Hi Doug,
We are Europeans or at least that they are modernists, but the end is the same.
US presence was never before seen- Khazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Karalkapakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan- all on the flank of the Middle East.
Couple that with Russia's new found buddy buddy relationship with the West, China's tacit approval for the US actions and the great wedge of India splitting the Muslim fundamentalist breeding grounds into two and you suddenly have a crushing weight with only one inevitable result (albeit the road is still long and hazardous). At issue still I think will be Malaysia, Indonesia and to a lesser extent the Philippines. On the plus side there, China desperately wants to westernize and modernize which puts it at odds with the fundamentalist movements which pressure it from the South and West. I think there will be a lot more redrawing of the world borders. Seems the clash of civilisations is coming to pass, as in modernists of all flavours against fundamentalist which has only one dominant flavour at the moment.
As an aside re China I think all the talk of China with designs on Japan is hooey and as far as Taiwan they are already integrating economies through trade and manufacturing agreements. A peaceful reunification of some sort is inevitable and they have too much to lose by marching. Note that the sky didn't fall when HK was reintegrated.
A wildcard also is Iran. They have no love of Arabs and of course are Muslim by conquest (as are most it seems). They seem to be tolerating a lot more dissent than the Taliban ever did, but this is being overshadowed currently by Afghanistan. They are also a natural conduit for oil from the north (and they know it).
Well gotta go make some heads for my log reindeers... fun work.
regards
Kastel |
