The middle east continues to be a source of one political crisis after another, whether it was a struggle to control the once important trade links between Europe and its Eastern Empires, or  now the oil interests of the vested interest groups. With the advance in technology, the Middle East has lessened in importance to the West as a link between Europe and the East, but a combination of  two issues still make the Middle East a center of world crisis, Islam and Oil. Religion by itself, is unimportant an ingredient, combined with Oil, it is a potent recipe. In fact volatile!

Throughout history, the Middle East  and what is known as the holy land, has been an area of conflict, religious or empirical, and with the globalization brought about by technology, its struggle has been brought home virtually to every home's sitting room, thrusted onto the viewer via direct TV. With the production of oil concentrated in this part of the World, and the World's continued dependency on oil as an energy source, any crisis in the Middle East. immediately compounds itself  adversely  on the rest of the world and its economy.

The fact is, there are enough local problems and controversies all over the World to keep people occupied with their own problems than to be concerned with what happens 5,000 miles away to people who have little or no identification with you, notwithstanding religion or political orientation, except as a news line over the television and the  front pages of the daily papers. But, since the potent combination impacts on the World economy, oil has become a potent weapon of choice for some people, and draws the World powers into the equation.

Most societies adopt the view- a curse on both houses! That probably explains in vivid demonstration,  the recent phenomena in France, where the ultra-nationalist minority movement led by Le Pen, as he is known as, has loomed large on the French political scene, when Le Pen who even had difficulty in finding the minimum number of nominees to enter his name into the Presidential race, ended up toppling the main candidate of the French left government party. Will this be a "flash in le pen"? It will, if the rest of the French nation gets it's act together, as Le Pen obviously represents a minority xenophobic view of France and World politics. A throwback to the middle ages! His policies, some, to pull France out of the EU and revert to the Franc! But, clearly this resurgence in the prospects of the extreme right wing is the reaction of many French people to the events in the Middle East, where many French people of the far right and the some, the middle, dislike the Jews as much as they dislike the Arabs and Palestinians. So the "resurgence" in anti-Semitism is no comfort to the Arabs, because they are bundled together!

The perception that there is little difference between the 2 leading candidates, does not help the voter lethargy that added to the upset blow delivered by the ultra nationalists!

With the determination of the desperate and resource-less anti-establishment forces in the Middle East increasingly using the West not merely as a refuge in their fight against their own governments, like Ayatolah Khomeni, who used France for years as his asylum and center of rebellion against the Government of the Shah of Iran, the rebels opposed to  the Saudi Government, Algeria and Turkey are increasingly using the West's own homeland as the actual theatres for their struggle! Especially, where they perceive that the West are offering comfort, support and buttressing up the regimes in these countries. Ironically, as in the example of Ayatolah Khomeni, the rebels themselves use the West as their "safe houses" to carry out their activities. London, is not known among Middle Eastern terrorists as the Beirut of Europe for no reason! Before 911, they literally commute between their networks of terror via London with impunity!

911 clearly is a turning point in the struggle in the Middle East, how it will eventually work out, how it will impact the struggle? The jury is still out!