Thursday, December 27, 2018

'Cocktails from Hell': Bad mix of global conflict keeps peace at bay

'Cocktails from Hell': Bad mix of global conflict keeps peace at bay
"Despite hope for peace, we’re looking at a tray of 'Cocktails from Hell,' to use the title of Austin Bay’s new book on the dangerous state of the world.

  • ...Korea is one of several “frozen conflicts” since World War II. The war was stopped, but not actually ended, by an armistice in 1953. ...There’s also the uncertainty of what China will do. China has liked having a buffer state between it and South Korea and Japan, and North Korea has given it a way to needle the West with some degree of deniability. 
  • ...Speaking of China, it’s a problem, too. Thanks in no small part to licit and illicit infusions of Western technology, China’s economy (and military potential) have exploded. 
  • ...Russia, meanwhile, craves Great Power status but doesn’t really have it. This drives Vladimir Putin crazy. 
  • ...In Yemen, it’s Iran. The Iranians are exploiting civil war there to build up a power base that threatens Saudi Arabia, as well as shipments of oil and other important commodities through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal. (Just look at a map to see why)..."

Read on.

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