TEMPLATE ANALYSIS

With fears being voiced by Tony Blair about the future of Egypt as a viable state, with war still waging in Syria and the knock on effects that will have on its neighbors, especially Lebanon and Iraq, and with Libya awash with gangs and guns, what would a new Middle East look like?

Of course, there are some who have always argued that this was the original plan devised by George Bush and his advisers after the attacks on 9/11.

Remember, Claire Short, the then International development Secretary – she resigned because she claimed that the Bush project involved smashing all the powers all the way up to Islamabad.

And more recently, John Prescott, the former deputy British PM, appeared on RussiaToday to claim the West was fighting the Crusades against the Middle East and Islamic World.

And of course there are those who say that Islamist extremists would like a collapse in the Middle East to create a Khallifa.

Well, those who are arguing that we are approaching a new Middle East are pointing firmly to the establishment of an independent homeland for the Kurds, for one and to the creation of separate states from Syria, and probably Lebanon, as well as three states in Iraq and Libya, and a split in Egypt between supporters of Islamists and the rest, who according to the last election stand at 75 per cent to 25.

If you think the Middle East is complex now, imagine what this new vision would be like?

But, with America fearing the rise of Iranian power in the region, the collapse of the Middle East is looking like a stark reality with each conflict – old or new.