I do wish that one day, the Middle East would be perceived in a more positive way in the media. And I am sure the media would like to do that as well. However, they cannot help themselves but to show the public, who are outside of the region, its darker and treacherous side. The powerful images and footage is something that is so unfamiliar to a lot of us but we cannot help but be intrigued, while being gobsmacked, angry and sympathetic at the same time.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen Iraq being victim to vicious attacks by a group called Isis, which consists of dozens of Iraqis and Syrian extremists who have occupied large parts of land across the country that barely recovered from the 2003 war caused by the UK and US coalition. Now, their people are living in constant fear and running out of options as to how they get their lives "back to normal". Some have fought back but that has only created more bloodshed and fatal casualties. World leaders want to use the power of negotiation with Isis leaders but that is proved to, so far, be unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, previously, the relationship between Israel and Palestine has been sticky at the best of times but recent events has seen their "peace process" thrown out of the window. There were global reports that three innocent Israeli teenagers were needlessly killed by Palestinians. There was no known motive behind this other than the fact the teenagers were from the "enemy". So what did the Israeli government order as part of their revenge - bomb Palestine. Use arms to kill hundreds, and hundreds of people. These attacks have occurred for days and more is expected in the coming days, potentially weeks.
I can talk all day about how horrendous the events are in Iraq, Israel and Palestine but my biggest issue is that the United Nations (UN) are doing very little to prevent further disaster. The UN's meant to be uniting nations - get it? The UN's meant to prevent extremist groups from forming and should they be formed, use their power to break them up before they cause trouble. The UN's meant to lead the way to create world peace.
Of course, it isn't just the UN's job to make sure the above happens, but it is clear that the Middle East is their weakness. They have done fairly well to ensure Syria would cease their nuclear weapons but we're still seeing deadly hostilities between the country's government and its opposition. It is clear that the governments in many of the Middle Eastern countries have huge issues and the UN have no idea what to do with them.
Their main, headline-grabbing attempt to salvage peace in the region was to appoint Tony Blair as their "Middle Eastern Special Peace Envoy". He's obtained this position in 2007 soon after he resigned as British Prime Minister, and since then, and even before that when he decided to invade Iraq and Afghanistan while being PM, the Middle East has been in utter disarray. His recent advice to world leaders about Iraq was to bomb them again, but that is typical of him. It is also typical of him that he managed to damage a slowly gradual mending of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Their peace process has certainly been given the back seat of late.
The United Nations are heavily reliant on the US and UK governments to sort out the problems. Secretary of State, John Kerry of the States is actively campaigning for peace in Syria but the situation in Israel and Palestine is a conundrum for his country. Historically, whoever governed in the White House in the past, have backed Israel and formed a key, yet controversial alliance with them. But the course has altered slightly with Kerry talking constructively to Iran (Israel's nemesis) about their nuclear ambitions, which was a taboo subject for the States previously. Their relationship with Iran heated up big time, which delighted Israel, when some of the biggest economies imposed crippling financial sanctions. Some of them have been lifted due to these ongoing talks which has gotten Israel's knickers in a twist. It didn't help when recently, Kerry has spoken fondly of Palestine.
Meanwhile, the British foreign policy has noticeably changed over the past 12 months, in my view. They focussed so much on Syria beforehand, when the atrocities escalated to unimaginable levels, Prime Minister David Cameron called for a vote in the House of Commons to take action as they did in Libya - in their quest to topple President Assad. Cameron received an overwhelming "no". However, it has recently emerged that government talks on Syria are happening behind closed doors. In the public eye instead, we are seeing the Foreign Office's humanitarian side, joining forces with A-Listers to campaign against abuse on women while liaising with the Home Office about the ongoing immigration debate and deport the people who they consider dangerous. While the Home Office concentrate on the likes of Abu Qatada, the Foreign Office focus lies on the likes of Julian Assange.
Despite the changing focus in the UK Foreign Office, another corner was turned this week when the Foreign Secretary William Hague was replaced by former Defence and Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond. Hammond is known well for his anti-EU stance, so although his focus may be on Brussels, he would need to focus on the Middle East and perhaps forget the fact he was Defence Secretary in this instance.
