Doing Nothing Dividends

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates all feel existentially threatened by their non-Arab-but-Muslim neighbour, the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran is majority-Shiite led; while they all have minority Shia populations, they are majority Sunni. Sunnis represent an overall majority within Islam, and the minority Shia are considered to be illegal within Islam, apostates, heretics, worse than infidels.

Bahrain's restive Shia minority have attempted their own protests but Saudi and Bahraini military made quick work of resolving that inconvenience.

Bad enough that they have to put up with the State of Israel having nuclear weapons. Worse, however, knowing that Iran fully intends to continue gulling the IAEA and the United Nations into the absurd belief that it will adhere to rules and regulations and use their developing nuclear installations for wholly peaceful means; radioactive isotopes for medical uses, only.

Iran has threatened genocide against Israel, even within the human-rights-sacred precincts of the United Nations, and suffered no backlash.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Gulf States fear that the threat levelled against Israel may include them as well. They would much have preferred that President Barack Obama offer a fist, not an open hand of presumptive understanding to Iran. Leaving the impression that he believed Iran to be much put-upon, simply misunderstood and under that censorious pressure, hitting back in any way it deemed feasible.

And that, despite Iran swiftly disabusing him of that quaint notion.

Iran is more than comfortable with its longstanding policy of requesting time extensions from the United Nations. More than satisfied that the IAEA and the United Nations appear willing to give it more time as a good faith gesture. And during those extensions Iran has been able to make great technical strides in its nuclear program.

Installing ever greater numbers of centrifuges, enriching uranium to the 20% that surpasses domestic need and places it on the cusp of further weapons-grade enrichment.

The atrocities taking place in Syria, both the conventional aerial strafing and bombing by helicopter gunships and warplanes of its own civilian population - along with the decision to use chemical weapons to greater effect than previously, reflect a confidence born of the fact that Iran stands behind whatever Syria does in defence of its Shia-Alawite Baathist government.

With the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards planning strategies for Syria and aiding against the rebels and the Salafists. Iran calling in Hezbollah to do its part as well.

Without Tehran, Assad would be lost. Had that happened a an early enough stage in the conflict, it might have precluded the later invasion by al-Qaeda-linked militias who now dominate the opposition in Syria and provide a threat by their sinister, deadly presence to the very Syrian civilians who now flee the brutality of both the regime and the militias.

Of course Vladimir Putin's Russia plays a vital role in all of this as well. If nothing else he has given evidence to the Middle East that Russia remains steadfast in its support of its Arab allies. A situation, given recent events in the Middle East, in Egypt in particular, where the United States has given evidence that it can be quite fickle when it comes to supporting its own long-time allies.

Within the United Nations, that great institution whose founding purpose was to forestall wars, encourage and even enforce peace, and to dedicate itself to the institutionalization of human rights globally as a right, not a privilege reliant upon where people live, the tyrannies of the Middle East have traditionally been given a free pass.

The powerful blocs that Muslim nations present within the United Nations place them on committees upholding human rights, equality rights for women, and weapons restrictions.

Making in the process a complete mockery of that institution where the sole democracy in the Middle East is threatened and no member-countries protest in numbers, and where the UN's human rights commissions regularly cite human rights infractions for the State of Israel, bypassing those committed nonchalantly by Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, China, Libya and any number of other brutal nations.

Western nations are enjoined to obey a universal moral code. Their eastern counterparts are not expected to because it is nontraditional, not customary, not a part and portion of their history and heritage. Despite which, they are fully capable of sitting on committees which take great advantage of their consummate skills in delicately selecting which human rights offences are committed by other nations who observe such rules.

And now, back again to Syria, the latest Arab, Middle East country to expound on its dedication to the welfare and weal of its nation and its citizens, while pounding the living hell out of them, creating millions of desperate refugees and continuing the slaughter of tens of thousands more. While the world, led by China and Russia, sits on its hands, supported by Argentina, South Africa, and India.

Lebanon and Jordan whose stability and economy have been enfeebled by the desperate entry of fleeing Syrian civilians, demand action, but will not themselves take part in any action. The Arab League supports a limited military strike, but will help fund it, not become themselves involved. It is left to the United States, France and Turkey to make good on their promised intention to take some measure of military action.

No one is convinced in large numbers that this will result in a positive outcome. Whatever degrades the ability of the Syrian regime to mount its resistance against the rebels, contributes to the possible success of the jihadist Islamists on the other side.

To do nothing on the other hand, is to effectively encourage the Islamic Republic of Iran that the way is clear for it too to use weapons of mass destruction for the world wrings its helpless hands with the use of the lesser chemical weapons, and it may be too late for it to wring anything but tears with the use of nuclear weapons.