Middle East

The foundations of the present World Order had been laid in Middle East after the First World War. Just when the democracy was establishing itself as an established norm rather than a mere concession and just when the World's economy was hooked to the fossil fuels, the British (the then super power and representative of the capitalism), through a master stroke of polity, imposed the new political order in the oil-rich Middle East. The former Ottoman Empire was chopped into bits and pieces forming new monarchies with full consideration given to the fact that the clans, tribes and ethnicities remain divided in multiple monarchies thus ensure that no coherent, stable political entity could emerge in the region. Another master-stroke of the order is the fact that in each new formed state, it was made sure that the Monarch or the ruler belonged to the tribe or sect that represented the minority. Saudi Arabia or Yemen or Iraq or Bahrain or Shah's Iran with majority Shia population were made to be ruled by Sunni - in case of Saudi Arabia, a hard-line anti-Shia Wahabi regime. This order has ultimately favored the Capitalists. They have exercised their influence on the minority rulers through offering protection against the majority ethnic, sectarian or tribal entities. Also, this way they have masterfully avoided the rise of the majority's will that could have led to a stable and stronger Middle East, devising oil policy at the will of its people. More important probably is the fear of the return of old order (remember before the rise of capitalist colonialism, the world lived under the Arabs rule comprising a tribal order). These are the masteries of the British plan that are becoming evident every passing day. However, the real master stroke of the plan is even smarter. The polity in these monarchy states is masterfully divided on religious, sectarian or tribal lines. With these lines people ignore that the real battle in the Middle East is the one between haves and have-nots (1/2 - 1/5th of population living under poverty-line in world's richest region). So any resistance to the present order will be on sectarian and tribal lines and at the most one set of elite will replace another and going by the haves-have-nots order of capitalism, the only thing that the capitalist order will have to do will be to accommodate the new haves. So even in the new order, as is evident in Iraq; Sistanis and Ayad Alawites will thrive while the masses and their problems will remain at the back burner unless and until people themselves realize that the battle is not about sect or ethnicity but about the resources which rightfully belong to them.

With this in mind one can hardly be amused why US feared the Arab Nationalism movement for their roots in socialist and secular tradition. And no wonder, the US turned against Iranian revolution guard when it became clear that they want to pursue an independent policy that is inherently anti-US (and thus anti-capitalist till China officially takes over as the new Bastian of capitalism).