Scotland already had its referendum and the result was 55% stay, 45% independence. It was very close. Britain's European vote will be very, very close. Polls are suggesting a similar result to the EU referendum, possibly even the other way around. Merkel is disliked specifically in Greece because the Greeks feel that she and Europe are imposing laws on them. See? The EU isn't as united as you think.
Saudi-Iran relations were cordial in the 70s, even when the shah was a US puppet. As soon as Iran started building up the military, the Saudis started to get paranoid. Therefore, as long as Iran is a powerful and independent country, Saudi will be paranoid (how could they implement their Wahhabi dreams of killing all the "rafidah" if the rafidah can fight back?). Now, since Iran isn't going to be a weak puppet state, we aren't going to get along.
Israel controls most US Middle Eastern policy. Hence the ever present US sanctions, the rhetoric, the increasing military aid.
Homo Sapiens have only existed for 200,000 years and you're suggesting they will abandon a vital instinct present in almost all sentient life? That instinct is the concept of tribes and territory. That instinct has been with life on earth for hundreds of millions of years. Its not going anywhere, any time soon.
I'm aware of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum lol. I'm half British.
Anyway, Scotland stayed, and it will only hold another independence referendum if the UK decides to leave the EU.
The EU doesn't have to be united. It just needs to work. America isn't that united either, nor will a Middle East Union be very united. They just need to work, even if minimally.
As for the Shah, my point is that there is no real hatred. It's just political rhetoric. And all leaders in this godforsaken region are inventing foreign bogeymen in order to create a siege mentality and rally the masses behind them. That applies to Netanyahu and the mullahs as well.
As for Saudi Arabia, it's beginning to let go of the religious establishment. Saudi Arabia will undergo many interesting changes in the coming years. People are outgrowing these old silly rivalries.
You're underestimating the human individual. Individuals wield a lot more power today than they ever did in their entire history.
Homo sapiens weren't always proponents of the silly nation-state. The nation-state system is only a couple of hundred years old, and it has already passed its prime. Also, integration and unity are not new concepts at all. In fact, they've existed for thousands of years. Many nations have tried, but ultimately failed, to bring about integration and unity. Some were more successful than others, such as the Mongols.
One thing's for certain though: as time went by, unity and integration became more feasible/attainable.
I doubt Israel controls America's policy for the Middle East. In fact, I doubt America itself has one policy for the Middle East. America contradicts itself on many occasions because the Americans themselves are not united on Middle Eastern issues. The Muslim Brotherhood is a perfect case in point. On the one hand, some elements within the American establishment support the Muslim Brotherhood and encourage countries like Qatar to help the Muslim Brotherhood across the Arab World. And yet, on the other hand, some elements within the American establishment support the United Arab Emirates and encourage the Emiratis to oppose the Muslim Brotherhood.
America is filled with different interest groups, most of which couldn't care less about the ideological struggles in the Middle East and are merely interested in selling stuff (mostly weapons) to their Arab and Turkish clients.
