America's plans for the Middle East

Does the United States actually have a long-term plan for the Middle East, and if so exactly what is it. On the subject of long-term plans, I'm also wondering about any plans Israel has -- and Syria, and Iran, and ... I'm not the only one wondering about these potential plans.

We've been hearing rumors about Syria arming along the border, rumors about a possible summer war between Israel and Syria, or perhaps Israel and Lebanon again. Weazl's Revenge quotes an article by Sami Moubayed, a Syrian political analyst, titled "War games, mind games or the real deal?". The article is about a long-time mind-game that goes on in the Middle East:

... the mobilization of troops has become an old joke in Syrian-Israeli relations. Whenever one party mobilizes, the other goes on alert, and nothing happens. [snip]

In May and August 1973, Sadat repeatedly threatened to go to war against the Israelis. Frantic, Israel would mobilize to fight, and Sadat would do nothing. Every time, the mobilization would cost Israel about US$10 million. Because he always threatened to go to war against Israel and never did anything, nobody believed him when he threatened war in 1973. That is exactly what Sadat wanted.

One week before the war on October 6, 1973, the Egyptian Army began moving toward the Suez Canal. Israeli intelligence, detecting large troop movement toward the canal, did not do anything in response, thinking this was one of Sadat's many failed promises of war. [snip] That explains, among other things, why the Israelis were caught off guard on October 6, 1973. (more)

Is this what's going on now? Pretty sneaky. Mideast Youth writes on the United States, Iran, and Iraq

... Because of the U.S. demand for oil and the general global economy its in the best interest of the U.S. to secure pro-western governments in the Middle East and to challenge those who dont want to play nice and contribute, hence the conflict with Syria and formerly Libya and Saddams Iraq. The Middle East nations who do play nice do so because they depend on the U.S. for their survival and America is sure to remind them of that. For example Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all rely on the U.S. to fill their pockets, they know how to play the game. In the Middle East there is absolutely nothing to gain by challenging America, just play by the rules and you’ll benefit. [snip]

Iran is a unique nation in the region, unlike the Arab states they act solely in terms of their national interest, they desire being a world power, mainly why they pursue nuclear power among other things... [snip] It’s imperitive to Iran that they support the right groups and the right nations, like the U.S. they need nations to feel dependent on them, Hezbollah, Syria, some Shia’a groups in Iraq and even some Sunni groups. These groups will only be funded and supplied until their utility is expired. [snip]

Similar power struggles go on in Iraq. Many of the Iranian fighters in Iraq are there fighting Muqtada al Sadr’s Shi’a fighters who are staunchly anti-Iran and pro Arab unity. Iran’s interest is to stay in Iraq, fight both sides and prolong the battle, making the Iraqi government more reliant on Irans support.

While President George W. Bush has been credited and/or blamed for having a policy of democratization, Thomas Carothers says the democracy crusade is a myth:

... the notion that democracy promotion plays a dominant role in Bush policy is a myth. [snip]

... The main lines of Bush policy, with the singular exception of the Iraq intervention, have turned out to be largely realist in practice, with democracy and human rights generally relegated to minor corners. (read it all)

The Carpetbagger Report says, "The White House always has a fallback plan: when all else fails, scare the bejezus out of as many people as possible." There are those who believe that's true.

Perhaps the United States needs to be worried about her policy to her own citizens. Alternate News Network:

General Franks, the former Commander of CENTCOM, in a late-2003 interview said that he believed that another crisis for the United States could in effect result in the suspension of the American Constitution and the establishment in the U.S. of a military form of government:

“…the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we’ve seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy. Now, in a practical sense, what does that mean? It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive casualty-producing event somewhere in the western world— it may be in the United States of America — that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass-casualty-producing event [such as 9/11 or even a global crisis]. Which, in fact, then begins to potentially unravel the fabric of our Constitution.” [4]

One thing's for sure, the U.S. Congress can't agree on any long-term OR short-term policies.

Also see "Down the Middle East Path to the Future" at Beyond the Cusp. Very interesting.

Check out a new site, Spirit of Liberty. The purpose of Spirit of Liberty is to bring together Americans in an effective organization that educates our members about the threats to our traditional culture and way of life. (read more) Spirit of Liberty is having events around the United States. Check out dates, times, places, and contact numbers here.
__________________________________________________________________
Reciprocal pings and good reading:
BLAMING ISRAEL AGAIN!, Dr. David Hocking
Lies, Dammed Lies,and NY Times Lies, YID with LID
123Beta, OTA Weekend
Woman Honor Thyself, Rubbish Peddling OpenTrackback Weekend
Something for everyone to think about : POLITICS, Wake Up America
McCain Still In Denial . . . Open Trackback Friday!, Common Sense America
Who Cares about the Koran, Planck's Constant
Congressman Jack Murtha and the Haditha Marines, Cop The Truth
U.S. House unable to detect irony!, Mark My Words
North American Union, Political Pistachio and Blog Talk Radio

Comments

[David M]

Trackbacked by The Thunder Run - Web Reconnaissance for 07/14/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention updated throughout the day…so check back often. This is a weekend edition so updates are as time and family permits.