From a UN development report press release.
Today, youth in the region are more educated, more connected and more mobile than ever before.
Pointer from Timothy Taylor.
We know from Martin Gurri’s The Revolt of the Public that this is a mixed blessing. Indeed, also from the press release:
increasing levels of armed conflict are destroying the social fabric of the Arab region, causing massive loss of life not only among combatants, but also among civilians. Conflicts also are also reversing hard-won economic development gains by destroying productive resources, capital and labour, within a larger territory neighbouring countries where they are fought. Between 2000–2003 and 2010–2015, the number of armed conflicts and violent crises in the region have risen from 4 to 11, and many of them are becoming protracted in nature.
The press release purports to set out an agenda for “Arab countries” to follow. Do they mean Arab countries like Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya?
As to Arab youth of today being so “educated” – how is that measured? By the number of kids with high school and college diplomas? How good is the “education” behind those degrees? I guess Germany is going to find out, thanks to Merkel.
Whatever security policies the Trump administration adopts in the Middle East, I hope that they determine that the internal social problems of Arab countries described in the report are not problems for the US to solve.
Let us take a deep breath and learn to stay on the sidelines here because it is not our battle. And youth unemployment is high in all regions and has become a complete Abrahamic Thunderdome. Minor US interference can solve nothing here and really only makes matters worse. So this means not tearing up the Iran nuclear deal, slowly stepping away from Saudia Arabia and not over-acting to every minor terrorist attack. (Really has not had a major foreign terrorist attack since 9/11 and the ones during Obama have been second generation citizens of the US) Now that ISIS continues losing Mosul, Trump can claim Continued Victory! Thinking about the Middle East, almost appear to need to get their wars out of their system in the modern age. US interference gives them an easy target to blame for problems.
Given the economy today, the main risk to Trump’s reelection is going to an ill advised long war and he really focus his administration on ‘deal-making’ in which Trump really loves. Take down the Russian, Cuban (Castro is dead!), and Venezuelan sanctions. Signal to the world to the world US is open for business and buying US products wins foreign policy favors. Maybe Iran should allow Trump to wear a hard hat at Boeing because they are buying a bunch of planes. China should purposely buy extra US coal and corn and Trump can do a PR picture holding farm equipment. Trump did well in farm country but if China and Mexico enact tariffs on corn and soybeans that might not play well in 2020. (I know I am being cynical but I really do think this would promote peace.)