In the name of Oil

From the myriad of evils that the Middle East has come to know, no other entity has ever been such a vice, such a tool for the disenfranchisement and vitiation of such an eclectic group of peoples as the curse that is oil.

What initially swayed the Bedouin to exchange his camel and nomadic garb for a newly acquired Mercedes-Benz, Rolex watch, and Armani Shoes, all the while cleaving to the medieval Islamic mores that were deemed convenient to retain, has created vicious systems of autocracy that not only impose their dogmatic will on their respective societies but has produced a reality where the average citizen has become solely dependant on the state.
Apposite scrutiny of a region that is home to such disparate populations yields an indisputable axiom. Whether Persian or Arab, Shia or Sunni, American ally or foe- the overwhelming majority of the nations that comprise Southwest Asia are headed by inept tyrants who have become impediments to the social, political, and economic progression of the masses they rule.

Generation after generation, this cycle is able to repeat itself by reason of mankind’s thirst for oil. The possession of this commodity or even geographical proximity to nations who own this natural resource has enabled tyrants to consolidate absolute power and virtually eradicate all domestic opposition to their rule, so long as Western interests are addressed and the Islamic Socialism of each oil-rich nation tends to the basic and only the basic needs of their citizenry.

The billions of dollars that flow into the coffers of the House of Saud, the Persian Gulf Sheikdoms, or the Islamic Republic hierarchy is seldom trickled down to their respective populations. Furthermore, adjacent nations like Egypt and Jordan, who are oddly lionized by the American government as being “model states”, receive an abundance of US foreign aid, VIP access to the latest military technology, and are granted ‘Most Favored Nation’ trading status while their individual populations are rarely the recipients of such benefits.

Coming to terms with this dynamic explains how a region that has been endowed with the most sought after resource in the history of mankind has also the world’s highest exodus of human capital.

Jerusalem Post