In the service, we played various war strategy games for training, such as Risk. One thing we learned about the Middle East is that there are always wars there because it has no natural defenses.
It can be attacked easily from any direction. When that happens on multiple fronts simultaneously, it falls. But then the next wave hits, and whatever was there gets attacked and falls. Rinse and repeat throughout history.
I became convinced that even though you can win a war there, you can never hold any ground for very long. And that is the reason peace does not last there.
