Catalogue of conflict

There is conflict across the world. The United States has closed its eyes to the problems claims Richard Holbrooke, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, in the Melbourne Age.

a former US ambassador to the United Nations

What was interesting, apart from the pouncing lead, is the rundown on current and potential conflicts.

Two full-blown crises, in Lebanon and Iraq, are merging into a single emergency. A chain reaction could spread quickly almost anywhere between Cairo and Bombay.

Turkey is talking openly of invading northern Iraq to deal with Kurdish terrorists based there.

Unless the UN ceasefire agreement can be implemented quickly, Syria could easily get pulled into renewed war in southern Lebanon.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are under pressure from jihadists to support Hezbollah, even though the governments in Cairo and Riyadh hate that organisation.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of giving shelter to al-Qaeda and the Taliban; there is constant fighting on both sides of that border.

NATO's war in Afghanistan is not going well. India talks of taking punitive action against Pakistan for allegedly being behind the Bombay bombings.

Uzbekistan is a repressive dictatorship with Islamic resistance. (not sure where he was going with the last.)

A few snippets from the article:

...Preventing just such a trap must be the highest priority of American policy. Unfortunately, there is little public sign that the President and his top advisers recognise how close we are to a chain reaction, or that they have any larger strategy beyond tactical actions.


On the diplomatic front, the United States cannot abandon the field to other nations (not even France) or the United Nations.

Every secretary of state from Henry Kissinger to Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright negotiated with Syria, including those Republican icons George Shultz and James Baker.


Why won't this Administration follow suit? This would clearly be in Israel's interest.

Talks with Iran would be more difficult. Why has the world's leading nation stood aside and allowed the international dialogue with Tehran to be conducted by Europeans, the Chinese and the UN?