Fear...out of context and out of place

As promised here is the next post in line. I'll try to tie up some loose ends with what I wanted to get through in these two posts so let's get started....

100 years war... yep, true enough. Though there's been some periods of relative 'peace' it's been going on for the better part of a century. This story begins in 1897 with Germany already having begun their Berlin-Baghdad railway with the prospects of a oil rich Tigris-Euphrates valley. They wanted to press further into Kuwait and thus begun the bargaining for the land. Utub Sheikh, Mubarak al-Sabah (1896-1915), listened to three parties: Germany, Britain, and Russia. For the most part he saw the British most like himself and saw both Germany and Russia as more likely to annex Kuwait. So with that Britain became the protectors of Kuwait in 1899. By 1914, however Germany had oil rights as far as Mosul while Britain still had Kuwait, which at the time held little potential for oil.

WW1 breaks out and we see this area become a hot spot for battles between Britain and German led Turkish troops. History tells us the British lost badly at first but finally came back militarily.
With an end in sight the British and French make a secret agreement called the Sykes-Picot agreement which splits up the postwar, oil rich, Mesopotamia
Mosul-would go to the French
The rest- goes to the British.

Unfortunately or fortunately for the French, Britain wanted Mosul after all so even after the 1918 armistice they kept fighting on and captured the city sometime in December. Other satisfactions were given to France to keep them happy.

The first war ends but dissent in British control of Iraq does not. Iraq rebels which results in Britain bringing in the Royal Air Force to quell them. Afterwards the RAF is kept around to soften tribes for the 'tax collector'. WW2 brings new oil wars in the Middle East and Iraq again is wracked with battle. WW2 ends of course but it violence doesn't and it isn't until 1958 that the British finally leave. From there western involvement in the middle east is well displayed in modern history. Enough violence and bloodshed to justify calling it a war? I think so. I cliff noted much of the history for easy reading so hopefully that's enough doom and gloom to get the point across.

Here we are now...over 100 years from the beginning of the story yet still entrenched in a middle east war that's lasted for nearly that long. Why? Henry Kissinger said, "Control energy and you control the nations." We needed oil to run our military machine and still do. So now what are we doing again? Fighting terrorism or doing the same thing we've been doing for the past century (only more openly brazen)? Context...it helps everything make sense.

Why did we get to this point in the first place? How did we get so afraid of our shadow that we'd give away our liberties to secure our safety from it? Wasn't we as Americans that fought for the freedoms we seemingly want to give away for the sake of what they define as 'safety'? Headlines in every major media outlet strikes fear at a regular interval...like the beating of a heart that can't help but keep up the fervent pace. Have we all forgotten what Roosevelt said in a much scarier time than this? "There is nothing to fear but fear itself?" Never has that statement been any truer than today. Our fear drives us further down an irreversible path...towards less freedoms to fight for. For what? So we can be safe from the bed our elected, public SERVANTS, made? Here's a thought. How about we actually spend our tax money on defense and on actually updating our aged energy infrastructure so we won't have to invade other countries on false premises. I leave with this. It is the the harshest reality we can face and very soon we just might.

“"They who can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin


Feenix