There is a problem with the "geography" map below. (in some ways, the problem IS the map below). These borders were drawn by outsiders, and there are borders, regions and tribes that still mean something that do not appear.
As a single example, the kurdish population of "kurdistan" is an interesting one. It is not a country (because Churchill didn't say it was), but there is an awful lot of conflict along it's borders (which are in effect placed inside Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.)
Thus the conflict with the PKK and the Turks, and so on.
The middle east is a complicated place.
And most often the western point of view IS a bit oblivious to the issues. But two things seem clear.
One, in my travels there I have found the people to be lovely people and genuinely welcoming (if a stranger appears at your door he was sent there by Allah). They want to explain the issues to an outsider, and frankly, again in my experience, we are not equipped to understand them. Their memory goes back a LONG way.
Two, unfortunately, there will always be conflict in the middle east.
As a single example, the kurdish population of "kurdistan" is an interesting one. It is not a country (because Churchill didn't say it was), but there is an awful lot of conflict along it's borders (which are in effect placed inside Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey.)
Thus the conflict with the PKK and the Turks, and so on.
The middle east is a complicated place.
And most often the western point of view IS a bit oblivious to the issues. But two things seem clear.
One, in my travels there I have found the people to be lovely people and genuinely welcoming (if a stranger appears at your door he was sent there by Allah). They want to explain the issues to an outsider, and frankly, again in my experience, we are not equipped to understand them. Their memory goes back a LONG way.
Two, unfortunately, there will always be conflict in the middle east.