Causes and Solutions of the US and the Middle East Conflict - Essay Example

? 21st November Causes and Solutions of the US and Middle East Conflict One of the major components that have formed the geopolitics of Middle East is oil issue. Based on the vast energy resources that have transformed the economies of Middle East countries, current super powers as well as former colonizers have been involved in the politics of the region with an aim of controlling the oil industry. It is worth noting that even before the discovery of oil Middle East had faced religious conflicts and regular wars over other resources that included land and other minerals. Before the Second World War, the relationship between US and Middle East was positive. Unlike Britain and France, the major European powers, the US were highly recognized by Middle East as a good country with good people. Some of the key factors that improved US image in the eyes of the Middle East countries include the introduction of up-to-date medicine initiatives in the region, establishment of educational institutions, and provision of qualified petroleum engineers. As a result of the contributions of the US made in Middle East, the two regions had a strong connection prior to the Second World War. However, in the recent past, the two regions had a negative relationship that had triggered political unrest. This paper seeks to analyze the causes and solutions of the conflicts between Middle East and US. Even though Arabs and Israel have been involved in conflicts for a long period of time, the vested interest of the foreign countries, also referred to as foreign elite, has triggered the violence that led to large number of deaths in the Middle East countries. In addition to the US, China, Britain, Germany and Russia have also focused at controlling the oil in the Middle East countries. It is worth noting that as long as the foreign elite continue to be involved in the Middle East politics, the conflicts will remain unresolved. Reiter (19) depicts that Israeli Jews view Palestinian Arabs as their worst enemies and vice versa. Unfortunately, they do not realize the role of the US and other powerful countries in the politics of their regions. According to the Muslims, the US have taken the place of the old Western colonialists that deprived the Middle East citizens their political right and right to control their natural resources. According to the Arab countries, US is the major cause of the conflict based on its political suppression, occupation of native land, military invasion as well as continued support of Israel on its political suppression against Palestine (Wu Sike 15). Additionally, Middle East countries argue that the US have negatively affected the culture of Arab countries by bringing about western values that have sabotaged the significant values of Islam community. As a result of the US invasion, the radical in the Middle East have gone to the extreme in their endeavor to resist the US control resulting to the emergence of terrorism. Another major cause of the animosity between the US and Middle East is the aim of the former to control the Middle East oil. In their efforts to expand their oil reserves, the US and other powerful states interferes with Arab-Israel conflicts with an aim of controlling the vast petroleum resources that acts as the major source of income for the Middle East countries. As a result, Arab countries have joined together to attack US interests in their countries such as the embassies, diplomats and other expatriates. In their efforts to improve their economy and intensify their control over the Middle East foreign countries have continued to sell weapons to the Arab countries an aspect that instigated conflicts in the Middle East. In this regard, it is fundamental for the UN and other international organizations to ban the sale of weapons to the Middle East countries to eliminate the war that has decapitated the economy of the Arab countries. Morris (37) argues that the emergence of corrupt and poor leadership in Middle East is one of the opportunities that the foreign elite have utilized to suppress the peace initiatives between the Jews and Arabs. The aim of the foreigners is not to bring peace between Jews and Arabs but to ensure the continuation of the conflicts. This is achieved by controlling their leaders to ensure that they perform their duties based on the interest of the foreigners. One of the major reasons as to why there are no strong leaders in the Middle East countries is because the US and other interested countries will topple any leader who is against their will. Any leader who is highly recognized by his own people in the Middle East is deemed as a radical or a terrorist by the US thus resulting to his or her de-legitimization in the whole world. Based on the financial, political and technological support that other countries especially African states attain from US, they support the foreigners without getting to the bottom of the matter. The negative view of the Islamic world by majority of the Americans is another key factor that has triggered animosity between US and Middle East countries. According to most Americans, Islamic world depicts backwardness and fanaticism that hinders the expansion of the global economy and politics. For example, after the cold war, Segev (49) stipulates that some US academicians established the theory of clash of civilizations arguing that the biggest threat to the economic and political progress of US is initiated by the Islamic world. This has gone to the extent of equating Islamic religion with terrorism an aspect that has caused a lot of tension in the Islamic world war and intensive enemity between the Middle East and the US. One of the major strategies that the US government has adopted to control Middle East as argued by Anderson (38) is the Pentagon’s Defense Planning Guidance. Having been emulated between 1994 and 1999, the guidance aimed at preventing the emergence of any powerful country from controlling regions with vast resources that were adequate to supply global power. This implied that since the Middle East has significant oil, no other country is supposed to dominate the region not even the Middle East countries themselves. This is viewed as a neo-colonialism that is highly resisted by the Arab countries. The Role of Region As mentioned earlier, the establishment of the theory of clash of civilizations by the US scholars played a major role in the past and current international affairs. The growth of Christian Zionism in US has also played a significant role in the Middle East conflicts. For example, the Christian movement encouraged Israel not to give up and continue fighting for more land. According to Blackstone, a US Christian fundamentalist, Israel should establish a state in Palestine to fulfill a biblical philosophy. Another religious movement that supports the Christian Zionism in its effort to provide religious, political and financial support to Israel is the conservative Evangelical movement. With more than 50 million followers, the movement provides a significant financial support that enhances Israel in its fight against the Palestine. Promoting a positive relationship between the American people and the peoples of the Middle East To mitigate the conflicts between Middle East and US thus enhancing positive relationship, US should acknowledge the diversity of civilization. Based on the political and economic changes taking place in the whole world, it is vital to note that military intervention is not the solution to the Middle East and other country problems. In this regard, Middle East people should be allowed to have an upper hand in controlling their oil. Taking into consideration it is not only one country that produces oil, the possibility of monopoly in the oil industry cannot occur. This implies that the world prices of oil will possibly be low if the US gives autonomy to the Middle East countries to manage their oil resources. Another way that peace can be promoted is through the intervention of the United Nations. This can be achieved by ensuring that UN officials are elected from countries that are not biased. This will allow effective negotiation for instance between Israel and Palestine. In the same way, rules should be adopted that hinders financial support to Israel. Even though Israel is economically strong, the financial that it gets from US based organisations is an indication that it is fully supported (Gopin 17). It is also imperative for US residents to respect the Muslim religion. Just like Christians react when their churches are destroyed, Muslims do not like interference of their religion. As such, it is imperative for US to restore the right to worship in Middle East. Political independence and withdrawal of military in Middle East is another factor that will promote good relationship between American people and the peoples of the Middle East. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that the US invasion of Middle East is a major geopolitical challenge that must be addressed urgently. The terrorism activities that have occurred in the past and take place nowadays, over the current decade, have caused great number of deaths, not only in America but also in other countries. This implies that the US should take initiative to make peace with the Middle East in order to safeguard the lives of innocent citizens who are not part of the conflicts. On their part, other countries, especially those in Africa, should engage in peace negotiation, since they are also at high risk of suffering from terrorism activities. Instead of providing financial support, it is essential for US Christian movements to campaign for peace in Middle East and other parts of the world. Works Cited Gopin, Marc. Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–2001. New York: Knopf, 1999. Print. Reiter, Yitzhak. National Minority, Regional Majority: Palestinian Arabs versus Jews in Israel (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution). London: Syracuse University Press, 2009. Print. Segev, Tom. One Palestine Complete: Jews and Arabs under British Mandate. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1999. Print. Anderson, Terry. Bush's Wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. London: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print. Wu Sike.The Reason for the Conflicts between the U.S. and the Middle East. N.d. Web. 14th Nov 2012. . Read More

 

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