How successive American Presidents – Democratic and Republican – have misread the Middle East.
By Neville Berman
This article aims to briefly touch on how three events in 1979 profoundly weakened the West. The first was the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, the second was Saddam Hussein seizing control of Iraq, and the third was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) unilaterally raising the price of a barrel of oil ten-fold over the price before 1973. These three changes, all left unchallenged by the impotent West, enriched and emboldened the Islamists and changed the world.
Carter was the American President in 1979. He aimed to promote the western concept of democracy and human rights across the world. With the exception of Israel, democracy and human rights are completely foreign to the Middle East. Carter saw the Shah of Iran as an abuser of human rights and promoted his overthrow. Instead of democracy and human rights, Khomeini turned Iran into an Islamic autocracy with no rights for women, and brutal punishment for those that opposed his rule. Carter got it completely wrong.
President Bush, decided after 9/11, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and had supported Al Qaeda. He decided to overthrow Saddam and get rid of the Baath Party. The war cost America both blood and treasure. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found. America had no idea what to do with Iraq after the war ended. With Iraq neutralized by America, Iran was given a green light to pursue its policy of hegemony over the middle east and to try to eliminate Israel. America wanted to promote a stable Middle East, instead it got Islamism, terrorism, death and destruction. President Bush got it completely wrong.
There are six words that Iran has used for decades. The words are not in Farci but in English. For some reason, no American President seems able to understand them. The words are Death to America and Death to Israel. Very few believed Hitler when he declared that he wanted a Jew-free Europe. Words need to be taken seriously. President Obama decided that the six words were an invitation to negotiate. The initial idea was to end Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, and then to remove sanctions and release all the frozen Iranian money in western banks. Despite holding all the cards, America caved in to Iranian demands. All the frozen money was released, sanctions were lifted, and Iran continued to enrich uranium and develop its missile program. Flush with cash, Iran immediately increased funding of terrorist proxies throughout the middle east. Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency became farcical when Iran refused to allow inspectors into certain facilities and turned off cameras that were meant to monitor the situation. President Obama got it completely wrong.
One of the bedrock axioms of economics is that demand and supply determines the price. OPEC formed a cartel to limit the supply of oil in order to increase the price. The world never formed an opposing cartel to limit the price of oil. What followed was the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. The money flowed straight into the treasuries of the few oil exporting countries. There has never been a shortage of oil. The world has over a hundred years of known oil deposits to satisfy the current demand for oil. The money from oil sales at massively increased prices, effectively transformed some of the poorest countries on earth into fabulously wealthy countries. Almost all the oil importing countries are now facing deficits and inflation. From the above it is clear that both Democrat and Republican Presidents have made decisions that have emboldened and enriched anti-western leaders in the Middle East for decades. They all totally caved in to OPEC.
Most western countries are democracies. Democratic elections are usually won by one party receiving a few percentage points of votes more than the opposition. If one political party loses 5% and the opposition party gains 5% there is a 10% change in the election result. Qatar is led by one family known as the House of Thani. Qatar has used its massive wealth to finance the building of Middle Eastern Study Centers on all the campuses of the top universities in the US. All the lecturers hired are anti-Israel and against Western values. Qatar aims to cause at least a 5% change in the election process and bring about the subjugation of America. They have joined forces with the radical left in an attempt to bring chaos to America. Qatar has approximately 320,000 citizens. Despite its small size it has decided to use its wealth and the American constitutional right of free speech to attack America and cause chaos across the country. The aim is to remove American support for Israel and then to subjugate America to Islamic rule. Successive American Presidents have allowed this to happen.
Saudi Arabia has been paying for the construction of large mosques all over the world. The Imans in these mosques come from Saudi Arabia. They promote Islamic views of domination and subjugation, and have radicalized many of their followers around the world. They pose a direct threat to the liberal western rules- based world. Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia aim to bring about the fall of the West. What is really amazing is that America sees Qatar and Saudi Arabia as allies. America seems to be totally ignorant as to what is actually taking place. Money and greed have replaced morality and ethics. President Trump has clearly demonstrated that he wants to make deals. Democracy and common values are no longer part of the conversation.
Politicians in democracies need to face elections. It is clear that a change in the composition of the citizens will inevitably affect the number of votes for a candidate. The massive surge of immigrants into the West is dramatically changing election priorities throughout the West. There is no doubt that Islam is on the rise in the West and that an enormous amount of funding has been provided by Middle Eastern countries to promote Islamic ideals across the world. Indifference as to what is going on is not a policy. It is a strategic error that will lead to massive confrontation and chaos.
It is also clear that Israel also operated under the misguided policy of thinking that economic prosperity would bring about a peaceful resolution to the situation in Gaza. Without a doubt, successive Israel governments got it all wrong. After the shock of the atrocities of October 7, 2023, Israel quickly changed its policies. More than one and a half years later, the war is still ongoing. From the above, it is clear that leaders in the West also need to come to terms with what is happening. The elephant in the room is Islamic fundamentalism. It can no longer be ignored.
About the writer:
Accountant Neville Berman had an illustrious sporting career in South Africa, being twice awarded the South African State Presidents Award for Sport and was a three times winner of the South African Maccabi Sportsman of the Year Award. In 1978 he immigrated to the USA to coach the United States men’s field hockey team, whereafter, in 1981 he immigrated to Israel where he practiced as an accountant and then for 20 years was the Admin Manager at the American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel. He is married with two children and one granddaughter.
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