re: #320 Dr Lizardo

The wheels started to fall off with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, creating a massive vacuum in the region, which was then exploited by the European powers. Add into that later developments such as the rise of Arab nationalism - mixed in with anti-Western political/religious sentiments - and you’ve got a pretty dangerous cocktail right there.

I’d say the wheels started to fall off as the Ottoman Empire wound down.

Yes. The Ottoman empire collapse surely. But there have been other empires go down and those too caused some bad times, but eventually some form of order did manage to come out of it. In the Middle East that hasn’t been the case.

So, was any progress or recovery from the Ottoman control prevented by the influences of Europeans so they could apply their puppetry, or was it a mix of the Europeans versus the tribal and religious all fighting over everything that there was never any real cooperation and it has gone like that all these years?

And that begs the question, who is the most responsible, and would anything change if let’s say, the outside influences go away. If the Europeans, US. UN, the Russians, the Chinese and others step away would the tribes and religious factions left ever work it out?

At least at that point it would be a chance for the people of the region to do it without outside backing and influence. But even that seems like it wouldn’t work. Or, is that what needs to be done, but it will take time to work out the order?

And would the other countries and UN ever allow it, because that may mean some nasty waring in places like Israel? I can’t see that happening. So, it the region screwed forever?