Until 1956 Great Britain was the dominant power in the Middle East. The Suez Canal crisis led to British withdrawal from the region. Could Iraq be America's Suez, forcing the United States out of the world's most volatile neighborhood?
by Melvin Rhodes
It is just more than two centuries since Napoleon's arrival in Egypt heralded the advent of a modern Middle East; but now—some 80 years after the demise of the Ottoman Empire, 50 years after the end of colonialism and less than 20 years after the end of the cold war—the American era in the region has ended."
This paragraph begins an article by the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, published in the Financial Times, in the Oct. 17, 2006 , issue titled, "A Troubling Middle East Era Dawns."
Mr. Haass was writing at a time of increased discussion of a major shift in U.S. policy on Iraq. There is a growing conviction among many that the war cannot be won. At the same time, U.S. public opinion is increasingly against the war. Amidst all the uncertainty, one fact is becoming clear: The United States will at some point pull out of Iraq.
What the world appears to be witnessing now is the end of the American era in the Middle East, ironically exactly 50 years to the month after the British were forced out of the region in the aftermath of the Suez Canal crisis. Is America following Great Britain out of the region? If so, what kind of a Middle East will be left behind?
Continuing, Mr. Haass wrote: "Visions of a new Europe-like Middle East that is peaceful, prosperous and democratic will not be realized. Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself and the world."
The Bible: U.S. absent from end-time Middle East
The Bible shows us that end-time events will be focused on the Middle East. Luke 21, Matthew 24 and Mark 13 are three chapters in the Gospels that show Jerusalem as the central focus of end-time events. The last three chapters of the Old Testament book of Zechariah also describe in great detail events that will unfold in this part of the world.
