The military involvement of the United States has continued in the Middle East virtually since the first Gulf War in 1990. There have been significant happenings that have led to greater military presence by the United States, including 9/11 and the following war in Afghanistan.
Last week’s drone strike by the United States, which killed Iran’s military leader Qasem Soleimani, continue to keep a caldron of conflict boiling.
United States intelligence sources correctly identified that Soleimani has led Iran’s military actions in recent years, which have included destabilizing terrorist attacks throughout the region. Soleimani has been linked to the attack that killed a United States contractor in December.
Rocket attacks on Iraqi bases that host United States aircraft and personnel have been ongoing since the second Gulf War. Iran or Iranian-backed factions are thought to be the main culprits of these attacks.
Unlike previous “coalition” military actions in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan in the last three decades, the brewing military clash between the United States and Iran has significantly different political ramifications.
Iran is a country of 80 million people that has had steady Islamic Revolutionary political leadership since the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in the late 1970s. Iran has its regional allies such as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Its key global alliance is with Russia.
As world leaders have discovered over thousands of years, conflict in the Middle East is constant and there is no way to appease all of the interests involved. In the last 100 years alone, colonial campaigns gave way to events such as the creation of Israel, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, two Gulf Wars in Iraq and the intervention of the United States in Afghanistan.
One domino falling in the Middle East creates several streams of falling dominos. These are conflicts that involve people of different religions, ethnicities and allegiances.
Since the mid-1970s, there have been 42 separate military conflicts in the Middle East including the nations of Israel, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait and Cyprus. Aside from Middle Eastern nations, these conflicts have included scores of special interest military forces either supported by states or trying to overthrow them. It has included military forces from nations all over the globe.
Despite efforts to stop conflict, such as the agreements between Israel and Egypt and the removal of totalitarian leaders like Saddam Hussein, conflict continues to flare up.
Iran’s promise to avenge Soleimani’s death is not empty rhetoric. Soleimani’s closest political friend was Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A difficult distinction to make at this point is who is retaliating and who is attacking? The best interests of the United States include preventing loss of life on American soil and that of our allies. Protecting ourselves is essential and pacifism or isolationism aren’t options. Military action to stem state-sponsored terrorism must be done by a coalition of sovereign, positive states that support the inalienable rights of all people. Ever since World War II it seems that the United States and Britain are the police force for the world. The United States, due to the size of its military, takes the primary role.
Since Soleimani’s death, there has been considerable social media reaction that shows some people are eager for greater conflict in the Middle East. What productive outcome has that ever produced? It’s only led to loss of life and the extension of greater conflict. We live in a world where many different nations have nuclear capabilities. Fragile borders exist around the globe.
There are reasons to pause and think about these things as tensions increase. While we must protect ourselves, it is foolish to invite greater hatred and slaughter. The most terrible state of affairs between nations is war. That should not be forgotten.
— Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
