the North and the Sunnis in the Centre (McConnell and Bremer 78). How to promote a positive relationship between the American people and the peoples of the Middle East It is clear that the U.S. has not benefited or interest for dominating any country in the region. Instead, the U.S. as a nation is acting only out of loyalty and obligation to guard Israel from enemy nations. On the other hand, Israel is the nation that implanted itself by taking over Palestinian territory, because its claim about it for being their promised land. The U.S. is a nation that hosted individuals from all over the globe; it housed millions of people of Jewish decent. It is important to note that not all Jewish people are Zionists or Neoconservatives, but most Jewish people would endorse their home nation over any other country in the region. In my views, as Muslims and Arabs, we require to have a strategic plan to resolve the disagreement situation in the Middle East. We already understand that the U.S. is focused to support Israel even if that negatively influences the U.S. We are aware that the factual reason for the war against Iraq was to guard Israel. With all this information, the Middle East requires to focus on developing its countries rather than engaging in unfounded and unjustifiable wars. They need to reach a point in which the world will respect them (Lust 79-82). Every Arab nation need to become politically active in the UN to raise the voice of justice and demonstrate to the world what Israel is doing to Palestine. In conclusion, I think Arabs and Muslims need to call for a close partnership with the U.S. in order to edge the destruction in the regions. The Arabs need to stay unified and incorporate the European Union in the negotiation process as this might bring a peaceful change. The people of Iraq need stability and dignity. It is the duty of the Middle East to ensure that Palestine is peaceful. The U.S should find a political solution and avoid siding with certain Middle East countries. This in turn will create a positive and peaceful relationship between the Middle East and the U.S. Bibliography Kliot, Nickson. Water Resources and Conflict in the Middle East. London: Routledge, 2013. Lust, Ellen. The Middle East. New York: CQ Press, 2013. Mohamed, Elyassini, “Global Geopolitics of the Middle East” (PowerPoint presentation slide 23), ENVI-423-301, Terre Haute, IN, summer 1 2013. McConnell, Malcolm and Bremer, Paul. My year in Iraq: The Struggle to build a future of hope. Washington, D.C, Simon & Schuster, 2006. Wright, Steven. The United States and Persian Gulf Security: The Foundations of the War on Terror. New York: Ithaca Press, 2007. Read More