Wars Update - More Violence, Fewer Dead Bodies

The "Arab Spring" has devolved into the “Arab Fall” as the “successful” uprisings against dictators and monarchs (Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya) turned out to have superficial impact on the corrupt and mismanaged societies that were seeking some fundamental reform and improvement. Other candidates for Arab Spring failed or never got going (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon). Syria is not over but the rebels are winning. In Egypt, the disgruntled population is moving towards a revival of the uprising because the new bosses are too similar to the old ones.

Libya was won by armed civilians assisted by NATO smart bombs and warships. The Syrian rebels want this kind of help but the West is reluctant to do this again. Arab gratitude is brittle and can quickly turn to treachery or hate. The uprisings were mostly about corruption and the resulting massive poverty. For that reason, the Saudi Arabian monarchy was able to buy its way out of an uprising. Yemen mutated into low level civil war that was soon over, while Syria grew slowly into a countrywide guerilla war. Egypt and Tunisia were over quickly, but subsequent elections put Islamic conservatives in power and left most of the corruption alone. In Egypt the military was able to maintain its corrupt grip on the economy. It's unclear how this will turn out because the Islamic and secular rebel groups are spending most of their time going after each other. Indeed, the biggest problem was that these dictatorships were not just the single dictator but that segment of the population that kept the dictator in power, were well rewarded for that and were not eager to flee or give up their wealth. The dictator's supporters are striving to retain or regain their power. The Old Order has substantial economic and political resources and is willing to use them to retain power and wealth.

Most current wars are basically uprisings against police states or feudal societies, which are seen as out-of-step with the modern world. Many are led by radicals preaching failed dogmas (Islamic conservatism, Maoism, and other forms of radical socialism), that still resonate among people who don't know about the dismal track records of these creeds. Iran has replaced some of the lost Soviet terrorist support effort. That keeps Hezbollah, Hamas (until recently), and a few smaller groups going, and that's it. Terrorists in general miss the Soviets, who really knew how to treat bad boys right.

The War on Terror  has morphed into the War Against Islamic Radicalism. This religious radicalism has always been around, for Islam was born as an aggressive movement that used violence and terror to expand. Past periods of conquest are regarded fondly by Moslems, who are still taught by many of their religious leaders and teachers that non-Moslems ("infidels") are inferior. The current enthusiasm for violence in the name of God has been building through most of the 20th century. Historically, Islamic radicalism has flared up into mass bloodshed periodically, usually in response to corrupt governments, as a vain attempt to impose a religious solution on some social or political problem.

 The current violence is international because of the availability of planet wide mass media (which needs a constant supply of headlines) and the fact that the Islamic world is awash in tyranny and economic backwardness. This is why the Arab Spring uprisings, and their desire to establish democracies, may do some permanent damage to the Islamic terrorism tradition. There are already more condemnations of Islamic radicals by Islamic clerics and media in Moslem nations. These changes have not come as quickly as many hoped, but at least they finally arrived. This came as a surprise to many Moslems. That’s because the past has had a huge influence on Islamic societies. For many, resistance to change is considered a religious obligation. Many Moslems consider democracy a poisonous Western invention. There is still a lot of affection for the clerical dictatorship of legend, a just and efficient government run by virtuous religious leaders. The legends are false and there are centuries of failed religious dictatorships to prove it. But this legend has become a core belief for many Moslems and will be shaken by reality or the historical record. 

Islamic radicalism itself is incapable of mustering much military power, and the movement largely relies on terrorism to gain attention. Most of the victims are fellow Moslems, which is why the radicals eventually become so unpopular among their own people that they run out of popular support and fade away. This is what is happening now. The American invasion of Iraq was a clever exploitation of this, forcing the Islamic radicals to fight in Iraq, where they killed many Moslems, especially women and children, thus causing the Islamic radicals to lose their popularity among Moslems. The sharp decline in the Islamic nation opinion polls was startling. 

Normally, the West does not get involved in these Islamic religious wars, unless attacked in a major way. Moreover, modern sensibilities have made retaliation difficult. For example, fighting back is considered, by Moslems, as culturally insensitive ("war on Islam"), and some of the Western media have picked up on this bizarre interpretation of reality.  It gets worse. Historians point out, for example, that the medieval Crusades were a series of wars fought in response to Islamic violence against Christians, not the opening act of aggression against Islam that continues to the present. Thus, the current war on terror is, indeed, in the tradition of the Crusades. And there are many other "Crusades" brewing around the world, in the many places where aggressive Islamic militants are making unprovoked war on their Christian and non-Moslem neighbors. Political Correctness among academics and journalists causes pundits to try and turn this reality inside out. But a close look at the violence in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East shows a definite pattern of Islamic radicals persecuting those who do not agree with them, not the other way around.

