The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers...the Cradle of Civilization...this is where it all began. Years later, the world's power base would shift...Greece, Rome, The Indus River Valley and of coarse China. In Medieval times, the way history is taught to western children...Europe is all the rage. After the Renaissance, it seems that it truly was...and in 1492 a huge period of European expansion and colonization begins...
Where am I going with this? Well...the focus shifts from not just Europe, but to its offspring; New worlds in North and South America...to finding Asian trade routes, to dividing Africa into pieces on a map and dividing it amongst European nations...followed by revolutions and colonial independence...all the while...
The MIDDLE EAST becomes a Grandparent dropped off at a Nursing home that never gets visitors! No one pays much attention to her until they want to curry favor with her.
So what does she do? She acts up! The Middle East wants attention..."I carried civilization in my womb for 9 months and this is the respect I get?"
And like good little heirs we are waiting for her to keel over so we can inherit all the oil. Some of us act more concerned than others for her well-being "you know...she just isn't in her right mind lately, we need to go and take care of her even if the rest of the global family doesn't like it. We know whats best."
I say fuck the bitch...we need to come up with better sources of energy and pull the plug on her. My only concern is how she will react.
I suppose that in these oil rich nations when we finally do move on they won't go quietly! Sure, developing nations without access to nuclear power and fuel cells and whatever technology awaits us that breaks the OPEC strangehold on our lives will probably be able to get oil CHEAP...but those countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE...) will atrophe economically...and I am sure the extremists there will blame it all on the West. I think thats when things will really get ugly...
So maybe we should give them the Terri Shiavo treatment instead...keep them on life support ad nauseum.