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Arab World: Failing to see the broader picture
Arab countries are foundering, as a jihadi Islamic caliphate is strengthening its hold in the heart of the Middle East.

The West seems intent on venting its frustrations on Israel, which is defending itself against Hamas, another radical Islamist group; Egypt is also feeling the brunt of it. Yet only a few years ago, Cairo was leading the charge of pragmatic Arab states backed by the US, fighting extremist Shi'ites under Iranian leadership.

However, this was before Washington jettisoned Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and started direct talks with Tehran on Iran's nuclear program, a move seen as a betrayal by Saudi Arabia.

Today, Egypt is trying to BROKER a peace between Israel and Hamas; President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on his allies for advice and international support. First he went to see Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Jeddah, then RUSSIAN President Vladmir Putin in Sochi. He did not go to Washington, which has yet to accept the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood and the new regime.
That the Arab states are foundering is just a symptom of a broader problem: the world is foundering. Europe is ailing. The United States is losing its way. The Asian tigers are struggling. Japan is declining. Russia is on a course to a demographic disaster.

There is not one major world leader with any sense of solution. Heck, I see precious few who have the faintest clue of the problem.

So the Arab states are foundering? Welcome to the club...

Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-08-16
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=397915