While Islamic terrorism grabs most of the headlines, it is not the cause of many casualties, at least not compared to more traditional wars. The vast majority of the military related violence and deaths in the world comes from many little wars that get little media attention outside their region. Actually some of them are not so little. While causalities from international terrorism are relatively few, the dead and wounded from all the other wars actually comprise about 95 percent of all the casualties.

The Islamic terrorism looms larger because the terrorists threaten attacks everywhere and at any time, putting a much larger population in harm's way, and the more numerous potential victims are unhappy with that prospect. In the West, and most Moslem nations, Islamic terrorism remains more of a threat than reality. In fact, casualties from terrorist attacks have been declining. Most of the victims are in Iraq and Afghanistan, where they have been operating for decades. Before 2003, many of the current Sunni terrorists were on Saddam’s payroll, carrying out “legal” terrorism. 

There are a lot of people dying from armed and organized (sort of) violence word-wide. But most of this violence involved one, or both sides, operating as armed civilians. One of the bloodiest of these irregular conflicts is the one going on in Mexico, where drug gangs battle over who shall control the lucrative drug smuggling routes into the United States. Most of the killings are done by drug gang gunmen in civilian clothes. The death toll is over 80,000 since 2007. That's right up there with the wars that get a lot more media coverage (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Sudan, Somalia). That's no accident, as the Mexican drug war includes a lot of violence against the media, mainly local print and electronic outlets. The drug gangs don't want any unfavorable coverage and are willing to kill those who dare to say unkind things. This is common in many of the wars where one, or both sides are basically outlaws and able to do as they please.

Despite the growing military power of China, and the saber rattling from Russia, the major military powers continue the Great Nuclear Truce (GNT) that began in the 1950s, when Russia got nuclear weapons and suddenly realized they could not afford to use them (without risking more destruction than past foes like the Nazis or Mongols inflicted). As more major powers got nukes, the "we can't afford to use them, but they're nice to have" attitude, and the unprecedented truce, persisted. There have been wars but not between the big players (who have the largest and most destructive conventional forces). Thus a record was broken in 1986, as there had never before (since the modern state system developed in the 16th century) been so long a period without a war between a major powers (the kind that could afford, these days, to get nukes). Since the Cold War ended in 1991, there have been fewer wars (in the traditional sense) and more low level conflicts (rebellions, civil wars).

Most people are unaware of this situation because the mass media never made a lot of the GNT, it was something that was just there and not worth reporting. Besides, "nukes (bombs, power plants, medicine) are evil" sells if you are in the news business. Calling any incident, with a lot of gunfire and a few dead bodies, a "war" has also been misleading. The fact is, worldwide violence has been declining since the end of the Cold War and the elimination of Russian subsidies and encouragement for pro-communist (or simply pro-Russia) rebels and terrorists. The media also has a hard time keeping score. For years Iraq was portrayed as a disaster until, suddenly, the enemy was crushed and the war was won. Even that was not considered exciting enough to warrant much attention, and that story is still poorly covered. Same pattern is playing out in Afghanistan, where the defeats of the Taliban, and triumph of the drug gangs, go unreported or distorted. However, if you step back and take a look at all the wars going on, a more accurate picture emerges.

Current wars are listed in alphabetical orders. Text underneath briefly describes current status. Click on country name for more details. 

AFGHANISTAN 

The government continues trying to negotiate a deal with pro-Taliban Pushtun tribes and clans in the south. The Taliban leadership (most of them live in the Pakistan sanctuary of Quetta) oppose this sort of thing, as they have done for years. But more clans and tribe leaders make deals and this further splinters the Taliban and lessen the risk of another civil war between Pushtuns (and among Pushtun factions) and the other ethnic groups (who are 60 percent of the population but much less violent than the Pushtuns). Most NATO troops in Afghanistan will be gone by 2014. The drug gangs and their Taliban allies are depending on this departure for long-term survival. But that could create a heroin producing, Islamic terrorist and gangster sanctuary in Central Asia. If you want to know how that works out, look at Chechnya in the late 1990s and Somalia during the last decade. No one has come up with any cheap, fast, or easy solution for that. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's core problem is that there is no Afghanistan, merely a collection of tribes more concerned about tribal, than national, prosperity and power. Ten percent of the population, mostly living in the cities and often working with the foreigners, believes in Afghanistan the country. But beyond the city limits, it's a very different Afghanistan that is currently motivated by growing prosperity brought on by a decade of relative peace. By Afghan standards, an unprecedented amount of cash has come into the country since September 11, 2001. Between economic growth, the growing heroin sales, and foreign aid, plus lower losses from violence, it's been something of a Golden Age. But Afghanistan has a long history of civil war and endemic tribal violence. For example, it's often forgotten that the 1990s civil war was still active on September 11, 2001.

