SOON after Israel unleashed its brutal response on the people of Gaza following the Hamas attacks of Oct 7, there were widespread fears that the conflict would spread across the region. These fears have proved correct as the US has attacked Iraq, Syria and Yemen, targeting Iran-backed armed groups claiming to act in the name of the Palestinians. While the US and UK had last month bombed Yemen’s de facto Houthi rulers for the latter’s blockade of the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza, between Friday and Saturday, Washington hit some 85 targets in Iraq and Syria. The Americans say they are striking groups that are part of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ after a drone attack from Iraq killed three US military personnel at a base in Jordan on Jan 28. The Biden administration was facing pressure to respond, particularly from Republican hawks keen to project the US leader as ‘weak’ in an election year. Hence, the White House has resorted to another imperial military mission in the Middle East, with Mr Biden ominously warning that “our response … will continue”.

The White House is spinning the current conflict as one between mischievous armed groups sponsored by Iran working to undermine the US-led ‘rules-based order’ in the Middle East. That description is barely convincing. After all, at the root of these hostilities lies the West’s unflinching support for Israel as it butchers Palestinian civilians. Soon after the Oct 7 events, the West rushed military support as a sign of solidarity with Israel. The ugly reality is that Western states have shown scant regard for Palestinian lives. While the US and UK have been quick to act to ‘protect’ international shipping in the Red Sea, they remain unmoved as thousands of Palestinian children are murdered by Israel. Moreover, most Muslim states have maintained a silence over the Gaza massacre, angering many people who say that the armed groups in the region are only reacting to the bloodshed as ‘responsible’ states have failed to act. If the US and its allies genuinely want the attacks on their forces to stop, they must rein in Israel and immediately end its genocidal war in Gaza. Otherwise the ‘gates of hell’ will open in the Middle East — some argue they already have — and the Western states will have only themselves to blame.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2024