Without getting too far into things, I would like to point out that Iran is now making open moves to seize power in Iraq… officially. That’s amazing to me, as they have always preferred the underhanded method of achieving any goal when it is available. Not that Iran would be satisfied with anything less than an actual vice-grip in Iraq and exacting what they would view as justified retribution against the Sunnis in Iraq for the abominable crime of being Sunni… but that sort of action is understandable thinking in the Middle East.
The way Iran is phrasing its desire to annex Iraq as a buffer territory between them and the Sunnis they are planning to kill (not to mention a proxy battleground against the US and the Europe he plans to destroy and is already “colonizing” with Muslims) is interesting. “Fill the power vacuum”, “prevent unrest”, etc. They have neatly wrapped their desire for conquest and revenge in UN-acceptable terms, thereby achieving what amounts to legitimacy in the unthinking mental spaces what I believe to be a large percentage of the Western media consumers.
Regardless what Iran says or how they say it, they have been the most active participant in creating a power vacuum, dividing the Iraqi government and causing as much unrest as possible. This is no more than sneaky Iranian take on a n already sneaky and very old British colonial power play technique.
In other negative news for the region, a devout Muslim is in power in Turkey now. Problem? Not necessarily, accept that he got elected by a body of voters who have been regularly exposed to a massive worldwide outpouring of media-based hatred at the West, formerly an unusual thing in Turkey. Unusual aside from the good old-fashioned occasional Jew-hating conspiracy talk or the occasional editorial comments that secular government is all nice and dandy now but we should all remember to stick with our Muslim brothers when the “time comes”, that is. The voters want him, though, and that means they like the idea of that guy running things. Early signs of discord in his own government are evident, however, military top folks not showing up to his ceremony, etc. Of course, his military folks have worked with the Israelis and Americans, and know three things your typical Islamic national leader clearly does not:
- 1st World militaries are much more organized than Middle Eastern ones.
- There are significant economic and social incentives to play nice with others.
- The world was not ripe for a Muslim takeover yet when Al Qaida struck. This being a pretty big issue in the Muslim world. Its much better to lay low for a few more generations, and then leave it up to your great grandchildren to try to atrocity all the folks who think women should be allowed to think on their own.
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