Was This Anticipated 60 Years Ago?

Thanks to a comment posted by oppinionsarefree at Captain's Quarters, I was able to read an analyis of the situation in the Middle East that, specifically the Muslim world, that was written in 1946, apparently by the US Department of War.

The general description of the Middle East is still valid today.
With few exceptions, the states which it includes are marked by poverty, ignorance, and stagnation. It is full of discontent and frustration, yet alive with consciousness of its inferiority and with determination to achieve some kind of general betterment.

The fact that this line was written 1946 floored me.
Two basic urges meet head-on in this area, and conflict is inherent in this collision of interests. These urges reveal themselves in daily news accounts of killings and terrorism, of pressure groups in opposition, and of raw nationalism and naked expansionism masquerading as diplomatic maneuvers.

Seems that some things never change.

Some things have changed from the time of this article. There is a greater degree of unity within Islam today though it is far from complete. The struggle between Shia and Sunni has gotten much worse in the last couple of decades, and them fighting each other may ultimately hold the key to defeating them (IMHO).

Also worthy of note is that these concerns existed before Israel did! If Israel did not exist, the ME would be basically the same as it is today, but the Jihadists would have a different excuse. Even before Israel, there was an Islamic Brotherhood and Wahibism, both hostile to Europe, Christians, and Jews.

Indeed, the last couple of sentences of article are perhaps more appropriate today than they were 60 years ago:

If the Moslem states were strong and stable, their behavior would be more predictable. They are, however, weak and torn by internal stresses; furthermore, their peoples are insufficiently educated to appraise propaganda or to understand the motives of those who promise a new Heaven and a new Earth.

Because of the strategic position of the Moslem world and the relentlessness of its peoples, the Moslem states constitute a potential threat to world peace. There cannot be permanent world stability, when one-seventh of the earth's population exists under the economic and political conditions that are imposed upon the Moslems.

One thing I would strongly suggest perhaps be worded differently is that the conditions are today being imposed upon Moslems by Moslems.

Also note that they being strong would not be good thing in view of their current mind set. The last thing in the world you want is for a bully to be truly strong.