Tripoli airport seized

[Pilot Fighter]

A failed state claims another airport. The idea of never being able to return to an airport personalizes the matter.

When Colonel Gaddafi finally yielded to decades of sanctions, we turned the keys to the car over to the crazies.



http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/23/world/africa/libya-violence/index.html

 

[Boyington]

From the Halls of Montezuma to the.....

Send the Marines, they should know the way.

 

[SeanD]

Is there a single Middle Eastern country not in some sort of turmoil? We always turn the car keys over to the crazies. There are no massage parlor happy endings.

 

[jtrain609]

Is there a single Middle Eastern country not in some sort of turmoil? We always turn the car keys over to the crazies. There are no massage parlor happy endings.

Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (if you can call it middle eastern), Qatar.

 

[jskibo]

Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (if you can call it middle eastern), Qatar.

Oman

 

[USMCmech]

Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (if you can call it middle eastern), Qatar.

The only thing keeping the Saudi Arabia and the gulf states stable is oil money. They also have massive populations of young people who "can't" find jobs (mainly because they refuse to do manual labor). In 50 years when the oil runs out, the turmoil in Arabia will make the current troubles look like hiccup.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

It took Mubarek to hold Egypt together, it took Asad to hold Syria together, it took Gaddafi to hold Libya together.

We've returned to the Jimmy Carter school of foreign policy.

 

[SeanD]

Isnt it somewhat true that some factions within Saudi Arabia may help fund some of these shenanigans going on in other countries?

 

[NewYorkophile]

Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (if you can call it middle eastern), Qatar.

I would not include that nation in any list of somewhat decent locales. The Saudis are f***heads.

 

[jtrain609]

I would not include that nation in any list of somewhat decent locales. The Saudis are f***heads.

I don't disagree, but there's no civil unrest there either. They may rule with an iron fist, but it's an effective iron fist.

 

[dasleben]

All of this is making it tough to get to/from the Middle East without flying over a warzone. The times we live...

 

[derg]

Is there a single Middle Eastern country not in some sort of turmoil? We always turn the car keys over to the crazies. There are no massage parlor happy endings.

Techincally, Africa, but I feel you dogg!

 

[tomokc]

A favorite quote I read over the weekend, showing that things don't always get better by removing the tyrant:

"Saddam Hussein was the garbage-pail lid who kept the garbage of his nation from spilling out."

 

[swisspilot]

Is there a single Middle Eastern country not in some sort of turmoil? We always turn the car keys over to the crazies. There are no massage parlor happy endings.

Libya is not in the middle east

 

[jskibo]

Isnt it somewhat true that some factions within Saudi Arabia may help fund some of these shenanigans going on in other countries?

Sure, better to pay the kids to destroy things elsewhere than let it happen in your own backyard!

 

[Pilot Fighter]

I would not include that nation in any list of somewhat decent locales. The Saudis are f***heads.

It has a pretty diverse population including some that would take a bullet for a friend.

Of course, a fair number would shoot you in the head if they had a clear shot.

 

[swisspilot]

The only thing keeping the Saudi Arabia and the gulf states stable is oil money. They also have massive populations of young people who "can't" find jobs (mainly because they refuse to do manual labor). In 50 years when the oil runs out, the turmoil in Arabia will make the current troubles look like hiccup.

This is not correct, most of the instability is due to a different demography within each country and of course western intervention, for example the UAE are not affected much by a tribal system. Ever watched the movie Lawrence of Arabia? That will give you a good idea in what went wrong in the Arabian Peninsula. And this dates way before the oil rush.

Saudi Arabia has still an open conflict going on with Yemen, it withdraw from the news for couple years now, but it is not over.

 

[tomokc]

Libya is not in the middle east

They have sand and are full of crazy people - it's the same thing.

Oh, wait - that's Texas. Never mind.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

UAE are not affected much by a tribal system.

Kinda. They acknowledged it and kept the individual Emirates distinct instead of consolidating power.

 

[swisspilot]

Kinda. They acknowledged it and kept the individual Emirates distinct instead of consolidating power.

It also helps that the vast majority of the population are expats...