With all the complicated news out of Iran, and Israel, and Gaza, I wanted to provide a quick, deep thought on the state of the Middle East and the world:
Government is a social construct, one that has undergone many interesting evolutionary phases over the course of human events. Before it had a name, there was government, the rules by which small groups of largely nomadic people organized themselves in order to become more efficient and prosper. In a saber-tooth-tiger-eat-dog world, the importance was on survival and competition. It was in each human’s best interest to work well with a cohesive group in order to win the fight for food, water, and viable mates.
Then we evolved. As society became centered around agriculture, it became necessary to protect and provide for sedentary populations. Government, then, became about protecting land from external threats. As societies grew, then securing trade and external resources also became important. Successful governments, then, were the ones who best secured prosperity for their people through the defeating of external threats, the securing of allies, and the expansion of power. These ends could be reached with diplomacy, economic prowess, the cultivation of culture and innovation, or sometimes military force.
Those of us living in one of the major powers in the world are also living examples of the “missing link” between an ancient evolutionary form and the “modern” human. We are witnessing a unique period of peace between the largest and most powerful nations. Europe has not seen a major war since 1945. America has not engaged in conflict, even indirectly, with a world superpower since the end of the Vietnam conflict (for those of you who might think I am dismissing later conflicts, this is not my intention so please read on). If we were watching the world from space, what we would see is an unprecedented era of peace, the result of empowered states no longer needing war to keep their power.
And yet, we all know that this would not be an accurate vision of reality. We know that injustice, inequality, famine and war still fester in many regions of the world. We know that hundreds of years of imperialism has left some empowered while it has left others virtually, or literally, enslaved.
I believe that fixing these problems should be an end in and of itself, but it is easy to argue that, for selfish reasons, the world superpowers need to rethink their models of foreign policy and the role of their governments, because they’re antiquated, ineffective, and making the world less safe.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, or perhaps even before, the greatest threat to the national security of the United States hasn’t been a foreign power, but rather global destabilization stemming from power imbalance. For most Americans, it took 9/11 for them to realize that terrorism was a significant threat, but the lesson not learned from that tragedy is the way that radical ideas can be combated through societal change before they reach that point. Though many doubt the hype surrounding bugbears like terrorists with WMD, one need only look at the economic damage that 9/11 spawned, the human and economic cost of waging a “war on terror,” or the loss of a military deterrent against the most caustic foreign governments to see that terrorism is still a major threat to the security of the U.S. and the world. But what are we doing to counter this threat? Killing terrorists?
One need only look at this week’s mess between the Palestinians and the Israelis for a perfect example of what not to do in order to make your nation safer and strong in the 21st century. Israel, by boarding the six ships that attempted to run their blockade and deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza, won the battle but may have losing the war. Slate sums it up nicely:
Here is how Hamas’ interests have been served so far:
- Under severe pressure, Egypt, which has blockaded Gaza by land for its own political reasons, has opened its borders (at least for now), a move that is likely to facilitate more weapons shipments than the most extreme estimates of potential smuggling from the Mavi Marmara would have supplied.
- Turkey, the only predominantly Muslim country that regards Israel as an ally, has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv amid massive anti-Israeli protests in the streets of Istanbul.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on his way to Washington to discuss the resumption of Palestinian peace talks with President Barack Obama, had to go home (for obvious reasons), and the prospect for renewed diplomacy—which had gained much support in the region—has, to say the least, diminished.
- The case for tighter sanctions against Iran, to the extent that they involve sympathy with Israel’s security concerns, has been dealt a setback, just as the U.N. nuclear agency has announced that Iran has enough fuel to build two A-bombs (though the fuel still needs to be enriched).
- The U.N. Security Council has condemned Israel’s actions, and countless aid groups, including no doubt several that are hostile to Israel, are sailing toward Gaza, as if to dare the Israelis to fire on them too and, in any case, to deal another blow against the legitimacy of the blockade.
In sum, in order to keep one ship from delivering aid directly to Hamas—and, as Ha’aretzput it, choosing “the worst of all possible options” to do so—Israel has plunged itself into the deepest state of isolation that it’s experienced in years.
I wonder how many Israelis are safer now? I wonder how many of them are happy that their military so forcefully defended their country by enforcing this blockade? Was it worth the price of losing international support, further enraging the Palestinians, and inspiring hundreds, or maybe thousands, of others to run the blockade, fire another rocket, or maybe commit another suicide bombing?
In Iraq, the United States quickly saw that the best way to turn the situation around was to limit military actions that might result in the killing of civilians, stop torturing prisoners, and start listening to the needs of the people. Things in Iraq are far from perfect, but it is hard to compare the country now to what it was like for years after the 2003 invasion. We learned that in Iraq, like Somalia and Vietnam before it, we could not kill our way into victory. Neither can Israel.
But doesn’t Israel have the right to defend itself from rocket attacks? Isn’t that why the blockade is there in the first place? Yes, but do we remember why the Palestinians are so angry?
Economic comparison - Israel vs. West Bank Palestinians
The data speaks for itself. The data for the Gaza strip was unavailable, probably a combination of Israel controlling the press inside the country and the numbers being too low to count.
Time to Evolve the Role of Foreign Policy
It is no longer in the interest of superpowers to continue to expand their cultural, military, and economic strength along traditional models, as they produce disparity, which in turn creates conflict. Instead, the world powers will benefit from stability and growing parity both domestically and in the developing world. The powers of the world also need to focus on sustainability, in the economy, and in the environment.
As technology, wealth disparity, and global warming collide in the 21st century, the old model of the strength of statehood has become outdated. It is time for equality, environmentalism, and social justice to become the ends of power, else their lack become the end of it.
One Million Voices for Iran