An ever increasing trend among extremists in the Middle East has been the desire and eventual action of committing some form of terrorism. Whether it be the attacks on the World Trade Centers or Pentagon, or the many attacks in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, there has been an increase in hostile and deadly attacks around the world stemming from these extremists. This increase in hostility stems from a variety of reasons form both the people committing these egregious acts, as well as from the people that are targeting.
One major reason for this increase in terrorist attacks is from these extremists' willingness to die. Not only do they have strong enough beliefs to warrant (in their mind), the killing of anyone who does not believe what they do, but they are also willing to kill themselves in order to carry out the act. This by itself is rather terrifying, but becomes even more so when we understand that not only are they willing to die, but they are hopeless, lost or crazed human beings, and almost unfix-able. That is to say, these suicide bombers can't and won't be stopped unless they either blow themselves up or die from some other way. They are sort of dehumanized in that sense, to the point where they have no regard for other people's lives and well being if they don't share the same beliefs.
Their willingness to die is then exacerbated by a variety of complaints that Middle Eastern countries have on U.S. Foreign Policy and U.S. actions. There are two major complaints at work in this regard; Americans being a holy place, specifically Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.'s support for Israel. The former is a strong motivator for violence due to Americans being infidels, and Saudi Arabia being the home to holy places. An already tense relationship between the U.S. and these extremists is tested and intensified by this disregard for these holy sanctuaries. Due to their beliefs of killing people who don't share the same belief as them, coupled with the fact that Americans are infidels, a word used with disdain, creates a highly pressurized situation. The latter further increases this intense hatred of Americans due to the extremely volatile relationship and situation between Israel and the rest of the Middle East. Israel has been a major target for terrorist attacks since its inception in 1948.
Unfortunately, I don't see the U.S. leaving Saudi Arabia or stop meddling in the Middle East in the near future due to the natural resource that is been discussed throughout these blogs - Petroleum. The main reason the U.S. has any stake in the Middle East is due to the major dependency on petroleum and the Middle East's supply of this resource. Most recent conflicts can be attributed to natural resources in general and petroleum in particular. This need for oil goes back my other posts about the U.S.'s ever increasing need and dependency on oil for industry, travel, agriculture and more. One way of potentially defusing the situation in the Middle east is for the U.S. to drastically change what kind of energy it uses to supply it's infrastructure. If we can become more reliant on solar, wind and other energies, we can wean off of oil and our presence in the Middle East. While not in any way a fool proof plan, it is one to at least discuss and think about.
As oil continues to be a major resource in energy use around the world, peak oil will start to become an issue. This will be discussed in my next blog.
A quick aside: In my opinion, there is something inherently wrong with any belief that supports the killing of non-believers because they are non-believers. Not only is this a flawed approach to religion and belief, but it is also one that is extremely dangerous for everyone involved. These acts of hatred and violence will lead to more hatred and violence spiraling down into a never ending circle of hostility and violence.
"We will not wave; we will not tire; we will not falter, and we will not fault. Peace and Freedom will prevail." (George W. Bush)
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