MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT MADE EASY... MAYBE. (part 2/3)

In this, part 2 of my king-sized explanation about the Middel East conflict, I'll adress (in brief) the key elements. This is intended as a 'beginers guide' of sorts, and so will refrain from in-depth explations on politics and history...

THE REGIMES

Al Qaeda; translates roughly as ‘The Base’, Al Qaeda is a global Islamist terrorist organisation founded by Osama Bin Laden (between 1988 and 1989, origins traceable to the Soviet War). It calls for a global Jihad and a strict interpretation of Sharia Law (characterised by religious intolerance and the oppression of women’s rights).

 

NATO; stands for; North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. It’s a collective of different countries across the globe, of which America and Britain are both a part of, which steps into foreign conflicts in order to defend the innocent.

 

Taliban; an Islamic fundamentalist militant movement. It ruled large parts of Afghanistan and its capital, Kabul, as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until October 2001. It gained diplomatic recognition from three states: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Taliban were originally assembled and financed by the Pakistani military as a covert way of attacking their enemies.

 

Note 1; while the Taliban and Al Qaeda do have some significant ties, they are NOT the same organisation, and have separate goals.

Note 2; A 15 year old girl was recently shot in the head while campaigning for women's rights against Sharia Law. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19908409

 

THE LEADERS

The following is a list of the most important and influential figures, past and present, in the Middle Eastern conflict.

Barak Obama; current American President.

 

David Cameron & Nick Clegg; current joint-leaders of Great Britain, both from different political parties but serving together as a ‘coalition’.

George W Bush; the previous American President, was in power when America declared ‘war on terror’.

Osama Bin Laden; founding leader of Al Qaeda (now deceased, killed during an American raid).Osama actually started his career as a top-agent for the American CIA, before becoming motivated by his belief that  American foreign policy oppressed, killed, or otherwise harmed Muslims in the Middle East. Osama was the mastermind responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Centre, along with numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets.

Saddam Hussein; former president of Iraq (now deceased, executed for war crimes), against whom America and Great Britain later went to war- suspecting him of affiliation with Osama Bin Laden and of stockpiling WMDs (weapons of mass destruction).  

 

 

Tony Blair; previous Prime Minister of Great Britain, was in power when America first declared ‘war on terror’.

 

Note 3; evidence now proves there was never a "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and Al Qaeda, and nor did Saddam Hussein actually possess any WMDs. 

Note 4; despite ordering the invasion and looting of neighbouring Kuwait in 1990 (leading to his defeat in the first Golf War by NATO forces), Saddam was not stripped of his rule, even though he was widely condemned for the brutality of his dictatorship

 

THE PLACES

Afghanistan; a region of the Middle East, and base of operations for the Taliban.

America

Britain

Iraq; a region of the Middle East, ruled over by the dictator Saddam Hussein.

Pakistan; although this country is chiefly responsible for financing and initially training Al Qaeda, Pakistan cut its associations with the terrorist group after their attack on the World Trade centre to avoid the oncoming wrath of America.

Saudi Arabia; One of the largest regions in the Middle East, it also has the world's second largest oil reserves which are concentrated largely in the Eastern Province. Oil accounts for more than 95% of exports and 70% of government revenue.

 

 

Note 4; since the end of WW2, Britain and America entered into (what politicians are referring to as) a “Special Relationship”. This essentially means that whenever one country enters into a war, the other must offer its full support.

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.