Henry Kissenger appeared on Charlie Rose last night, and laid out what he sees as the real problem in the Middle East.
Transcripts are not available on Google at the time of this posting. I will update when they are accessible.
The issue he defines and emphasizes gave me a new way to examine the geopolitical processes in the area, and its resulting problems. It signals a serious set of concerns which may have been exacerbated by Bush's War. Henry is loathed to give up his access to the WH and levers of power by actually criticizing any President, but he came very close in this interview.
Update One: Just to emphasize the seriousness of this issue, the Blind Shaikh, in prison since the 1st Towers bombing, is near death. As the "spiritual leader" of al Queda, he has called for "bloody vicious attacks if he dies in prison".
Update Two: The FBI has put law enforcement across the country on high alert.
According to Kissenger the continuing growth of non-state forces such as Hamas, Hezbolla, and militias such as Al Sadr's, are operating as independent entities within the geographic borders of acknowledged nation states. They are not under the control of governments, they engage in activities that may, or may not, undermine those governments, and they are immune to international control.
Their use of violence as a tool for exercising and demanding power is growing. Their membership is increasing at an alarming rate. They are highly sophisticated organizations led by titular religious spokesmen who have gained the respect and devotion of both religious and secular people in the movement.
Having no standing to enter into treaties or agreements, they can not be held to international law, they are rogue entities, and they have become a law unto themselves. They are individually, and collectively aware of this shift in geopolitical reality, and use it to the maximum extent they can.
They are very well funded by various political and religious groups who want to destroy the current geopolitical landscape. They provide social services that existing governments can not, or will not, provide, they build a wide loyalty among the poor, the unemployed, and religious in various nations, and they undermine the authority of current governments.
They are growing in size and strength and are introducing a completely new variant into the power struggles among the nations in the region.
This new political movement is frightening in its scope and its potential to disrupt the accepted international conventions of intercourse between states.
The United States must begin a discussion of how we intend to deal with this new phenomena, and the old, Cold War rhetoric, macho political and military posturing, and pandering to the provincial ignorance of the typical American, will not work.