UKking

The Middle East is a region rising up its importance in the modern globalized world due to the amount of resources it has.

Most of the problems there are rooted in their long history of poverty and extremely divided class structure. You're either very rich, or very poor in the majority of those nations, and that's where a lot of the conflict comes from.

When it comes to who will become the leading hegemonic power in the region, all eyes have to be directed to Iran. If you look at how the country is posturing itself as the leader of the region through diplomatic intimidation and saber-rattling. Due to Iran's natural resources it has gained two very powerful allied in China and Russia, which helps give the Iranian government credibility.

On a tangent, Iran President Amadinejad...or however it's spelled, has no real politic power, and it is somewhat ridiculous to use his speeches and confrontational rhetoric as justification for any sort of military actions there.