Quote:
Originally Posted by Matata
Much of the violence and instability in the middle east is a direct result of western intervention. Our governments and corporations have spent a century ravaging the middle east for their own benefit (which happens to be the exact same amount of time that they've been aware of the middle east's massive oil reserves, I wouldn't call that a coincidence). To spend a hundred years exploiting a region and spilling an ocean of blood, then to walk away and say "it's your problem now"... That doesn't sound like justice or a path to peace to me.
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Egypt kicked out the West and nationalized the Suez Canal 60 years ago, and been charting its own course since then. Things are worse for most people now than they were before Nasser. Khomeni took over Iran almost 40 years ago. Even with its oil wealth the country is more medieval than not.
Southeast Asia kicked out its colonizers around the same time, and most of those countries have moved on and become stable and prosperous.
You can't blame colonizers and the West forever. Not when dozens of former colonies have moved on and become functioning states with strong economies. Culture matters, and the Middle East's brand of extreme social conservatism is proving a severe handicap to modernization and economic growth.