A return to the bad old days

Across most of the combustible Middle East region the situation has become more volatile and tenuous.

It used to be said there will never be peace until the Palestinian question is settled, but such arguments are somewhat specious when faced with present realities in the region.

For much of the fighting and support in both munitions and cash is provided by neighbouring countries which, for one reason or another, want to impose their particular ideology.

Compound these acts with interference from Israel and the West - primarily the US - and pessimists tend to see it as only a matter of time before the whole region is overtaken by conflict, the consequences of which will inevitably affect the whole world in one way or another.

During the time of the Cold War - the 1960s and onwards - it was usual for the two superpowers to demonstrate their respective strengths by flexing their muscles in some third, or

Third World, country, with one superpower supporting the government of the day and the other supporting the insurgents. And in another country, the roles might be reversed.

Neither superpower would resort to nuclear weapons, always being sure to go to the brink of such possibility and then pulling back. This was called Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, which many politicians argued was appropriately named.

With the decline of the Soviet Union came a hiatus in such grandstanding; only to be picked up by Russia finding new strength through its oil and gas supplies. What this has led to is a resurgence of countries playing the US off against Russia.

But with other countries now having a nuclear facility, there is no saying where the gambles of old may end. What is significant, though, is the desire for one nation to interfere in the affairs of another, whether required or not.