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By Scott Morgan
Over the weekend (14th and 15th of July) an interesting meeting was held. The participants of the meeting were the Intelligence Chiefs of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
What was the purpose for this meeting? The purpose was to discuss joint projects to defeat what they view as terrorism. Is this action just another fact in the ever changing geopolitical landscape of shifting allies and adversaries? History however tells us a couple of different tales.
Russia
During the Cold War era, the KGB supported and financed terrorist groups that launched a wave of kidnappings in Italy, France and West Germany. Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union its activities have morphed into nefarious activities such as [allegedly - Ed] hacking the recent Presidential Elections in both France and the United States. It has also supported Iran in its efforts to ensure the Assad reign of power in Syria. No clean hand here.
Iran
Speaking of Iran, we have heard of some of their activities. Bombing Jewish interests in Argentina, Attacking the US Embassy and the Marine Barracks in Beirut back in 1983. There are current concerns that the Islamic Republic is stirring the mainly Shia Population in Bahrain against the ruling Sunni Government. Then there's their effort to support the Houthis in Yemen by providing them Ballistic Missiles. One Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, actually has seats in the Lebanese Parliament, Ministries to run in the Government and its own Militia which taunts the Israelis. No clean hands here either.
Pakistan
This country has long supported certain Islamic elements in neighboring India - as evidenced by the Mumbai attacks back in 2008. That being said, there have been some concerns that the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) have been playing both sides during the seemingly never ending war in Afghanistan since the United States invaded it back in 2001. Pakistan has also sought to maintain some ties with the United States while actively forming, fostering and in some cases protecting the Taliban. There are no clean hands here either.
China
That brings us to China. Most of their issues are domestic related such as what is occurring in Xiangyang Province which borders some of the Central Asian Republics. That seems to be a common denominator for these four entities to coordinate activities. It is also a region which these powers regard as their sphere of influence and interlopers, such as the United States, had better stay away or suffer the consequences.
After the defeat of the Red Army, in 1989, in Afghanistan (and the collapse of the Soviet Union itself two years later) a vacuum was created in Central Asia. It is often said that nature will take the necessary actions to fill such a void; and that is why Afghanistan is still a battlefield almost four decades after the initial Soviet Invasion. It probably shows why that the issue will not be solved in the foreseeable future either.
Conclusion
Besides their current support of President Assad in Syria and developing closer ties with Turkish President Erdogan one may ask where else could this alliance seek to impose its will? Or in their view promote their political outlook? One country where three of the four have a joint interest is Venezuela. That country continues to struggle along with a struggling economy and mismanagement. How Pakistan would become interested in this country has yet to be seen. But it’s an area where the other three powers have an interest for sure.
What was the purpose for this meeting? The purpose was to discuss joint projects to defeat what they view as terrorism. Is this action just another fact in the ever changing geopolitical landscape of shifting allies and adversaries? History however tells us a couple of different tales.
Russia
During the Cold War era, the KGB supported and financed terrorist groups that launched a wave of kidnappings in Italy, France and West Germany. Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union its activities have morphed into nefarious activities such as [allegedly - Ed] hacking the recent Presidential Elections in both France and the United States. It has also supported Iran in its efforts to ensure the Assad reign of power in Syria. No clean hand here.
Iran
Speaking of Iran, we have heard of some of their activities. Bombing Jewish interests in Argentina, Attacking the US Embassy and the Marine Barracks in Beirut back in 1983. There are current concerns that the Islamic Republic is stirring the mainly Shia Population in Bahrain against the ruling Sunni Government. Then there's their effort to support the Houthis in Yemen by providing them Ballistic Missiles. One Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, actually has seats in the Lebanese Parliament, Ministries to run in the Government and its own Militia which taunts the Israelis. No clean hands here either.
Pakistan
This country has long supported certain Islamic elements in neighboring India - as evidenced by the Mumbai attacks back in 2008. That being said, there have been some concerns that the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) have been playing both sides during the seemingly never ending war in Afghanistan since the United States invaded it back in 2001. Pakistan has also sought to maintain some ties with the United States while actively forming, fostering and in some cases protecting the Taliban. There are no clean hands here either.
China
That brings us to China. Most of their issues are domestic related such as what is occurring in Xiangyang Province which borders some of the Central Asian Republics. That seems to be a common denominator for these four entities to coordinate activities. It is also a region which these powers regard as their sphere of influence and interlopers, such as the United States, had better stay away or suffer the consequences.
After the defeat of the Red Army, in 1989, in Afghanistan (and the collapse of the Soviet Union itself two years later) a vacuum was created in Central Asia. It is often said that nature will take the necessary actions to fill such a void; and that is why Afghanistan is still a battlefield almost four decades after the initial Soviet Invasion. It probably shows why that the issue will not be solved in the foreseeable future either.
Conclusion
Besides their current support of President Assad in Syria and developing closer ties with Turkish President Erdogan one may ask where else could this alliance seek to impose its will? Or in their view promote their political outlook? One country where three of the four have a joint interest is Venezuela. That country continues to struggle along with a struggling economy and mismanagement. How Pakistan would become interested in this country has yet to be seen. But it’s an area where the other three powers have an interest for sure.
[The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dissecting Society. © 2007-2018 Author(s) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED]
Comments
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Hi Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, so I have nothing more to add.
Good job, man!
Cheers
Yeah, terror sponsors wanting to fight terror? What a joke! And Trump just endorsed Putin too.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant post, Scott!
ReplyDelete