The Serious Problems in the Near and Middle East

The political and security problems related to the Middle East are not easy to understand and even less easy to solve. This does not imply that there are not individuals who know what has happened there from the historical and the present points of view, but they are not many. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage the study of these problems, not only by the experts, but also in terms of general information and orientation for individuals who, in one way or another, opine on matters of world politics. And not only about world politics, but also, specifically, about what the United States of America can and can not do.

Recently, the crisis has reach serious proportions covering several countries in this strategic and conflictive region of the world, all of them coinciding with some policy changes in Washington, even before the return to power of the Democratic Party with President Barack Obama.

The case of Iraq and Iran represent very complex and serious situations, although there is a possibility of getting out of Iraq, unless a new emergency arises. As everyone knows, in Afghanistan there is a war going on with its very unique characteristics that do not coincide totally with the typical wars of the region or of the world. Religious factors with touches of fanaticism complicate the whole situation in the region.

Moving to the Near East, we have the case of Palestine and Israel. Incidentally, many people confuse the Near East with the Middle East. The fact that they are next to each other does not mean that there are no differences between one region and the other. Their cases are not similar. The case of Israel and Palestine has historic, practically millenary, implications. Its solution does not depend on a memorandum, an agreement, not even a treaty no matter how formal this might be. And the worse part is that there are individuals who participate and opine on the subject without being fully familiarized with it, although they have basic knowledge about what Palestine is and about what Israel is from a historic point of view.