The creation of failed states in the Mideast has typically been viewed as a highly undesirable outcome, but a theoretical case can be made for a deliberate policy of nation wrecking tied to the goal of control of Mideast petroleum resources.
There have been too many destructive steps in Iraq to fit an accidental pattern. The tolerance of looting and anarchy, the dissolution of the Iraqi Army, the failure to restore essential services - all these can be viewed as methods of deliberately wrecking an independent nation hostile to the United States. Following is a description of the Bush/Cheney country wrecking strategy, and its implications for the Mideast.
The logic underlying country wrecking is that it simultaneously destroys political opposition to the United States while permitting defacto control of the target country by US Forces. Because the wrecked country never regains effective sovereignty, it becomes a US protectorate for all practical purposes. In US-controlled territory, all natural resources are available to the US. The impending passage of an "Oil Law" highly favorable to US energy companies confirms that the wrecking of Iraq has cleared the path for extraction of its oil by US corporations.
Once the process of country-wrecking is under way, it is easy to understand how it can be extended into other target nations. Any nation can be accused of aiding insurgents in the wrecked country. Iran, China, Russia, or France could be accused of supplying aid to insurgents in Iraq. Evidence of such aid can be easily fabricated, then the US can launch attacks on the "insurgent enablers" to wreck another country.
It is frequently objected that the US could never occupy and control Iran, but what if the objective is simply to wreck Iran, to destroy its military and civilian infrastructure, leaving its oil assets vulnerable for exploitation? This could be accomplished by a bombing campaign and the seizure of oil-producing regions. After Iran is wrecked, it would be relatively easy to fabricate a case against Saudi Arabia, opening the way to the wrecking of that country and the seizure of most of the remaining oil in the Mideast.
The problem with country wrecking is that it assumes that US military forces can be steadily enlarged to protect the looted oil assets. This is the reason for the 100,000 person buildup planned for the military. If those numbers prove insufficient, conscription would be the next step.
The Marshall Plan was considered a master stroke of US foreign policy because it established America's leadership position in the post-WWII world. Country wrecking is the Marshall Plan in reverse, and it will lead to the formation of powerful alliances acting to check America's destructive actions. But until those alliances emerge, I fear that America will bring ruin to more nations in the Mideast.