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[Sheb]

Okay, the previous Middle East thread is closed, so I'm opening this one. Usual politics megathread rules do apply, but in addition, since it seems the Israeli-Gaza conflict was generating most of the flaming on the other thread, I'll ask you not to discuss it at the moment, a bit like we refrained from talking about Ukraine in the Eurothread for a while.

However, there is plenty of stuff happening in the Middle-East outside Palestine and Israel, notably in Iraq, where ISIS is turning into a real villain, ruthlessly cleaning the territory it controls of all minorities, giving them a choice between fleeing the Islamic State (leaving all valuables behind) and death. Christian women have also reportedly been sold as slave in Mosul's market.

Meanwhile, thousands of Yazidi (a Sunni heresy, for all you CK2 players) have been pushed out of their houses and are besieged in the mountains near Sinjar, without food and water but for what the Iraqi air force can airdrop to them.

The only good news is that the Kurds, who are ethnically close to the Yazidi, have decided to bring the fight to ISIS. Interestingly, they set it up as a joint operation between the Iraqi Kurds, the Syrian Kurds and the PKK. As in the recent years, they use the external turmoil around them to quietly but certainly create a de facto independent Kurdistan.

However, it is not certain that the Kurds will be able to beat ISIS. That part of the world is fucked up right now.

[martinuzz]

I made a thread more specifically on the IS(IS) topic today:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=141977.0

Let's hope they will not expand much more, and come to dominate this thread.

[Strife26]

I'd very much like to see Kurdistan as a state. It'd actually be a nation state instead of the cluster fuck that is Iraq and Syria.

[Sheb]

Oh, well, maybe I should close this thread then?

[martinuzz]

Oh, well, maybe I should close this thread then?

No need. The Middle East is larger than just Iraq and ISIS. Unless the threads keep convening to exactly the same topic I'd see no need to close it. I'll rename the thread I made to make it more clear it's about ISIS.

[Sheb]

Well, in this case they have a clear goal: Establish a Islamic Caliphate over the whole Muslim world (at least).

[Sheb]

Well, they'd need to invade half of the world first. :p

[Sheb]

Apparently Egypt wants to dig a second suez canal.

[burningpet]

Apparently Egypt wants to dig a second suez canal.

Its a smart project, but slightly risky (Also, they are expanding the tunnel, not actually building a second one, as far as i know). china offered israel to assist in building a rail line from Eilat (South of israel on the red sea coast) all the way to Ashdod or Ashkelon port on the med-sea so they could bypass the costly and perhaps unpredictable tunnel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.574175

While the article hint it wont compete with the canal, it most certainly does.

[Sheb]

As far as I know, they plan to build a second canal along some sections of the old one so that boat can cross each others (Some sections are too narrow for that at the moment).

[smjjames]

As far as I know, they plan to build a second canal along some sections of the old one so that boat can cross each others (Some sections are too narrow for that at the moment).

I was going to say, isn't the Suez running into the same problem as the Panama canal is? Namely that the biggest cargo ships can't get through it.

[mainiac]

Meanwhile, thousands of Yazidi (a Sunni heresy, for all you CK2 players)

Not actually Muslims.

[Sergarr]

http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=29260

Leatra hasn't been active for more than a year. I fear he has lost the fight against the Erdogan.

[Leafsnail]

The Middle East thread isn't actually closed, it just hasn't been posted in for a while.

[Sheb]

Well, it was locked last I checked.

Yaziri are a sunni heresy in CK2, but yeah, they're more like Zoroastrians.

smjjames: Actually it can take even the biggest commercial ships, but it's single-lane, meaning ships have to travel in convoys and stop at crossing points. Addind a second line to part of the canal would just about double its capacity.

Also, an Israeli railway isn't the main competitor to the Suez canal, their problem is the Northern Route, sending ships from Asia to Europe along the coast of Siberia. From Korea to Rotterdam, it's around 7000 km shorter than the Suez canal, and you don't have to pay a crossing fee.