The borders of the Middle East are being redrawn, and where they
will end up, or
what nations will remain when it's over, is a mystery.
An Existential Threat to Iraq - but not Only to Iraq (L'Orient Le Jour, Lebanon)
"Iraq is threatened with an existential crisis: this was
the observation U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Of course, no one would
think to contradict him, looking at the appalling mess left behind by the same
America that, by invading this unfortunate country, claimed to be ridding it of
the tyranny of Saddam and pushing it down the path to democracy. However, we
could take a step further and ask: which state in the Levant today is not now facing
a threat to its very existence as a result of the incredible
number of adventurous gambles followed by setbacks amassed in recent years by
the United States in this part of the world?"
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi: The self-procamined caliph of the 'Islamic State', he is also America's second most wanted man, behind only al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
There
are truths so apparent, so patently obvious, that they go without saying.
However, when expressed by a power - and more importantly the world's leading
power - they assume apocalyptic significance that send shivers down the spine.
Iraq is
threatened with an existential crisis: this was the observation made in Baghdad
on June 23 by American Secretary of State John Kerry. Of course, no one would
think to contradict him, looking at the appalling mess left behind by the same
America that, by invading this unfortunate country, claimed to be ridding it of
the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and pushing it down the path to democracy. However,
we could take a step further and ask: which state in the Levant today is not now
facing a threat to its integrity, or its very existence, as a result of the
incredible number of adventurous gambles followed by setbacks amassed in recent
years by the United States in this part of the world? And it's not over yet.
At the
moment, in fact, Washington is obliged to engage in acrobatic contortions to try
and deal with this situation of unprecedented complexity - created by the emergence
in the land of Haroun al-Rashid of the applicant for the title of
caliph and his angry hordes, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. America is thus forced into a form of
military cooperation with Iran, even as the two countries remain profoundly in dispute
over two fundamental issues: the fate of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, who took advantage of U.S. reluctance to arm Syria's secular democratic
opposition in time; but also, the mind boggles, over Iraqi Nouri
al-Maliki, who is protected by the Iranians. The U.S. administration is obliged
to support Maliki, even as it publicly reproaches him for his discriminatory
policy against the Sunnis.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
It has
to be said, though, these kinds of acrobatics are hardly exclusive to Uncle Sam.
Although they are allies of the United States, the Gulf oil kingdoms have turned
a blind to so-called private donations to the same Islamist organizations that
they hound so mercilessly on their own soil. Long intractable on the Kurdish
question, Turkey is now signing oil agreements with Iraqi Kurdistan, which John
Kerry visited June 25. It is a Kurdistan that has apparently resolved to move
as quickly as possible from autonomy to independence, and simultaneously, has
found a way to effectively block the progression of ISIS and substantially
expand its territory by capturing the highly-symbolic city of Kirkuk.
Closer
to home, Jordan's old fears about its statehood, too often considered artificial,
temporary, or even expendable, have been suddenly revived. Precisely ten years
ago, King Abdallah was alarmed at the birth of a
Shiite crescent stretching from Iran to southern Lebanon via Syria, seeing it
as a force of nature likely to destabilize the entire region. However, it isn't
the Pasdarans [Iranians] but the Sunni extremists of ISIS,
who, striking from their Iraqi stronghold, are now knocking on the kingdom's
door.
The collapse of Ottoman Empire, which came to an end in 1914 in
the wake of WWII,
was an event with monumental ramifications. The borders of the
Middle East, drawn to
suit the interests of the victors of that war, and against the
wishes of TE Lawrence, are
now being redrawn again. What
they will look like a year from now is anyone's guess.
Like the
other states of the Levant, Lebanon is a result of Anglo-French agreements
negotiated over the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. It is
not, however, like any other state. That is Lebanon's Achilles' heel, because
much more threatening than those Sykes-Picot borders in
between Iraq and Syria that have suddenly been waltzed across, are our national
fissures, ignited by the warlike ventures of Hezbullah in Syria and the terrorist
reprisals they provoke. Provided that Lebanese finally decide to understand it,
this same diversity is their only salvation.