The Taliban (or, more accurately, Pushtun nationalists from the southwest) have been trying to make a comeback ever since. Meanwhile most Afghans are more interested in grabbing a chunk of the new economic opportunities. Despite a decline in civilian deaths (and the fact that most of them are caused by the Taliban), the Afghan government plays up every civilian death caused by foreign troops as a bargaining chip in the effort to cripple NATO anti-corruption efforts. There hasn't been a real "Taliban Spring Offensive" for the last seven years and that’s partly because of cash flow problems.
 
The key Taliban financial resource, heroin in Helmand and Kandahar provinces, has been under heavy attack for over four years now. The poppy (the source of opium and heroin) crop has been hammered by drought and disease, growing competition from Burmese heroin and drug gang income has suffered. The Taliban expected drug gang profits, al Qaeda assistance, and Pakistani reinforcements to help them out. But al Qaeda is a very junior, and unpopular, partner, and the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011 was a big blow to morale. Pakistani Taliban are mostly sending refugees, not reinforcements. In the last half of 2011, the Taliban were much reduced, and for the year their attacks were down and casualties are up. Losses for foreign troops were also way down from the peak year of 2010 (711 dead). Foreign troop deaths began to rapidly decline in the second half of 2011, with casualties among Afghan police and soldiers rising as Afghans took control of security in more of the country. The higher foreign troop casualties in 2010 were because there were more foreign troops in action during that year, and those troops were much more aggressive.

The Taliban roadside bomb weapon has lost its punch because of more MRAPs and specialized intel and engineer troops moved in from Iraq. Thus the proportion of foreign troop deaths from roadside bombs declined from a peak of 61 percent in 2009, to under 40 percent last year. This has not helped civilians, who suffer far more deaths from Taliban action. In fact, independent minded tribes, warlords, corruption and drug gangs remain a greater threat to peace,  prosperity, and true national unity than the Taliban (on both sides of the Pakistan border). Newly wealthy civilians are buying rifles and pistols for self-defense. Moreover, the "Taliban" are not an organization but a Pushtun movement that is active on both sides of the border and supported by less than ten percent of the 40 million Pushtun in the region. Five years ago the Pakistani government finally agreed to take on the pro-Taliban tribes and various Islamic terrorist organizations. That has put pressure on Taliban on both sides of the border. There are fewer safe havens for the Taliban. Violence inside Afghanistan is growing, largely because of the drug gangs and their support for tribes (especially pro-Taliban ones) that oppose the corrupt (in part because of drug gang bribes) national government.

The foreign nations, fighting their war on terror in Afghanistan, have finally realized that there has never been an Afghan national government that was not corrupt, and changing that is going to be more difficult than fighting the Taliban. NATO is now fully aware of the trans-national nature of the Pushtun tribes and the Taliban movement. The "war in Afghanistan" is more of a "Pushtun Tribal Rebellion," and is being handled as such. Most NATO nations with troops in Afghanistan are willing to just walk away and deal with the fallout later. Afghanistan has become politically unpopular and the easiest way out (for Western politicians) is to get out and let their successors deal with the fallout.

ALGERIA 

The Arab Spring made only a slight impact here. Many locals are still traumatized by the 1990s war against Islamic terrorists, which is still not completely over. But the anger is growing because of decades of inept dictatorship. There are few Islamic radicals left in Algeria. Over the last decade most of them were killed, captured, or ran off to Europe or south into the desert and across the southern borders into Black Africa. Many of those showed up in Mali over the last year, where a lot of them were killed by the French counter-offensive earlier this year. That operation also did a lot of damage to the al Qaeda smuggling gangs that have been moving South American cocaine north for several years. The few remaining Islamic terrorists in Algeria have few hiding places left. Despite the large amount of uninhabited mountains and forests along the eastern coast, the police and army have been operating there for so long that it's difficult to stay hidden. Too many civilians are hostile to Islamic radicalism and will phone in a tip. Algeria has become a very dangerous place for Islamic terrorists.

