Clare Daly: Europe and North America Fuel Middle East Instability

MEP Clare Daly argued that Europe and North America are the main agents of instability in the so-called Middle East, blaming historical and contemporary Western interventions. She said Britain and France's border-drawing and ongoing Western support for dictators and armed groups have produced long-term instability.

Western responsibility

Clare Daly traced responsibility for regional instability to Europe and its "overgrown colony in North America," citing historical actions "since the Crusades" and the drawing of borders by "Sykes and Pico." She accused Britain of planting "the seeds of Israel's apartheid regime in Palestine" and applied the "divide and rule" critique familiar from other historical interventions.

Consequences of interventions

Daly listed specific interventions she said produced "seismic waves of instability": the overthrowing of "Masa Dei," the Iran-Iraq war, support for the Mujahideen, the occupation of Iraq, the disaster of Afghanistan, NATO bombing of Libya, backing of Islamist extremisms in Syria, and Saudi's genocidal assault on Yemen. She argued these actions left broken countries, hobbled economies, violence, trauma and permanent conflict.

Critique of current policy rhetoric

Daly condemned contemporary calls to "promote stability" as disingenuous given Western involvement. She criticised policymakers who "stroke our chins, pretend we've nothing to do about it and ask how we ... are going to promote stability," calling that response untenable in light of the record of interventions.

Implications for debate

The speech framed present instability as the outcome of a long sequence of Western policies rather than unforeseeable misfortune, insisting that responsibility for regional turmoil is a central part of any discussion about future approaches to the Middle East.