THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
“Suddenly we could face darkness”
Power play in the Middle East Interview with Helmut Sorge, Columnist for Geopolitics and International Relations, Policy Center for the New South, Rabat
T
he European: Mr Sorge, the Middle East is in turmoil, possibly threatened by another war with whatever configuration of parties. Should we assume the worst? Helmut Sorge: Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, which was preceded by violence, it has been involved in eight wars. Suez, Gaza, Lebanon, the Six-Day War in 1967, which led to the occupation of the West Bank and the Golan Heights and provoked the Palestinian Infadas, the uprising of the people. Since then, we have observed more destabilisation in the region, for example through the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, which led to the horror of the “Islamic State” (ISIS), the attempt to create a Caliphate. The worst is not coming, it has already happened – a permanent disaster for the people of the Middle East, forced to escape, millions to Jordan, more to Turkey, and, yes, to Europe... The European: … and suddenly Europe was forced to recognise that these conflicts, which seemed so far away, were threatening its own stability. Refugees from the Middle East arriving in hundreds of thousands were welcomed by some and rejected by a growing number of European nations.
Helmut Sorge: The unorganised arrival of so many refugees clearly shifted political sentiments to the right, even into the shadow of fascism, reviving the spirits of Hitler or Mussolini. But besides these ideological upheavals, Europe is facing another menace, a war between the US and Iran. Just one Iranian missile hitting an American warship in the Strait of Hormuz, the only sealed passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, killing dozens of US soldiers or sinking the ship, would mean retaliation, an escalation of unforeseeable dimensions. Tehran could, with a few missiles, destroy the oilfields of Saudi Arabia and disrupt the oil deliveries to large regions of the planet, including Europe. Suddenly we could face darkness. The European: There is also the ongoing crisis in Libya, that Europe has to deal with, and which has led to the aggravation of the situation in arrivals, mainly in Italy. How critical is the situation in Libya and who are the powers who intervene from outside? Helmut Sorge: Firstly, it is a real shame how Europeans are abandoning Rome and Athens in their plight to deal with refugees, tolerating miserable and inhumane refugee camps.
of Donald Trump’s reelection should turn into fact, the Middle “IfEastthewillnightmare remain destabilised.”
28