Reputation is key and if the UN don't think of themselves in this situation, more countries will lose faith in them and may cause more conflicts. Enough of those - the Middle East needs peace. What is happening in Israel and Palestine is horrific but most of this is down to both sides delving into the past. It is about looking forward and not "who owns what". Less shouting and more talking like professional adults. They need to benefit lives of their people, not end them.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen Iraq being victim to vicious attacks by a group called Isis, which consists of dozens of Iraqis and Syrian extremists who have occupied large parts of land across the country that barely recovered from the 2003 war caused by the UK and US coalition. Now, their people are living in constant fear and running out of options as to how they get their lives "back to normal". Some have fought back but that has only created more bloodshed and fatal casualties. World leaders want to use the power of negotiation with Isis leaders but that is proved to, so far, be unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, previously, the relationship between Israel and Palestine has been sticky at the best of times but recent events has seen their "peace process" thrown out of the window. There were global reports that three innocent Israeli teenagers were needlessly killed by Palestinians. There was no known motive behind this other than the fact the teenagers were from the "enemy". So what did the Israeli government order as part of their revenge - bomb Palestine. Use arms to kill hundreds, and hundreds of people. These attacks have occurred for days and more is expected in the coming days, potentially weeks.
I can talk all day about how horrendous the events are in Iraq, Israel and Palestine but my biggest issue is that the United Nations (UN) are doing very little to prevent further disaster. The UN's meant to be uniting nations - get it? The UN's meant to prevent extremist groups from forming and should they be formed, use their power to break them up before they cause trouble. The UN's meant to lead the way to create world peace.
Of course, it isn't just the UN's job to make sure the above happens, but it is clear that the Middle East is their weakness. They have done fairly well to ensure Syria would cease their nuclear weapons but we're still seeing deadly hostilities between the country's government and its opposition. It is clear that the governments in many of the Middle Eastern countries have huge issues and the UN have no idea what to do with them.
Their main, headline-grabbing attempt to salvage peace in the region was to appoint Tony Blair as their "Middle Eastern Special Peace Envoy". He's obtained this position in 2007 soon after he resigned as British Prime Minister, and since then, and even before that when he decided to invade Iraq and Afghanistan while being PM, the Middle East has been in utter disarray. His recent advice to world leaders about Iraq was to bomb them again, but that is typical of him. It is also typical of him that he managed to damage a slowly gradual mending of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Their peace process has certainly been given the back seat of late.
The United Nations are heavily reliant on the US and UK governments to sort out the problems. Secretary of State, John Kerry of the States is actively campaigning for peace in Syria but the situation in Israel and Palestine is a conundrum for his country. Historically, whoever governed in the White House in the past, have backed Israel and formed a key, yet controversial alliance with them. But the course has altered slightly with Kerry talking constructively to Iran (Israel's nemesis) about their nuclear ambitions, which was a taboo subject for the States previously. Their relationship with Iran heated up big time, which delighted Israel, when some of the biggest economies imposed crippling financial sanctions. Some of them have been lifted due to these ongoing talks which has gotten Israel's knickers in a twist. It didn't help when recently, Kerry has spoken fondly of Palestine.
Meanwhile, the British foreign policy has noticeably changed over the past 12 months, in my view. They focussed so much on Syria beforehand, when the atrocities escalated to unimaginable levels, Prime Minister David Cameron called for a vote in the House of Commons to take action as they did in Libya - in their quest to topple President Assad. Cameron received an overwhelming "no". However, it has recently emerged that government talks on Syria are happening behind closed doors. In the public eye instead, we are seeing the Foreign Office's humanitarian side, joining forces with A-Listers to campaign against abuse on women while liaising with the Home Office about the ongoing immigration debate and deport the people who they consider dangerous. While the Home Office concentrate on the likes of Abu Qatada, the Foreign Office focus lies on the likes of Julian Assange.
Despite the changing focus in the UK Foreign Office, another corner was turned this week when the Foreign Secretary William Hague was replaced by former Defence and Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond. Hammond is known well for his anti-EU stance, so although his focus may be on Brussels, he would need to focus on the Middle East and perhaps forget the fact he was Defence Secretary in this instance.
Reputation is key and if the UN don't think of themselves in this situation, more countries will lose faith in them and may cause more conflicts. Enough of those - the Middle East needs peace. What is happening in Israel and Palestine is horrific but most of this is down to both sides delving into the past. It is about looking forward and not "who owns what". Less shouting and more talking like professional adults. They need to benefit lives of their people, not end them.
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