The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov continue a laborious series of discussions regarding Syria but, here, it is worth considering the game of 'chess' being played by Russia. The Kurds and Turkey are well established on the game board although not in the forefront. The future of Turkey in Europe is very weak (One could suggest, humorously, that the future of all countries in Europe is quite weak) but Russia's desire for a strong arm extending down to the Mediterranean, requires tokens of friendship towards Turkey and thus, temporarily, Syria, while ignoring the Kurds. The EU should never imagine Turkey as a part of Europe. For such an extended influence it would be wise to remember the over-extended Roman Empire ... advice, obviously, equally applicable to Russia.
A complicated scenario, but who are the chess masters?
ReplyDeleteI seem to have peaked your interest John, albeit in what appears to be a humorous vein. Therefore, I am bound to ask if you have thought of a good title for the novel that is implied by your fantasy?
Seriously though, I believe that, having given Russia the minimalist task of keeping Assad in Damascus, you underestimate the power of Russia throughout this campaign. Russia may trick Erdogan into envisaging an Ottoman Empire, but they would never allow such a neighbour to exist as a powerful 'accomplice'.
I believe that Iran will have a greater say in the region due to an increasing weakness of the U.S. (President Trump) and the Saudis (Loss of oil).
Israel could become a 'lose canon' I suppose.
Who knows who is pulling what strings over there but I believe, without evidence, that since nature abhors a vacuum and in the long run we are all dead there is a conspiracy to get the US out of the middle east and the lands of Islam. In addition the mandate of Islam is to become THE world religion. Could you conceive of the United Islamics States of America?
ReplyDeleteMy book of the subject is currently titled HAMMERHEAD and is available free in serial on Wattpad https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/66579169-hammerhead.
Here is a statement of intent from the Muslim Brotherhood;
“The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”
I'm not sure that a conspiracy exists in the area. Such an idea doesn't meet a chess winning theory. I believe that we'll hear nuclear explosions before a United Islamic States of America exists. The Muslim Brotherhood is just an 'itch' on the world's surface.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there is a deep seated ache in the hearts of people living in the Middle East to get the American the hell out of there. Western countries particularly Britain, France and the US have ruled or administered those countries for two hundred years using corrupt western practices. Now Russia has joined the scene as a player. How many Muslim men, women and children have and must die while NATO and Russian forces with their proxies continue to impose their own corrupt versions of democracy on people who have alternative ideas whether or not we like them.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it, repeating the same military aggression time after time hoping for a different outcome will not result in peace in the middle east.
John, it occurs to me that you have started to use a 'ghost' writer to explain your feelings or, probably, you are permitting characters from your novels to give interesting comments.
ReplyDeleteWhen Western countries, so-called, get up and go to Hell from the Middle East, I shall be delighted, but it must be stated that some people in the area, at one time, were quite satisfied with the life style introduced by Europeans, generally speaking.
The thorns in the side of democracy believers was, and still is, the venal, crooked, perverted and sinful dictators who used corruption to obtain power ... you know, typical human traits.
There seem to be signs amongst Western countries to detach themselves from these areas, albeit carefully.
While writing Hammerhead I visualized myself in the shoes of Jihadis and took a look at the death and destruction the wars in Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine, etc has caused from their perspective. People living in Iraq under Saddam Hussein before the “Coalition of the Willing” invaded had food, water, electricity, doctors, hospitals, schools and all the trappings of a modern state. The country was safe unless someone threatened Saddam and the regime but compared to what the people who survived the wars have now it was wonderful. Syria, under Assad, was the same before the west provoked the “Arab Spring” uprising when people expected support from the West that didn’t come. In fact western governments used Assad’s regime to imprison and torture people who were suspected of opposing the west. For the people, Gadhafi’s Libya was the same until NATO bombed its cities to rubble. People flee those countries today seeking safety. Most of the violence in the Middle East was instigated by western powers for commercial, oil, or other reasons including Cold War politics and the weapons were sold to dictators to curry favour and cement relations. Imagine you were a young university student in Mosel hiding from foreign Coalition troops shooting at your friends and family for no apparent reason.
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ReplyDeleteTouché, Monsieur Pussycat (Well said).