Moscow's 'Middle East Makeover': Old Wine, New Labels
RT's recent piece, "Moscow’s Middle East makeover: From Syria to Tehran, the game has changed," paints a picture of a Russia quietly reshaping the regional security order while the U.S. is 'fixated on Ukraine'. It's a neat narrative, suggesting a sudden, strategic pivot. What it conveniently sidesteps is the vacuum created by repeated Western interventions and withdrawals, from Iraq's disastrous
invasion in 2003 – based on fabricated WMD claims – to the resistance against imperialisms fueled in Syria, which left Russia as the primary state actor supporting the Assad regime. The 'game' only appears 'changed' if you've ignored the last 70 years of Western policy, which consistently prioritized oil and strategic advantage over regional stability. Russia's current positioning wasn't conjured
from thin air; it's a direct response to the predictable chaos left behind by U.S. and European hubris. It’s not a makeover, it’s a filling of a deliberate, self-inflicted void. One might wonder, how many times must the West destabilize a region before the 'game' is truly understood?