The simmering Middle East Inferno Chronological Rendition of War, Defeat & Conquest

The simmering Middle East Inferno

Chronological Rendition of War, Defeat & Conquest

Public Lecture, CX, MMXIII Vol. X No. VII

Costantinos Berhutesfa Costantinos, PhD,

Professor of Public Policy, School of Graduate Studies,

College of Business & Economics, AAU,

Abstract

Arab nationalism emerged to prominence with the weakening and defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the 20^th century. It degenerated after the defeat of the Arab armies in the Six Day War. It aim was to end of Western influence in the Arab World, seen as a nemesis of Arab strength, and the removal of those Arab governments considered dependent for their survival upon Western powers. The Arab–Israeli conflict refers to the political tension, military conflicts and disputes between a number of Arab countries and Israel. The roots of the modern Arab–Israeli conflict are bound in the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19^th century. The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw five main campaigns: the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, the Mesopotamian Campaign, the Caucasus Campaign, the Persian Campaign, and the Gallipoli Campaign. There were also several minor campaigns: the North African Campaign, Arab Campaign, and South Arabia Campaign. The post-Ottoman period is rife with conflicts in the Middle East (the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia), Levant, and the Delta of the Nile and neighbouring areas of Arabia, Anatolia and Iran). It currently encompasses the area from Egypt, Turkey and Cyprus in the west to Iran and the Persian Gulf in the east, and from Turkey and Iran in the north, to Yemen and Oman in the south. Furthermore, the Muslim split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shia that originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead Muslim community. Due to the alarming gains made by the Shiats (Houthis in Yemen) who claimed the right of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants to lead the Islamic community, a Saudi-led coalition of nine Arab nations is already turning Yemen into a phantom state. Yet Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has indicated that the coalition’s mandate may be extended beyond Yemen?
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