 There was a slight increase in terror attacks, as Islamic radicals tried to capitalize on the Arab Spring unrest in neighboring Tunisia and Libya. But in both those countries, the popular uprising was against the local dictators and for democracy, not Islamic radicalism. Islamic political parties were popular, but not Islamic radicals. The uprisings in Tunisia and Libya weakened the local security forces, and made it easier for Islamic radicals to move around and recruit. Algeria increased its border security and has had to deal with more Islamic terrorist just across the border in Tunisia and Libya. The major problem remains, an Algerian government that is basically a corrupt military dictatorship that uses the national oil wealth to buy enough votes to get elected again and again. So more Algerians are fleeing, or vacillating between despair and a desire to fight. The corrupt government insures that there are always more desperate young men willing to give Islamic terrorism a try, but not enough to overthrow the government or even keep Arab Spring demonstrations going. Many expect another, and larger, Arab Spring in Algeria eventually, but so far the geriatric government is making concessions and trying to reform itself. This is delaying another revolution.

BALKANS  

Corruption, crime, and the pursuit of past glories continue to be the main cause of violence here. An Islamic government in Turkey is looking east and south, like the late Ottoman Turk Empire. But to the east and south there is only trouble, while Turkey's growing economy looks west, where the major trading partners are. Meanwhile, there is growing popular unrest in Turkey over the Islamic government’s arrogant and intolerant attitudes towards dissent and criticism. A major outbreak of public protest has forced the government to reconsider its policies. Greece's economic meltdown meant big cuts in the Greek military budget, ending the decades-long arms race with Turkey. Cyprus also suffered an economic meltdown, complicated by the fact that Cyprus had become an offshore banking haven for Russian criminals and corrupt officials. Russia continues to throw its weight around (or at least try to), if only because Russia has spent centuries meddling in the Balkans and just can’t stop. Despite that, the West Europeans got their way, and Kosovo became independent. Serbia disagrees with that, and Big Brother Russia offers all manner of support and threats. But no one is willing to resume the war, yet. No one is willing to renounce war as an option, either. Bosnia continues to attract Islamic terrorists, despite the local government becoming increasingly hostile to these foreign troublemakers and alien Islamic conservatism. Moldova continues to muddle and Bulgaria and Romania continue to fight corruption and lose. The EU is pulling its peacekeepers out of the Balkans, leaving the gangsters, Islamic radicals, and corrupt officials more freedom of action.

CENTRAL ASIA 

The Arab Spring tried to spread to this area but didn't take hold. Local dictators continue to brew rebellion by suppressing democrats, Islamic radicals, and anyone else who objects to strongman rule. Not much violence most of the time, just a lot of potential and a growing number of local Islamic militants who seem determined to use violence to change things. The dictators in the "Stans" (the former provinces of the Soviet Union that became five independent nations, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan) have been rebuilding the Soviet era secret police. The new dictators have noted that the Soviets never had any problems with Islamic terrorism, or any other kind of terrorism, and are going old school on this new problem. Nevertheless, popular uprisings have succeeded here. The continuing unrest in Kyrgyzstan demonstrates that there are limits to what a dictatorship can do. That’s one reason Kyrgyzstan is seeking closer economic and political ties with Russia, just in case the local situation gets out of control. Russia stands ready to provide similar help to the other Stans, which are all being pulled back into the Russian economic and political orbit. 

CHAD 

Chad and Sudan halted their support for each other's rebels four years ago and formally made peace. Now the biggest problem along the border is the bandits, who prey on the refugees and the foreign aid workers. The peacekeepers have left, and the foreign aid groups threatened to follow if Chad security forces were unable, or unwilling, to deal with the banditry in and around the refugee camps. Chadian soldiers and police did keep the bandits in check, and the aid groups (a major source of economic activity in eastern Chad) remained. This success led Chad to send several thousand troops to Mali to assist the French in clearing out an infestation of Islamic terrorists. This might be considered payback for assistance France has given Chad in the past. Meanwhile the unrest along the Sudan border is caused by refugees from tribal battles in Sudan, who bring their feuds with them. Prospects for peace are not good in Sudan, so the Sudanese refugees remain a problem. Chad is now quieter but not peaceful. Same with its neighbor, the CAR (Central African Republic), which suffers from the same plague of multiculturalism induced rebellions. The civil war in CAR flared up in the past year and escalated in 2013, to an overthrow of the CAR government. That change of government has settled down things in CAR, but the situation still remains volatile in Sudan. For both Chad and CAR, corruption, poverty, disorder, and starvation are larger problems than armed violence.

CHINA 

China is edging towards war with its neighbors. North Korea is now on this list because the North Koreans have openly defied China, which is not happy with having an unstable nuclear power as a neighbor. North Korea is getting threats, some of them public, from China. Meanwhile, in the South China Sea China has embraced the idea that this entire area is not international waters nor the property of the nearest country but part of China. This violates international agreements on such matters, but China disagrees and is becoming more aggressive in enforcing these claims. China is using the “death by a thousand cuts” approach, constantly pushing other nations away from disputed rocks and reefs and threatening worse if anyone tries drilling for oil or gas in these offshore waters.

