There’s another storm brewing in the Middle East

Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to touch ground in the U.S. since 2008. For the first time in its history, the New York City transportation system was shut down. Mayor Bloomberg and our local leaders preached for days about the importance of readiness and spoke of being safe rather than sorry.

Thankfully, we all survived. Man, what a storm!

There’s another storm brewing in the Middle East, and in this situation, we must be ready or we will surely be sorry.

Now that popular revolt has spread across the Middle East, from Tunisia to Egypt to Syria and back to Libya, what will be the result of this historic upheaval? What will happen with the heat of an Arab summer of disillusionment and then a winter of Arab discontent? A terrible genie will be unleashed, and we must be prepared.

We have seen the results of these revolts. Currently in Libya, the rebels have Moammar Gadhafi’s troops backpedaling through the streets of Tripoli, the capital city. Libya’s leader was nowhere to be found as the rebels overran his fortified Bab al-Azizya headquarters. With no sight of Gadhafi and his troops on the run, the Libyan rebels’ interim government announced that it will move into the capital city and is ready to restart building the nation with or without Gadhafi’s death or capture.

My fear is that once the Arab masses fully absorb that no miraculous political or economic change will come from these revolts, their energy will veer in the wrong direction. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict the inevitable: After a few short years of simmering dissatisfaction, Al Jazeera-incited revolts will follow. Local community leaders will take full advantage and direct the anger of the Arab masses toward the one handy, all-purpose enemy: the state of Israel.

A full-scale regional war may seem remote now, but it will become inevitable as the next Arab dominoes fall. Yemen is in chaos. Syria is tottering dangerously. Jordan is restive. The oil kingdoms are fearful. The House of Saud, in particular, hangs by the thread of wealth and repression. All signs point toward collision with Israel.