For more than a century, oil has been the lifeblood of capitalism and the Persian Gulf its beating heart.

Since the Second World War, the Gulf has been the center of U.S. strategy to dominate the global system. The U.S.—and before it, the United Kingdom—obstructed the unification of the peoples of the region and their democratic control over their resources. Both empires dominated the region through alliances between European powers and their clients: royal families, military dictators, and Israelis. As a British diplomat said in 1939, “they carried a bag of money instead of a big stick.” But, as in Latin America, the stick was always within reach.

Regardless of the outcome, the future of the Gulf and of gangster capitalism will be paid for with the blood of the populations of Lebanon and Iran. Just as in the Americas: it is real blood, not metaphorical.

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