MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT, MADE EASY... MAYBE... (part 1/3)

So, my girlfriend and I watched Redacted. For those of you in-the-know you’ll understand this probably wasn’t the best date movie I could have picked. For those of you who aren't familiar with the film, it’s about a squad of soldiers, who while on active duty in Iraq, are involved in the rape of a 14 year old girl and the murder of her family (a lot like Oliver Stone's other film Casualties Of War). It wasn’t a particularly nice experience.

Anyway, after the film, the topic of the war itself came up. Now, she won’t mind me mentioning this (I hope), but my girlfriend is a self-confessed 'news-avoider'; she has no interest in following current events because they either scare or confuse her. Sadly, I think most people feel the same way, whether they admit this or not is another thing. So, during this conversation, I tried to explain (from my own limited knowledge) what was going on. The explanation seemed satisfactory.

 

Now, I have this friend... I won’t name them, because it’s both unfair and unprofessional, but they are going through a tough time at the moment because their partner is currently serving in the Middle East. It’s obviously a sensitive subject, and although it’s tough on my friend she copes well. However, I overheard her explaining to someone else about the war (and the reasons for the war itself), and I was staggered by how inaccurate her information was.

Now, the following article is NOT aimed at my unnamed friend. I want to make that part perfectly clear., I'm not being an insensitive dick. However, that overheard exchange is partly responsible for my reasons for writing this. I rarely talk politics or current affairs, largely because I’m not politically minded, and secondly because what I do understand makes me very sad and very angry. Instead, I choose to bury myself in fiction. This article is my way of making sense of a very complicated chapter in our lives, and hopefully what I write here may stop other people making misguided remarks and harbouring uninformed opinions.

WE SHOULD ALL UNDERSTAND WHY WE ARE FIGHTING! How can we, as a country, remain largely ignorant to why our people are fighting and dying overseas. I'm not talking about fucking conspiracy theories here, I mean we should at least understand the basic situation- and sadly, most of us don't, maybe not even the poor bastards signing-up. That's the angry portion of this post over with...

What I write here, I do so with as little bias or personal opinion as possible (unlike every other post on here), I’m simply relating the facts, as I see them. I am not trying to be entertaining, well, maybe a little; I'm not writing a text book and I'm not your teacher. If I’m wrong, call me on it. However, please don’t use this as a forum for personal perspectives. I don’t mind people having an opinion, no matter how much I may disagree, so long as it’s based on something factually accurate. Don’t have an opinion if you don’t actually have a fucking clue about something.

 



As you've probably noticed, this is only part 1, which acts as a look at the reasons for me getting onto my 'politicle soap box'. Part 2 of this thread will look at the key regimes, leaders and locations relevant to a simple understanding of the conflict, while part 3 will offer an explanation of events. There will also be pictures and maps on occasion.

The tone of the following is not intended to be patronising, simply it assumes the reader to have no prior understanding on the subject.