At what point do these middle east wars get one of the fancy names?

[Renew Deal]

OK, I am only being a little facetious. But when people step back and look at what's going on in the middle east, I think they will notice that we are reaching the mature stage of a greater middle eastern war. The timeline is up to you.

Just check out this map.



We'll start at 9/11. Al Queda from Afghanistan attacks the US.
The US attacks Afghanistan
The US invades Iraq
Civil unrest in Tunisia leads to government overthrows in Libya and Egypt.
The US attacks Libya.
Syria unrest turns to civil war
Hezbollah from Lebanon joins the war.
Iran indirectly joins the war
Syrian Militants attack Iraq
Iraq joins the war in their territory.
US (and others) join Syrian civil war
Iran directly and indirectly joins the war in Iraq.
Israel bombs Syria when they feel necessary.
Syrian militants kill Jordanian pilot
Jordan attacks Syria
Turkey quietly supports militants in Syria. Lets combatants into Syria, doesn't let refugees out.
Libya civil unrest accelerates
Militants kill civilians in Libya
Egypt attacks militants in Libya
Yemen fights militants in their own country
US attacks Yemeni militants
Yemen militants gain ground
Saudi Arabia joins war in Yemen
Pakistan deals with acts of terrorism in their own territory.

And then there's all the stuff going on in Nigeria with Boko Haram. Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon have interests in that one.

The combatants in this current conflict are:
Syria
Iraq
Afghanistan
Iran
Yemen
Saudi Arabia
Egypt
Jordan
Libya
US
Pakistan
Israel
Lebanon

The list is huge and I think it's going to get bigger before it gets smaller.

[Yorktown]

1. The map is outdated

Libya not marked as without central authority
Tunisia, Egypt not marked as high political tension
South Sudan not identified as independent.
Boko Haram region not highlighted.

[Major Hogwash]

2. Which underscores what the OP is talking about, we can't keep up with the destruction!!!!

Just my opinion, but it seems harder than it used to be to keep up on all of the developments within the last decade.

It used to be that you could go out and buy an Almanac, and read a concise, abridged version of the history of a country to get the feel for what had been going on there lately.
But, these days, however, they all seem to need a "Latest Breaking News" blog on the internet for their own countrymen to know who is in charge and what form of government they are using today.

[Yorktown]

3. Nothing new under the sun

1848 in Europe was comparable.

[Hekate]

4. Obama has not been able to extract us, despite his best efforts. The next Prez ....

....is going to have to deal with what essentially will be a version of WW III, whether or not s/he wants it that way.

In my opinion, Obama really has done his best with foreign policy, but we were screwed over by the NeoCons and that's a fact. Too many here have amnesia about that part.

Beyond our own War Industry and politicians who lust for war, too many outside the country are actively trying to force us to expand our military presence all around the map you have provided. They want to kill our troops on their own ground.

Russia and China are both ramping up territorial aggression as well.

There are times I feel rather bleak about our prospects.

I believe that any Democrat we elect will not want us to be in a full-scale war, but will be dragged in by bits. That goes for Hillary too -- she comes in for a lot of grief at DU for being a hawk, but I think that's her foreign policy experience coming out. At least she has experience in the State Department. Still-- dragged in by bits.

By the same token, I believe that any Republican we elect will soon take us into a perfectly glorious war promising to beat all the Mooslims to a pulp and have our boys home by Christmas. Building on the Dubya years, it will of course be an effing nightmare.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Operation FUBAR#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, to be replaced by Operation REFUBAR #1, #2, etc.