Europe. A new wave of refugees from Afghanistan could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. It is common in Europe to hear that Turkey uses refugees as blackmail. Obviously that is not the view in Ankara: refugees crossing from Turkey to Europe are not Turks, so why should Turkey be held responsible for hosting them? A wave of refugees from Afghanistan traveling from Quetta to the Aegean would not be as easy to accommodate by Turkey as the 2015 wave resulting from the Syrian civil war.
Thanks Bruno. Should one strategy succeed, a 21st century İlkhanate will be a vast diocese in southern Eurasia, linked to Khanbaliq by a second parallel economic corridor. With all the prosperity and protection the celestial mandate implies.
It strikes me as significantly revealing and ironic to pull out from Afghanistan with one often quoted reason being to refocus on balancing China. But where? İf anything, maintaining a strong presence in Afghanistan that would give the US a critical role as power balancer - especially in the very heart of Eurasia - would be key. The past 20 years of failure can be written off somewhat. But the next 20 years is different and with no strategy nor grasp of real power politics.
The European position and that of the many of the Afghan people makes me think of the geopolitics of Gildas, post Roman legions' withdrawal from Britain and also for domestic considerations then. "Repellunt barbari ad mare, repellit mare ad barbaros; inter haec duo genera funerum aut iugulamur aut mergimur." İt's a warning to allies yes but the procession is from allies to imperial prefectures to abandoned dependencies.
Thanks Bruno. Should one strategy succeed, a 21st century İlkhanate will be a vast diocese in southern Eurasia, linked to Khanbaliq by a second parallel economic corridor. With all the prosperity and protection the celestial mandate implies.
It strikes me as significantly revealing and ironic to pull out from Afghanistan with one often quoted reason being to refocus on balancing China. But where? İf anything, maintaining a strong presence in Afghanistan that would give the US a critical role as power balancer - especially in the very heart of Eurasia - would be key. The past 20 years of failure can be written off somewhat. But the next 20 years is different and with no strategy nor grasp of real power politics.
The European position and that of the many of the Afghan people makes me think of the geopolitics of Gildas, post Roman legions' withdrawal from Britain and also for domestic considerations then. "Repellunt barbari ad mare, repellit mare ad barbaros; inter haec duo genera funerum aut iugulamur aut mergimur." İt's a warning to allies yes but the procession is from allies to imperial prefectures to abandoned dependencies.