Foreign Policy Blogs

No Peace in Our Time

No Peace in Our Time

It was recently revealed that billions of top of the line American weapons were abandoned in Afghanistan when Western forces hastily pulled out of the country in 2021. Adding to the shame of leaving many of their own citizens as well as Afghan allies and TERPS to be brutalised in Afghanistan, the billions in weapons have now been found in conflict zones bordering India and will likely infest the region with added violence for generations to come.

The former weapons boom was greatly contributed to by people like Viktor Bout, a well known arms dealer who supplied many of the world’s conflicts in the region and worldwide after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The stockpiles of weapons that were accessed from Eastern Bloc nations that were storing them for an upcoming Third World War found their way to villages in Iraq , throughout conflict zones in Africa and in every part of the globe. Viktor Bout has made it back into the news as a possible US prisoner to be exchanged to Russia. The last time he was mentioned in the media was following his arrest and regarding a Hollywood movie that was loosely based on him called Lord of War.

The after effect of leaving Afghanistan may be a contributing factor to many of the recent conflicts in the world just a few shorts months after 2021. No one would have expected Russia to move past the Eastern regions of Ukraine into Kyiv and Odesa in 2021. Despite the heavy push back in Ukraine, it seems like militants in Afghanistan are now better equipped than most NATO supplied Ukrainian soldiers. These signs of uncoordinated disinterest on the part of the US creates the perception that they would not commit to pushing back against traditional adversaries. Already within a short period of time, Taiwan has been threatened, Iran has increased their rhetoric and actions in upgrading their nuclear program, and intellectuals and innocents have been assaulted deep inside free, Western democracies.

The activity NATO allies have had in supporting weapons transfers to Ukraine has not been met on the greater strategic front. While some of the best German artillery systems have now entered the conflict zone in Ukraine, there is a looming energy crisis approaching Germany and Europe in 2022. To the point where Russia can simply turn off the gas to Europe in winter, North American oil and gas have not committed in any meaningful way to support their friends and cousins in Europe. It has come to the point where Canada was supplying repaired pipeline turbines to Russia, enraging the International Ukrainian community to the point where they issued a lawsuit in Canada on the act. The end result was that Russia claimed the turbines would not be sufficient to supply Germany with fuel in any case, and a new pipeline project was announced between Russia and China. With actions like these coming from NATO allies, the message to many regimes around the world is to take advantage of the chaos.

 

 

 

 

 

Author

Richard Basas

Richard Basas, a Canadian Masters Level Law student educated in Spain, England, and Canada (U of London MA 2003 LL.M., 2007), has worked researching for CSIS and as a Reporter for the Latin America Advisor. He went on to study his MA in Latin American Political Economy in London with the University of London and LSE. Subsequently, Rich followed his career into Law focusing mostly on International Commerce and EU-Americas issues. He has worked for many commercial and legal organisations as well as within the Refugee Protection Community in Toronto, Canada, representing detained non-status indivduals residing in Canada. Rich will go on to study his PhD in International Law.

Areas of Focus:
Law; Economics and Commerce; Americas; Europe; Refugees; Immigration

Contact