Another View On Current Turmoil Over There

For John, BLUF:  Middle East actors, nation states and terrorist groups alike, are working an internal struggle, but they sometimes like to drag us in.  The pot is currently simmering, but could go to boil in the next three months.

Joe Mazzafro, who I don't know from Adam's odd ox, tries to connect some dots in the Near and Middle East.  The title of his on-line commentary is "Bad Movies and Threats to CONUS", and it can be found here.  I think he does a good job of looking at the issues that underlie ongoing unrest in the Arab/Muslim world.  Once again, it isn't about us.  He ends up:

Given what we are experiencing right now it seems likely that we are going experience another attack on our homeland before we have the national debate called for by 9/11 Commission on how much of our civil liberties we are willing to trade for our security.   A denial of service attack against YouTube or its parent Google just feels like something we should be anticipating before Election Day.

That’s what I think; what do you think?

My own opinion is to look for something more physical.  I don't think these various terrorist bands are pro anyone.  I do think they want to send a signal to the US as a whole, and any target, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, will do.

And, there is the possibility of war in that neighborhood.  One of the things about revolutions is that they kick up a lot of dust.  From the French Revolution we got war that spread as far as Spain, Egypt and the gates of Moscow.  It resulted in the reconfiguration of the United States, with the Louisiana Purchase, and spun off the War of 1812.

While I am not impressed with the Obama Administration Foreign Policy for the Near and Middle East, I am not sure there is a great policy out there.♠  We need to muddle through.  It is the Anglo-Saxon way.  Keep calm and carry on.

And let's not be giving up our Civil Rights, e.g., The First Amendment.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  It isn't all bad news out there.  I do think there are some successes out there.  Libya's response to the Benghazi incident has been positive.