The novel I'm writing at the moment includes a group of people who may want to benefit from starting a new war in the Middle East. I'm wondering if anybody knows in what way could they take a advantage of this war. Weapons trading? Man power? A few members of the group would be high-up in the US Government. Any ideas?
A war is always good for arms trading. It's the classic reason for taking advantage of the war. Of course, if there's some precious resource in the area in question (like, oh I don't know, a magical black liquid that has fuel-like properties), then this group of people could be waiting for the region to destabilise politically and socially, to the point where they can move in to "rebuild" and take said resource.
Resource allocation. The Middle East has one massive resource from which it derives nearly all income and that is petroleum. Petroleum is one of the most lucrative natural resources that has ever existed in the entire span of human history. But, honestly, isn't the whole trouble in the middle east thing played? It certainly is in real life. I start to get leery about trouble in the middle east stories because they have a way of becoming unappealingly racist.
Chris, is there any aspect of this book you plan to come up with by yourself? This is the tenth such thread you have posted asking us to come up with ideas for you on the same novel. Seriously, this is no way to write.
ditto that, in spades! 'real' writers think up their own stories/plots/characters... you seem to want to build one by committee... which will result in a novel that resembles a platypus! think of what great art works would look like, if michaelangelo, or van gogh had to ask total strangers what they should paint/sculpt and how to do so... or what great pieces of music would sound like, if bach and tchaikovsky asked passersby what their next note should be?
To put it another way, take Snakes on a Plane, it's "twists" were decided by people on the internet. Look how it turned out...