* Palestine is now in the middle of a civil war, with the Fatahs and Hamas trying to gain control of the country. Meanwhile guerilla violence is still being exchanged on the Gaza Strip between Palestians and Israelians
* The US is now arming Sunni insurgents to battle Al Quaeda, a Sunni insurgent network. Will arming the enemy of our enemy help us in the long turn or will they turn their guns elsewhere after wiping out Al Quaeda?
* Syria is supporting Palestian rejectionary groups and could possibly be still funding Hezbollah, Hamas and other anti-Israelian terrorist networks. US relations with Syria have not improved since the diplmotic fallout wiht Bush and the subsequent criticism of Pelosi's un-related responsibilities to normalize ties with the Syrian government
* Iran is playing an ever crucial role to the stability with Iraq. Just a few weeks ago, Iran finally engaged in bilateral talks with the US over Iraq, effectively severing the 27-year old silence. Given the proximity of the need to fashion a political strategy, the US backed away from any talks over Iran's capabilities of promoting a nuclear proliferation and instead focussed on stabiliizng Iraq. The Iranian President Ahjdimejad is raising his own warmongering rhetoric over Israel, while reformist and moderate factions within Iran contend to normalize relations with both the US and Israel. Iran is accused of supporting Palestian rejectionary groups, terrorist networks against Israel and funding the insurgency for Sunni networks. Recently, a senior US diplomat official accused Iran of funnelling money and weapons to the Taliban-- a traditional enemy of Iran. In 2001, the Iranian government with President Khatami expressed interests of wiping out the Taliban network in Afghanistan and working with the US in a collaborative effort, however given the Bush administration's glacial response and the subsequent unsavory label of "Axis of Evil" Iran was part of the global war on terrorism.
* Turkey is now involved in the Iraq quagmire as it sends its troops to keep away the Kurds.
* Israel's relationship with Iran has elevated from low-key hostility to an almost inevitable brink to war. Israelian ciricles are discussing over the possibility of using the "Samson Option" if Iran raises its provocations even further with more vocal threats. Israel is still the only country with a nuclear weapon in the ME.
* US troops are being sanwhiched in a three-ring conflict with insurgents battling out each other.
What post-Bush administration policy do you wish to see in the Middle East and what do cause/effect do you expect to see from the outcome of such a policy? Obviously, the neoconservatives' arguments of pre-emptive actions will fail to produce any desirable results in the end. If we are to combat against terrorism, we obviously need to maximize our utility of options on the table and by doing this we need more effective diplomacy.
2007-06-13
06:08:55
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6 answers
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