Forget the party affliations, if you can, for long enough to answer this question objectively?

Question

How much do you think you really know about what is happening in the Middle East? Not just Iraq, but the picture as a whole. It's unbelieveably complicated and there are so many theories about why we're really there and what the situation really is. What are your thoughts on it and why have you come to those conclusions?

I appreciate the answers so far, at least most of them lol. But I was hoping for some in depth opinions about it, and still hope to get them. Thanks.

Answer 1

Anti-American sentiment in the middle-east was started decades ago during CIA Operation AJAX. If we minded our own business they would still think highly of us.
We're really there because of the idea that democracy and Christianity is the only way to be. They're doing the same thing the White Man's Burden said and putting a much more politcally correct spin on it.
The situation, I believe, is that they are on the brink of chaos. If we leave they will go into Civil War, and when that's taken it's course, they'll all unite against a common enemy. Namely, the United States. We put ourselves into this situation.
The only way to get out of the situation positively is to meet with leaders in that country and make negotiations and compromises.
Republicans are wrong. We cannot 'win' a war that has no clear objective.
Democrats are wrong. We cannot just 'pull out' and ignore what has happened.
People need to stop thinking republican vs. democrat and stop caring about all these stupid party politics.
I came to these conclusions through way too much research to list.

Answer 2

I won't conjecture about the what part - I really do not know -


Now here is what I do know - There is at least 2 sides to every coin - and there has been no indepth or independant information comming out of Iraq -

With the death tolls as high as they are it seems that Iraq is and has been for a while fighting a civil war - This means the US has taken sides in a domestic dispute and is supporting one side over the other -

That the "insurgents" are only portrayed as mindless suicide bombers and any thought of questioning after that is taken as support of the "terrorists" None of that supports any sort of free flow of information or thoughful judgement

The news is clearly propaganda and highly politized for one side - The private security companies that are in there number in the 100,000 person range and yet you never hear of what they do or what their losses are or what thier victories are - This should raise alarm bells but that is just another on the list of things your slowly being trained not to ask


The lack of transparency dooms the government as it must seem their guilt - If you were proud of what you were doing then you would not need to leash everyone and censor what is done - You tend to hide things most when you know what you are doing is wrong - If the American government wished to stop people thinking this then they would open the doors to honest balanced journalisim not censorship and control not repressions and so on -

Answer 3

The Middle East has been, is, and will continue to be a global hotspot until an entire series of events happens. Some people think that they just want to remove the Israelis. Others think they're simply waging a jihad against the "Western" (aka non-Islamic) way of life. But the fact of the matter is, even if those were non-issues, there would still be the whole Shia versus Sunni conflict. Even if they accomplished the first two tasks I listed, there would still be strife until one sect held complete domination.

What many people fail to remember is that they (Shia and Sunni) were fighting against each other long before Israel once again became a nation, and long before there was a united "Western" society. Anything else they can accomplish along the way is merely a bonus. The ultimate battle is for supremacy amongst themselves.

Answer 4

That area of the world has always been, and will always be, a mess...What we didn't need is to go into Iraq and overthrow the government. Now it's a huge mess and other neighboring countries are going to get involved. The pro-Bush people on this board have their opinions of the issue, but what they don't realize is how fragile the situation has become since we arrived there. If neighboring Arab countries take arms against our troops, they will be massacred. It is a tinderbox waiting to go up in flames and the radical conservatives just want to keep supporting rather than looking at the truth...

Answer 5

I have come to the conclusion that the Middle East, and all the world, are in the birth pangs of tribulation. I believe that the Iraq war will widen and change to several locations throughout the Middle East. I also believe that a Muslim nation will invade and occupy Israel, and that The Abomination of Desolation will be displayed on the temple mount.

After that, the U.S. will come to the rescue of the land of Christ, of David and of the prophets. This is when we arrive at Armageddon.

I come to these conclusions through faith, and the fact that all of this is unfolding for the world to see. One example is that Russia and China are now engaged in joint military operations on Russian soil.

Another example is the flooding in KingFish, Oklahoma, and that entire state, and many other states and countries. Also included are the fires, the mines, the astronauts driving the space shuttle drunk (this was reported in the media), the tornadoes, the burning bridge in San Francisco, etc.

Answer 6

We only know what the media and the government CHOOSE to tell us.

I believe that we had the right to go back to Iraq because of repeated violations of the cease-fire agreements and treaties Iraq signed with us after the Gulf War. I don't think the war has been handled well at all, but I do still support it. Most of the men and women I've talked to who have been there have told me that *they* support it, and since I'm not the one getting shot at, I don't feel it's appropriate for me to question that. Oh, and I live in a major military community (Army and AF) so we see service members on a daily basis.

Good question, Elway!

Answer 7

What is happening in the middle east is not much different than what has been happening there for thousands of years.

The religious and tribal divisions among them are just as profound only now we get to look at them on hundreds of channels with commentary from people who's only qualifications are blonde hair, large breasts and perfect teeth.

One can look past it all by examining the history. For instance: Before oil, the object of war was wood for ship building. They fought for cedar in Lebanon. The cedar tree still graces their flag. Now it's oil.

You would think that with all the oil they have, they would have developed a way to get it, refine it and use it on their own.
That would require unity and pooling their natural and intellectual resources. Not going to happen.

The only other difference is the type and quality of the weapons.

It's amazing to me that the civilization which gave us mathematics and the system of astrological navigation that is still in use today, for the purpose of conquest, still has not found a way to design or manufacture a firearm.


They still prefer beheading with a sword. That sums it up.

Answer 8

Iraq is strategically situated in the Middle East. Having military bases there would create an advantage.

Answer 9

I'm sorry that I am not going to be able to give you anything as in-depth as you are hoping for, but I know that there is only a tiny microscopic fraction of truth that is revealed to the people. I find it frightening that so many people are willing to swallow the load of doody that they are fed by the mainstream media. 99% of what most people think they know about what is really going on over there, is a load of crap. It is the smartest among us who actually know how very little we are told of the truth. We are the ones who at least try to dig and hope to find the truth, instead of swallowing the mainstream media propoganda, who may, in time, succeed in forcing the whole truth to come out! *sm*

Answer 10

Here's what's going on in the middle east. An entire culture of oil rich goat herders and their outraged religious leaders feel so insignificant when compared to civilized cultures that they've decided that the only chance for them to be of any influence in the world once their oil runs out is to rule the world through terrorism. They are smart enough to realize that the will of many westerners is weak and that if they continue to encourage and reward the families of ignorant young men who commit murder in the name of Allah then the west just might give up and let these maniacs take over the world. That is their dream.