Syria’s Game of Thrones: Obama backs Al Qaida and the Chechen terrorists

From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet Union was involved in a long, drawn out war in Afghanistan which came to be known as “Russia’s Vietnam.”  At the time, the US was backing anti Russian forces in the country.  Those forces – collectively known as the Mujahideen – were fighting against the pro-Soviet Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

One of the main leaders of the Mujahideen was Osama Bin Laden – originally from a wealthy Saudi Arabian family – and were ultimately successful in toppling the government.  They didn’t, however, form a new government right away, and ultimately the Pakistan and Saudi-backed Taliban were able to seize control.  These radical groups backed Bin Laden’s attack on the US in September 11, prompting the US to enter a near-decade-long war in the country.

Unfortunately, it seems that neither Russia nor the US has learned much from history, and the geopolitical conflicts of the Cold War have shifted almost entirely to the Middle East.  Russia’s control over Europe’s oil supply gives the country a substantial amount of influence in that region, but the oil comes from the Middle East, making it the strategically relevant region of the 21st century.

The difference between the Middle East and the former battleground of Eastern Europe, though, is that in the 1940s, Eastern Europe had no strong regional powers.  The empires which had previously dominated the region had disintegrated, and no one had replaced them.  The Middle East, however, does have its own strong regional players.

The Saudis and Iranians are vying for control over the Middle East, and each support different sets of regional forces.  The Saudis are allied with the USA, while Iran is backed by Russia and China; the Saudis support Al Qaida, and Iran supports Hezbollah.  The Saudis support the rebel forces – much as they did in Afghanistan – while Iran’s alliance is with Syria’s current leader, Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

for an analysis of the players in the middle east, please go to:

http://benswann.com/syrias-game-of-thrones