Tunnel Vision

Are we going into another dimly lit tunnel?

Iran has captured fifteen British sailors. Supposedly they were in Iranian waters; the Brits and Iraqis contest this. Not surprisingly, it is in Iraq's interest to lay claim to this waterway, also known as the Arvand River by Iran or the Shatt al-Arab by the Iraqis. It is largely because of this that the Iran-Iraq War started, by Iran laying claim to the only waterway that Iraq has to export its goods. After Iran finally took this waterway in 1987, Iraq had to look toward Jordan and Kuwait for help. We all know what soon came afterward: Iraq's nationalistic possession of Kuwait (a convenient way of bypassing the billions of dollars Iraq owed to them).


It's incredible where hyper-emotional geopolitics can lead a country.