Violence Spikes in Lebanon as Syria War Leaks Out

Posted: 2013-06-03 18:15:58

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wigwag

About that pivot to Asia that the Obama Administration keeps bragging about; as we pivot to Asia to insure that China’s rise is balanced by a partnership between the U.S. and other Asian nations, isn’t China pivoting to the Middle East? Is a strategy of balancing China’s ascendency in Asia likely to be successful if U.S. influence in the Middle East wanes while Chinese influence in the Middle East escalates?

China is already showing signs of increasing interest in countries like Iran, Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territories. If the U.S abandons its roll
Luke Lea

So how do we identify the good guys? Listen to the Saudis? I think we should at least protect the Christians in that part of the world if we can. Is there anything to be said for letting the Middle East disintegrate into a lot of little emirates like the ones along the shores of the Persian Gulf? I have no idea.
ljgude

Pro Hezbollah Sunnis…oh boy, I have the wrong scorecard. Things are getting all mixed up. It may be a war of all against all. Intervene? My inner neocon is Bushed, Obamaed out.
rheddles

All these Middle East posts assume that there is some policy course the United States could pursue that would prevent all this violence from erupting. That is probably a faulty assumption, regardless of who is in charge of US policy.

In the MENA in particular, populations have far outstripped their ability to provide for themselves. Egypt is staring famine in the face and the stop gap measures may soon run out. If that happens, the effects will dwarf the internecine warfare in Syria. The seeds of this situation were literally sown 20 years ago in beds throughout the area.

I say, let China have the Middle East. They are probably more willing to take the steps necessary to contain the situation. And it would be fun to watch them try. If China becomes the responsible adult, they will have to assure the rest of the Far East and Europe that their energy supplies are secure or risk driving them closer to the US.

The pivot is one of Obama’s better ideas, though the execution and strategy leave something to be desired. But that is because aq successful policy would require addressing domestic problems 0 would rather kick down the road to the next administration.
Andrew Allison

I agree with Prof. Mead that the results of this civil war will be ugly and widespread, but I’m not convinced that it won’t be even worse if we intervene. It’s possible that by not making it clear from day one that we would not intervene gave the rebels false hope. Have we leaned nothing from the sorry history of our interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq? Won’t intervening in what has now become open warfare between Sunnis and Shiites simply further inflame radical Islam?