debate reply

Military interventions in the Middle East have always been a divisive matter. Some people hold the view that the interventions are justified and are very important. On the other hand, some people are of the view that other countries eg the United States and Russia should stop carrying out military interventions in the Middle East countries. I think other countries should not be involved militarily in the Middle East. This is due to various reasons among them provoking retaliatory terrorist attacks.

The involvement of the United States militarily in the Middle East provokes retaliatory terrorist attacks (Failed Interventions and What They Teach | Middle East Policy Council, 2020). The attacks are often carried out on American assets and people in both the United States and other friendly states. They are also carried out in countries that are friendly to the invading country. An example of these retaliatory attacks is the case of rocket attacks on the United States Embassy in Iraq. In addition to the retaliatory attacks, the presence of the military in the Middle Eastern countries is the least effective method of restoring law or enshrining democracy in the middle east countries. The military does not seek to change the minds of the people but to force them into doing some things. When the intervention ends or fails, the invaded country often goes back to the same state it was before the intervention. A more recent case is the case of the Taliban's quick take over in Afghanistan. This serves to show that the gains of the twenty-year-long military intervention could easily be reversed in less than a month, without even firing a shot ( Bashar, 2021)

Military interventions by the United States in the Middle East also result in increased radicalization (Atlantic Council,2021). The decades of war often result in neither peace nor stability. They instead galvanize some members of the society into groups that are “radicalized” around the view that the military interventions are an attack on their religion and way of life. This leads to and creates room for more radicalization. With increased radicalization, many radical groups end up being formed in the Middle East and end up attacking the intervening army and even assets of the United States

Summarily, the United States should not be militarily involved in the Middle East. This is because military interventions are rarely effective as has been witnessed recently in the case of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan and also the case of Syria. In addition, they only increase the risks of retaliatory attacks on American citizens and assets. In addition, the interventions also lead to increased cases of radicalization which results in the emergence of more radical groups as had been witnessed recently in many Middle East Countries.

References

Atlantic Council. (2021, June 24). Reality Check #8: Rethinking US military policy in the Greater Middle East. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/reality-check/reality-check-8-rethinking-us-military-policy-in-the-greater-middle-east/