I’m not a politician. Maybe I’m not even intelligent when it comes to politics, BUT, I do seem to get bloody irate when one of the powers does something stupid. Normally it might be a small thing like a comment in a speech, or what have you, but lately I’ve noticed it a lot more. It is by no means a new thing, either. The more we meddle, the more poo we seem to have to walk through before we get to a point on the other side. I’ve no idea what that point it, it’s a secret that politicians keep to themselves. I’m sure they will tell us when that goal has been achieved.
When I say meddling, i don’t mean in a small, ant on a horses back type meddle. I’m talking monumental, history making meddling, and the peculiar thing is that we never seem to come out of it smelling of roses. Even when we do come out with some semblance of a victory, or moral ground gained, it will soon inevitable come back and bite us in the arse. It happens every time.
*We had the British Mandate of Palestine, the Jewish terrorism, and then the eventual state of Israel. Yay, we hath created a state, and the Jewish can be a happy bunch... Ooops, why did no-one mention these other folks. That ended up being an almighty cock-up. Our well intentioned safe haven for the jewish folks ended up being a major headache in the Middle East... Bugger!
*We had the Iranian coup d’etat in 1953, (quietly helped by the west), which ousted a perfectly good, democratically elected President. In comes the Shah, who promptly bans lots of Islamic tradition, and people get antsy. This in turn gives the Islamic fundamentals a foothold and bish-bash-bosh, in 1979 the Islamic fanatics got in. Now, we ‘helped’ oust the original democratic government for oil reasons, and now we have a weirdo in control... Bugger!
*The Russians.. They are evil people aren’t they? At least that is what we were led to believe in the cold war days. We all know about Afghanistan due to the recent conflict. However, during the Iranian revolution of 1979, the government of Afghanistan was having a bit of trouble with some pesky rebel forces in its borders, called the Mujahideen. This band of Islamic rebels were giving the government a right pain in the gulliver, so they called for Russian help. Obviously, Russia was more than willing to give them a hand, and as we all know, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the US decided it would give support to the rebels, (which included a certain Osama Bin laden). And so the Afghan war began. It was a long, bloody war, and it basically became the Russian Vietnam. The Mujahideen had won their battle, and took control. The Mujahedeen then went on to become the Taliban... Bugger!
*We obviously think that new Iranian government is evil... So very evil, so we decide to support his next door neighbour, a Mr Saddam Hussein, (stand up and take a bow please... Mr Hussein? Oh bugger, he was hung). So Iran and Iraq had a war, partly funded by the US, but also funded by other countries in the region, (namely Kuwait). An interesting side note to this was was the use of chemical weapons, which was allowed by certain western powers, (namely the US and UK), and their veto powers stopped a UN resolution stopping them from using it. Unfortunately the Kurds paid a dear price for it... bugger!
*Once the Iran-Iraq war was all done, and dusted, and I still have no idea who won. Over a million died, so winning is a moot point. Iraq then decided it needed to pay of its debt. Kuwait was a large loaner to the Iraqi during its war. Iraq was struggling with the repayments, so an agreement was set via OPEC, to keep production levels at a point to keep oil prices at a certain value. Job done. Iraq will make its payments, and keep its house! Woohoo! Alas, what is this? kuwait... Why are you upping production, kicking me in the teeth? Iraq went back to OPEC, and reiterated its need to keep oil at a certain value, and again it was all agreed! Lo, Kuwait is still playing its game. Now the US was a big supporter of Iraq, and Iraq sought advise from it;s big fat friendly friend over the water. “Do you mind, awfully, if we head over, and teach those Kuwaitis a lesson, after all, if we become bankrupt, Iran will be all powerful!”. “Nope,” the yanky said, “Arab concerns” are not our concern. So, Iraq gathered it;s chaps in camouflage, and over they went, to teach the Kuwaitis a lesson. There was a distant cry from the Americans, however... What the buggery are you doing? And lo, the Gulf War was brought into being. So from being a great friend, they became great enemies, all overnight... Bugger!
*Now, in order to expel Iraq from Kuwait the Taliban, and especially Osama Bin laden, formerly under the supervision, and training of the US, decided it wanted to help, and Osama own army wanted to repel the Iraqis. However, in his homeland he witnessed the infidels walking on his soil, his sacred, holy sil. Boy, was he pissed. Herein lies the beginning of the pissed off Bin laden fellow, and we all know how that went. USS Cole, and so on... Bugger!
As you can see... It is an extensive list of bits and bobs that may seem small at the time, but all are interlinked, and the meddling by the west really does seem to have helped in along in leaps and bounds. It doesn’t stop there either. As we talk, we have Israel attacking Syria, and Iran, (well, that was a few years back), bulldozing people out of their homes, and holding a blockade on gaza for whatever bloody reason. They are also testing their own missiles, which is nice. Of course, North Korea, which is certainly a big fucked up country that seemingly has no sense attached to it, testing its own missiles, accompanied by much international condemnation. Now, you can argue that a troublesome bugger like Kim Jong Il needs to be kept on a leash, but come on, naming N Korea, Iran, Syria, etc in a group called the axis of evil was hardly going to get a good response. After that event, do you really expect them to NOT go on the defensive? The odd thing is that a few moments after the N Koreans test their missile, the US tests one, and the condemnation was very silent indeed. It seems you can invade, begin civil wars, and generally lie about reasons for war however much you want. That is perfectly fine, but should you have the nerve to test a missile, you will be in deep doo doo, especially if you are in the axis of evil, (who have invaded, or attacked exactly no-one. Where is the logic there?
In my mind, the less we poke these countries with sticks, the less likely they are going to jump up and aim a kick towards our genitals. Do we bring about most of this ourselves? History would seem to agree. Do we seem to seem to make a compete hash of foreign affairs? Yup, seemingly we do. Are we meddlesome buggers? Yup... Bugger!
