Syriana

Syriana is a movie revolving around the many facets of US – Middle East relations. The movie is split into various plot lines to identify roots of Islamic Militancy and Terrorism in the Middle East, prospects of democracy and full self-determination and the varying effects of current US policy.

Syriana begins with CIA agent Barnes’s attempts to eliminate illegal arms trafficking. During his mission, Barnes notices that a missile is sold to an unknown individual and reports this to his supervisors who advise him to disregard the missing missile. Although not necessarily an American intention, this arms sale is quite real in other situations. There have been numerous accounts of America selling weapons to various organizations in the Middle East for different goals (Goldschmidt & Davidson, 2005, 313). A weapons buildup does not propagate peace. Following the missile, it eventually lands in the hands of two Islamic fundamentalist boys who use it for terrorist activities. We must first understand why the boys turned to Islamic fundamentalism and what drove them to martyrdom. Zunes provides an excellent explanation. When applying his theory to the film, one reaches the conclusion that the neoliberal economic policy causes the boys’ unemployment because of rapidly changing economies. With no other option, turning to fundamentalist Islam schools becomes a solution as it provides them with sustenance and answers to life’s problems. The boy’s last efforts were in venting their anger by following the fundamentalist teachings (Zunes 2001). The hardship brought about with an unsustainable economy and the rise of arms in the Middle East can directly cause acts of terrorism.

Following Barnes uncovers the most apparent of issues between...

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...sues facing the Middle East today would be non-existent.

Works Cited

Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Goldschmidt, Arthur Jr. and Lawrence Davidson. A Concise History of the Middle East, Eighth edition. Denver: Westview Press, 2005.

Pitz, Arthur. Lecture Notes on Modern Iran; American National interests in the Middle East, History 151 Online Class, 2009

Syriana. Dir. Stephen Gaghan. Perf. George Clooney and Matt Damon. Warner Bros., 2006. DVD.

Zeidan, David. "The Islamic Fundamentalist View of Life as a Perennial Battle," Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol 5, no. 4, (December 2001), http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue4/jv5n4a2.htm

Zunes, Stephen. "U.S. Policy Toward Political Islam," Foreign Policy in Focus, (September 12, 2001), http://www.alternet.org/story/11479