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America and the Great Chessboard |
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Sunday, 15 May 2005 |
Eurasia is the term given to a super-continent which is a combination
of Europe and Asia, this combination forms the largest single land mass
of the earth, a huge expanse more than 54 million square
kilometer. Eurasia stretches from Vladivostok in the East to
Lisbon in the West, from the Arctic in the North to the Indian Ocean in
the South. Eurasia has been for centuries the center of world influence
very often hordes of people descended on it from the steppes and
conquered it and subjugated its people which propelled it into the
position of the first world power. The landlocked central part of
Eurasia was regarded by Mackinder [Sir John Hartford, 1861-1947. A
prominent British political thinker and geographer] in the early 20th
century proposed that north-central Eurasia, would eventually be the
heart of the world’s controlling power the key to world domination and
called it the pivot area or the heartland, because of its geographic
position and vast natural resources. This same area was coined
later on by Zbigniew Brzezinski (Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser) in his book The Grand Chessboard.
Eurasia has been the center of the world’s influence, whoever dominated
it, was in a very strong position and very often was able to dominate
the whole world. This interest came down through the centuries to
the early decades of the 20th century by no lesser masters of intrigue
and political scheming than Hitler and Stalin who were themselves
dreaming of world domination recognized its significance and agreed
during their secret negotiations in 1940 to drive America out of the
region, they realized quite early in the game that America’s control of
the area will very seriously jeopardize their ambitions, Hitler and
Stalin’s ambitions for world domination were of course dashed and
America emerged at the end of the cold war and the disintegration of
the Soviet Union as the unchallenged world power. Half a century
later the question is not whether America can dominate this area, but
what are its objectives and interests there and can this domination
withstand the challenges it is facing there from the other players who
are involved in the great chess game.
For the last five centuries when the various continents started to
interact and communicate more actively very often hordes of people of
different ethnologies descended usually from its western steppes
towards the central part of Eurasia and conquered it and subjugated its
people to its rule and emerged as a result of that control as the first
power in the region and was able by virtue of Eurasia’s assets to
emerge with huge privileges and the position as the world’s super
power. Eurasia is home to about 70% of the world’s population, it
contains most of the earth’s wealth above and below the ground it
produces almost 60% of the world’s industrial and agricultural
production, it controls the world’s most important sea and land lanes
(the best example of which is the silk road), it contains no less than
three quarters of the world’s known reserves of gas and oil.
The last decade of the 20th century witnessed a major shift in the
balance of the world’s powers for the first time in the recent history
a non Eurasian power not only as a major player in inter Eurasian
politics but as the world’s unchallenged number one power and the most
influential player in the world’s affairs. The sudden collapse of
the Soviet empire was the last decisive step in the ascent of the
United States a non-Eurasian power to assume the position of the
world’s number one authority and its most influential power. This
talk is limited to the heartland of Eurasia which contains the Caspian
sea, and the four Islamic republics in the Caucasus in central Asia
which were part of the old Soviet Union and became independent after
its dismantling, the Middle East which includes the fertile crescent,
Iran and the Arabian peninsula the entities which comprise the great
chessboard.
This represents the most highly coveted prize, its acquisition and
America’s ability to keep it will directly affect its chances of
maintaining its position as the world’s superior power, but in spite of
America’s very clear advantages in a n extremely modern and highly
efficient military very advanced technology and unparalleled standards
in information and communication, in addition to commerce and money
there are very serious challenges which might seriously threaten
America’s. To begin, America is a fairly democratic state and
cannot go on using its military power indiscriminately against the will
of its people the last two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are very
special case which are directly related to America’s struggle for
predominance in the heartland and its moves over the great chessboard
with view to encircle it and limit the moves of its competitors in the
great chess game, incidentally wars like these are extremely possible
in other parts of the world in the future and for the same reasons,
also the American people complain about not having seen any of
the peace dividend after their country’s winning the cold war which has
resulted in the appearance in the United States of two schools of
thought. One advocates the lessening of America’s involvement in
the affairs of the world and another one who think that America should
actively encourage the development of a multi-polar world to which the
United States must relinquish some of its powers, both schools have
gathered a good deal of following and support.
The challenge to America’s position in the world we are often told is
likely to come from China, from a united Europe or from a revived
Russia and few others countries, this is true to a certain extent but a
challenge to America’s domination will never be serious enough from
these quarters to seriously threaten its domination. The most
serious threats are likely to come and for a very long time from the
Islamic fundamental and extremist organizations and groupings which are
becoming increasingly abundant and active in an area with a majority of
Muslims amongst its population whose antagonism to America stems from
almost a total rejection of America’s way of life and for that matter
the western worlds’ way of life. A very severe and a deep rooted
antagonism which is manifesting itself in increasingly serious military
confrontations of a nature very new to America’s military, all of this
hatred and opposition is encouraged by America’s unlimited support to
Israel and the corrupt and abhorrent regimes in the Middle East and its
double standards in its approach to the issues concerning the Islamic
and the Arab worlds.
Dr. Najeeb Hanoudi
Baghdad, May 15, 2005
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