The Sandstorm

WHO could be cheerful about the Middle East? In that epicenter of instability, the news is almost exclusively about war and civil war, repression and injustice. If those responsible for the frightfulness were a danger only to themselves, the realist and the cynic might conclude that outsiders had better let them do their worst regardless. But as the people and their countries are going down, they can take everyone else with them. Islamist terror is a means to that end, and nobody knows how or when it might be stopped. Worse, Iran is a state actively promoting Islamist terror against the United States and, more generally, everything the West stands for. Many observers believe that Iran will soon acquire a nuclear weapon, at which point the Middle East danger zone will be well and truly globalized.

The rest of the world has to do what it can for the Middle East. Self-interest coincides with human solidarity. The indispensable first step is to analyze the root cause of the violence that perpetuates itself so damagingly. This much is clear: For historic and religious reasons, the regimes of the Muslim Middle East are all absolute, even in Iran and Turkey, where elements of pluralism do exist. In the absence of genuinely representative parliaments and political parties, loyal opposition, and the rule of law, the way is open for one-man rule. The ambitious struggle for power with no holds barred, and power itself becomes a matter of personality. Some Middle East power-holders are more decent than others, but basically all depend upon their military and secret-police apparatus. Nothing except success distinguishes the habitual criminality of rulers like Saddam Hussein or Yasser Arafat from the habitual criminality of failed seekers of power like Osama bin Laden and Moqtada al-Sadr. In the free-for-all struggle for supremacy in the absolute order, the decisive factors are the possession of more force than anyone else, and the will to use it.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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WHO could be cheerful about the Middle East? In that epicenter of instability, the news is almost exclusively about war and civil war, repression and injustice. If those responsible for the frightfulness were a danger only to themselves, the realist and the cynic might conclude that outsiders had better let them do their worst regardless. But as the people and their countries are going down, they can take everyone else with them. Islamist terror is a means to that end, and nobody knows how or when it might be stopped. Worse, Iran is a state actively promoting Islamist terror against the United States and, more generally, everything the West stands for. Many observers believe that Iran will soon acquire a nuclear weapon, at which point the Middle East danger zone will be well and truly globalized.

The rest of the world has to do what it can for the Middle East. Self-interest coincides with human solidarity. The indispensable first step is to analyze the root cause of the violence that perpetuates itself so damagingly. This much is clear: For historic and religious reasons, the regimes of the Muslim Middle East are all absolute, even in Iran and Turkey, where elements of pluralism do exist. In the absence of genuinely representative parliaments and political parties, loyal opposition, and the rule of law, the way is open for one-man rule. The ambitious struggle for power with no holds barred, and power itself becomes a matter of personality. Some Middle East power-holders are more decent than others, but basically all depend upon their military and secret-police apparatus. Nothing except success distinguishes the habitual criminality of rulers like Saddam Hussein or Yasser Arafat from the habitual criminality of failed seekers of power like Osama bin Laden and Moqtada al-Sadr. In the free-for-all struggle for supremacy in the absolute order, the decisive factors are the possession of more force than anyone else, and the will to use it.