The American strikes are likely to be accepted – and even privately praised – by a Middle East officialdom that has long seen Iran as the primary threat to regional stability.
If Iran had hoped its neighbors would rise to its defense in the wake of unprecedented American and Israeli attacks, that moment may have passed.
On Monday, Iran fired back at the U.S. with a strike on the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in what is already being seen as merely a face-saving gesture. Qatar said it had intercepted the Iranian missiles and condemned the attack, calling it a violation of its sovereignty.
But even as Middle Eastern leaders were quick to criticize Donald Trump’s paradigm-shifting assault on Iran following 10 days of Israeli bombardment, the American strikes are likely to be accepted — and even privately cheered — by an Arab officialdom that has long seen Shia Iran as the primary threat to regional stability.
Because as we all know Persian and Arab Muslims stick together through thick and thin, right? /s
They don’t want to mess with dat Arab money
“As crazy people exchange gunfire on the street, neighbors lock their doors and hunker down in their houses.”
Problem is one of the “crazies” not only going after neighbor after neighbor after neighbor, with you likely being one of the next ones, but also holding a family hostage in their home, killing their newborns and torturing them for fun.
Without a serious reconcilliation and move towards Arab unity, Israel will eventually knock on everyones doorstep.
Arab unity involving Iran? You know Iranians are mostly Persians, right?
Yes i know. But after Iran Israel will move to the next country, most likely an Arab country again, to attack.
Unfortunately even a united Middle East has little chance against Israel and its American attack dog. Capitulation and appeasement is likely the more attractive option to them.
The US couldn’t win in Iraq. They couldn’t win in Afghanistan.
There is no way they would “win” when the flow of Oil and Gas gets cut off for them, the Gulfs are closed for them and the closest place to stage their airforce would be in Cyprus. The US could use its navy to deny oil and gas to everyone else too, but that would bring the rest of the world against them too. To properly reestablish control, they would need boots on the ground. This would require millions, maybe tens of millions of soldiers. Just between Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi, Yemen and Egypt and the Gulf states that is about 350 million people. Add Turkiye, Sudan, Libya, Algeria and Morocco and you get some more 250 million more on top.
In such a scenario the US would most likely sacrifice Israel.
America could have easily won in both nations had the American public been willing to accept the slaughter of millions of innocent non-combatants (rather than the tens to hundreds of thousands of non-combatant deaths they are ok with).
The US is an oil exporter, as it produces more than it uses.
No one can cut off the US oil supply. Not to mention they could simply seize oil haulers for themselves with their navy.
Your scenario is entirely unfounded.
No one can cut off the US oil supply.
Well, if the US invests on being able to use its own oil without mixing with anything else, the can become true.
Not to mention they could simply seize oil haulers for themselves with their navy.
A few times, yeah. The world won’t react well to the US specializing into constant piracy.
It would never come to piracy because the US would initiate regime changes, flatten militaries if they refuse to coup their governments and take the oil fields.
The whole thing is like some child considered oil supplies for the first time and believes there aren’t plans in place.
Hint: every developed nation has strategic oil reserves and is ready to go to war if supply is cut.
And what happens if the Oil and Gas are cut off to the US and its allies? Even if the US is producing enough by now to cover itself domestically, it would need to jump in for all its allies, unless it wants to loose them. And well, they cannot product this much.
War happens, and countries will get flattened within weeks by a coalition.
Most countries maintain strategic oil reserves in the event of war.
It’s like you believe you’re the first person ever to consider what happens if oil supply is interrupted.
War happens, and countries will get flattened within weeks by a coalition
Why didn’t the US and UK and France flatten OPEC at its inception? Why did the US fail in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan?
The military might of the US can flatten a lot, no doubt about it, but it cannot build something to its benefit after, unless it is some smaller countries.
Ehhh, I wouldn’t be so sure. They’ve got the oil money and cruelty to manage. At least some of them.
Yosemite Sam claims victory, and promises to make America Rootin’ Tootin’ again
MARTA!
Nobody hates Arab nations more than other Arabs. They don’t get along. That’s why I laugh at these countries moralizing about gaza. These Arab nations despise and look down on Palestinians more than anyone. They despise each other
Iranians tend not to be Arabs given their history as the nation of Persian peoples.
Iran is Persian, not Arab, right?
There are a bunch of Muslim variations, and all of them would love to wipe the rest of them off the planet.
And everybody hates Iran.
Arab countries are ruled generally by dictators that are puppets to the west. Arab populations still support Iran
Sunni Arab countries are generally not aligned with Shia Iran. Iraq, Syria, and the Shiite factions in Lebanon favor Iran. Hamas is a rare crossover.
The leadership
Yes, the leadership of those countries don’t align with Iran. Not (strictly) because they are puppets but because of a much older rift.
I know the West makes a nice boogie man, especially for self-loathing Westerners, but shit has gone down that isn’t the West’s fault as well.
Yes. They also despise Israel.
Duh. They don’t all know each other and get along just because they’re Muslims.
The fucking opposite, in fact…
No surprise. Iran has little to no friends in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf. You reap what you sow i guess.
What’re we suddenly considering the Saudis and the Turks the moderating influence in the middle east now and Israel and the US aren’t even in the equation? Jesus Christ.
So many nations over there proclaim a sort of “we stand with our brothers to the death” out loud while their actions (or lack thereof) say something completely different.
Saudi has been in a cold war with Iran for decades because it wants to be a regional hegemon and hasn’t been quiet about it. Turkey is more circumspect, giving everybody face while cutting them off at the knees in the shadows. Egypt, by comparison, would much prefer to stay out of everybody’s business and have them stay out of theirs. They’ve got more interests in Sudan and Ethiopia at this point.