[Mentalist]

been reading the news, need an article for a 5 min presentation

it Seems like Venezuela + Equador are about to go to war with Columbia
Turkey with its identity crisis started a war in Iraqi Kurdistan
Not to mention the Kosovo situation

The global situation's getting pretty iffy... any thoughts?

[Aptorian]

I'm actually taking a course on something like this right now. Every time wars brake out we assume that the world is going down the drain. In fact it's northing new and we're just continuing the trend from the 20th century.

None of those wars are new, it's just old scars and cultural tension coming back to bite them in the ass.

[paladin]

Columbia/Ecuador won't be much, but Columbia/Venezuela has huge potential because Venezuela hates the US with a passion and we basically pay for the Columbian military. If Venezuela actually attacks it be nice on a political front to see Chavez get his nose bloodied.

[Mentalist]

hmmm Yes, Apt, I concur on hte "scars" bit.. It just seems that a bunch of them are opening up all at once


@ paladin: what are the chances of the US switching to more isolationist foreign policy?
Cuz there are a bunch of places that'd be scewered then....
Also, isn't Columbia the oneLatin American state everyone dislikes, since US's backing them up'?

[paladin]

Nobody likes Columbia because its a freaking cocaine fueled warzone. The US invests a lot in central and south america, it just happens that Columbia is the worst place in the world to be, so noone likes them. Specifically, the US supports the Columbian military to keep the nation from being taken over by the FARC rebels and to try and regulate cocaine production. Chavez/Venezuela supports FARC because they are leftists and because he has to oppose anything the US supports.

Depending on how Iraq plays out over time, I could see someone being elected on an isolationist platform, but not yet. Even if the US went isolationist, our interest in the western hemisphere would still remain. History(Spanish-American War) shows us that and necessity will force it anyways. The Western hemisphere means too much to the US economy to not be involved in regional diplomatic issues.

[snake0026]

Just thought I'd mention that Turkey announced a complete withdrawal from Iraqi Kurdistan a few days ago, and that the conflict there is not a particularly new one either.

[Optimus Prime]

kud13;267766 said:

hmmm Yes, Apt, I concur on hte "scars" bit.. It just seems that a bunch of them are opening up all at once


@ paladin: what are the chances of the US switching to more isolationist foreign policy?
Cuz there are a bunch of places that'd be scewered then....
Also, isn't Columbia the oneLatin American state everyone dislikes, since US's backing them up'?

I can see Obama becoming less Expansionist, there is a growing cry in the US to get the hell out of anywhere near the middle east and other "hot zones" until we can solve our own problems.

The U.S. pays close attention to Central and South America, the whole "Sphere of Influence" proclamation back in the day, but I think the threat of US military action or sanction will probably stop any war from breaking out down there....but you never know...

[Zanth13]

I really dont care about wars any more... except that come 2009 I better be done with them....for good....




~zanth, pretty sick and tired.

[Sinisdar Toste]

poor zanthy i feel for ya budai.

this south american situation is new to me, interesting to see chavez actually making moves. lets see how he handles himself when the bullets are flying.

i agree with paladin that the US is too integral in western, nay, world economy to become an isolationist state. but i am very interested in what exactly the new foreign policy is going to be. i really liked one of obamas quotes that he disagrees with the policy that not talking to nations is somehow punishing them.

[Silencer]

China is going to become the leading power in economy soon. Then the US could become isolationist again....

Wars always crop up. They just seem more common because they are happening now and we can hear about them all at once (thanks internet!!).

@ST, well, if the UN and organisations like Amnesty International keeps doing what they're doing then not talking to people would be a REWARD rather than a punishment.

[Optimus Prime]

Zanth13;268322 said:

I really dont care about wars any more... except that come 2009 I better be done with them....for good....




~zanth, pretty sick and tired.

Me too, Zanth. I want to bring all our boys home now.

[Morgoth]

I would hardly classify the Turkish-kurdish war as the result of an identity crisis in Turkey.

[snake0026]

Quote

China is going to become the leading power in economy soon. Then the US could become isolationist again....

For some reason, I just don't see this as happening. The part about America becoming isolationist due to the fact that the Chinese economy has surpassed theirs, that is.

[Mentalist]

Morgoth;268437 said:

I would hardly classify the Turkish-kurdish war as the result of an identity crisis in Turkey.

heh.. Turkey's leaders want to be Western
Turkey's population (large chunk) is progressivelyy more Islamist
That causes problems.
Independent Kurdistan out of what's left in Iraq--further problems due to Turkish Kurds...

A successful war can distract the public..

EDIT: so, they're pulling out.. well, that's good ... for now.

[Morgoth]

kud13;268818 said:

heh.. Turkey's leaders want to be Western
Turkey's population (large chunk) is progressivelyy more Islamist
That causes problems.
Independent Kurdistan out of what's left in Iraq--further problems due to Turkish Kurds...

A successful war can distract the public..

EDIT: so, they're pulling out.. well, that's good ... for now.

I disagree. The majority of the Turksih population are still moderate muslims. Just taking a quick look at the number of delegates the different political parties have supports this. the muslim party is the biggest, but does not have a majority as far as I remember.

turky is a country of many ethnic groups, and are terrified of splitting apart. Nationalism in turky is pretty extreeme. Kurdistan obviously frightens them a lot in the way of presidence, and this combined with the growing number of rocket and bomb attacks supposedly commited by the kurdish seperatists - in further combination with the need to show some muscle towards the US - caused the invasion more than anything else.