Instability In The Middle East

The Middle East is a geopolitical term that commonly refers to the region spanning the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Anatolia, Egypt, Iran and Iraq. The term came into usage in the early 20th century in replacement of the term Near East which was previously used to describe the region.

Countries that are mostly considered to be in this region are; Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Turkey.

Throughout history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs. The region has been strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive, making it one of the areas with most attention.

Of late, the region has been a major hotspot when it comes to wars and conflicts across the globe. Tensions have been high in most areas of the region for several years and some of the main causes are Power, Control Over Oil and sometimes Religion.

The Iraq invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 marked the begining of America's " endless " war in the region. During this period, the United States in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm led a coalition of 34 nations to the liberation of Kuwait and protecting Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi led Saddam Hussein over fears that Iraq may take control over major oil fields in the region. Then US Chief of Defence Council, General Colin Powell and General Norman Schwarzkopf were the main men that led this combact.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, a second war in Iraq began in 2003 when the US claimed Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Even when a UN inspection team had declared that it has found absolutely no evidence of this claim, the US went ahead and invaded Iraq. The regime was toppled, Saddam Hussein and some officials in his government was tried and hunged. Once again Colin Powell who was now the US secretary of state was the main man who propagated this lie that lead to the invasion and later claimed it was a 'blot in his records' . During this period France, Germany and Russia were countries that outrightly condemned the actions by the US. Up to today Iraq is still at war with ISIS groups.

Another instability that attracts attention is the Syrian Civil War. In 2011, during the Arab Spring, a civil war erupted in Syria. This was as a result of violent crackdown on protesters who demanded policy reforms by the Bashar al Assad led Syrian government. This suppression went on for long causing the formation of many resistance groups to oppose the Bashar regime. Militais as Islamic State of Iraq and Levant ( ISIL ), The Army of Conquest, al Nusra Front and the Free Syrian Army were all formed during this period to oppose the regime alongside protesters. These forces and freedom fighters were backed by the United States as they also provided humanitarian reliefs for some of the people. Russia on the other hand sided with Bashar's government and supplied them with military equipments to fight it's opposition. Even though there seem to be some kind of resolution in the country, the war still rages on.

The Middle East is also the home to the oldest conflict in the world, the Israel-Palestine conflict. This conflict has been ragging on for over 54 years. It all began when the British declared the establishment of the State of Israel in an area that was controlled by the Palestinians. The Arab League decided to intervane on behalf of Arab- Palestines, marching forces into the area and causing a full blown conflict. Control over certain major cities as Jerusalem, Gaza and also the West Bank is what keeps the conflict going as no side is willing to give in to the other. Till today they keep on firing bombs at each other. Also going on in the Middle East is the Yemeni war against the Houthi anti government groups.

Instability in this region can be brought to it's minimum if;

•Parties involved are ready to settle their differences to dialogue with non of them not breaching the terms of the agreement. 

•Third parties as USA, Russia and NATO, reforms their policies toward countries in this region and reduce their interests in the affairs of the region.

This would go a long way to bring peace and stability to the Middle East.