… NOT BY OIL ALONE

‘[The Middle East] is not a region in its own right but a concept devised to suit the policies of outsiders, and it changes shape according to their strategic interests,’ added Whitaker. ‘As defined by US proposals for the forthcoming G-8 summit, the greater Middle East consists of the Arab countries plus Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and Israel.’ Although the Caucasus and Central Asia are excluded from this definition, they are indirectly articulated in discussions of the Mideast region.

The Mideast has rich resources of oil and natural gas, and some believe that these assets give the region great power. However, the world’s dependence on these resources actually amounts to only relative power. Countries which fail to create economies which can stand on their own two feet are doomed to be dependent upon other countries. These nations have failed to improve in certain key areas such as education, access to the Internet, information production, per capita income, etc. In the 1980-2000 period, the region failed to develop altogether. Its income distribution is extremely uneven. In the next 30 years, its population is expected to rise from 300 million to 522 million. Its water resources are scarce. The economies of these countries are growing more dependent on foreign countries as time passes. In the years to come, the number of young people there will rise sharply, a development which will paralyze the economy of the region, as unemployment is likely to shoot up as well. Therefore, the Middle Eastern countries will probably fail in the future not only to boost their productivity but also to develop policies aiding stability in the region.

In light of this information, Turkey should immediately develop its own long-term policy for the Middle East.”