I know some of my American friends/readers may get upset that I constantly badger the US, but I want to assure everyone that I have no disrespect nor dislike for the United States. I just think that many of its foreign and trade policies are typical of a superpower’s policy of trying to keep it on top and not really bothering that much what these policies cost to other nations and people. And this is not just the case for the US, it has been the same in the past for England, France, the Roman empire, the Persian empire, and so on.
With this preamble, I am going to rant on the US in a specific and tragic case, the situation in the Middle East. Just looking at the last few months, we have the recent tragic deaths of Israelis and Palestinians, the criminal actions of Hamas, the Houthis’ attacks, the Yemeni civil war, and so on and so on. How long has this situation been going on? Since 1948, that means for 75 years, and quite violently since the late 70s. And all through these past 50 years, and in particular the past 30+ years, the US has had an almost monopoly power and influence in supposedly bringing the sides together and bringing about peace.
It has made the parties sign a large number of treaties, sending its military all over the region, ordering around the countries in the region, and yet! Nothing, no peace, no agreement successfully implemented; only war and death. And that in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and of course Israel and the Palestine.
Yes, it did succeed in having Israel sign peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and yes, countries like Syria, Iran and Russia are throwing oil on the fire, but hey doesn’t diplomacy mean you create trust and bring countries around to compromise? If after all these decades, and all this might, and all the claims to wanting to bring peace, we still have people killing each other in a big way, doesn’t that mean you are not being effective?
So the other day I was thinking that maybe it is time for the US to accept its failure to go it alone, and allow other parties into the discussion. Not just Saudi Arabia, and a couple of ‘friendly’ nations, but parties that have been kept out. Not from the perspective of «I tell you to do this and that», but from that of «Ok, we have not succeeded, are there better ways? What do you think?»
Paris, March 4, 2024
Zeejay