China is applying the same tactics on India along their 4,000 kilometer land border. Meanwhile, there are growing problems at home, where growing success in using the Internet for espionage did not translate in the ability to establish a lot of control over Internet use within China. The government has been unable to create a new domestic information monopoly (as existed in the pre-cell phone/Internet days). Bad news gets out and causes growing unrest or corruption and abusive government. There are thousands of large protest riots each year, and some towns are openly rebelling. It's all because of an un-elected government run by communists who no longer believe in communism. The growing corruption taints everything. For example, military reforms are crippled by corruption and energetic government efforts to clean it up constantly fail. In late 2012, the government launched another major anti-corruption drive but, as in the past, most of those prosecuted are low level operators while the biggest (and most senior) offenders continue doing the most damage with the least risk. China continues its long-range plan to be a military superpower. World class weapons are planned for the future, some 10-20 years from now, but every year China offers more advanced weapons to the world market. Chinese military technology is suspect, as much of it is based on Russian stuff, and during the Cold War Russian weapons always seemed to be what the losers used. A lot of this new tech is aimed at India. The rivalry between China and India becomes more obvious and dangerous. China is mainly concerned about its trade routes through the Indian Ocean. The confrontation with Taiwan continues to subside, replaced by kind words and gracious lies, along with increases in trade and commerce. Taiwan buys more arms and China speeds up modernization of its armed forces, with an emphasis on protecting its sea trade routes and overseas economic interests. Thus the world is seeing more Chinese in peacekeeping missions as well as growing Chinese threats to peace. 

COLOMBIA 

Peace talks with the major leftist rebel group FARC are proceeding slowly. After nearly half a century of violence, leftist rebels are rapidly losing support, recruits, and territory.  The drug gangs and leftist rebels have merged in many parts of the country, and the war is increasingly about money, not ideology. The leftist rebels are definitely fading but all that drug money can keep them in the game for quite a while. Many of the leftists are disillusioned and it is becoming harder to recruit new gunmen. In Venezuela the country moves closer to civil war. Radical populist president Hugo Chavez died in March, after he had trashed the Venezuelan economy and democracy. His handpicked replacement had to rig the election to become the new president. That just caused more popular discontent in Venezuela, which is threatening to turn that country into another 20th century Colombia. The old Chavez dream of Venezuela becoming a socialist dictatorship supported by oil revenue is rapidly fading, along with cash reserves and the national credit rating. While Venezuela is headed for civil war Colombia continues to prosper and reduce drug gang and leftist rebel violence.

CONGO 

The UN, having tried everything else, finally authorized a special brigade of peacekeepers who have a license to kill and kill as often as needed to eliminate the last few rogue militias operating in the east. This may solve the peacekeeping problems out there but not the fact that Congo has returned to being a one party dictatorship based on corruption and exploiting ethnic divisions. Multiple tribal and political militias, plus an increasing number of bandits, continue to roam the eastern border area, perpetuating the bloodiest (and least reported) war of the last decade (several million dead, depending on who is counting). There are fewer places where the bad guys can roam freely. Attempts to absorb rebels into the army have not worked well. The last major problem is a Tutsi militia, which will not disarm until the government destroys Hutu militias, organized by Hutu mass murderers who fled neighboring Rwanda in the 1990s. The Congolese government finds it cannot (and to a certain extent, will not) cope with this. The reason is money, the millions of dollars available each year to whoever has gunmen controlling the mines that extract valuable ores and allow the stuff out of the country. UN peacekeepers are criticized for not fighting more, but that’s not their job. The Congolese army is not up to it yet either, and late last year one of the more troublesome militias (a Rwanda supported Tutsi outfit) rebelled and rolled over army and peacekeeper troops. The rebels did not seek to overthrow the national government but remain in control of much of the eastern border area. This is where the new UN combat brigade is operating. Meanwhile, the inept and corrupt government creates more anger than contentment, setting the stage for another civil war. The population is not eager for more violence, not after two decades of mayhem. 

ETHIOPIA 

Peacekeeping has proved to be a useful endeavor for Ethiopia. A few thousand troops helped crush the al Shabaab Islamic militia in Somalia. Ethiopia is accustomed to dealing with the Somalis, something the rest of the world should study more closely. Internally, rebellious Moslem groups are a constant threat, especially with more active support from Eritrea. Another force of peacekeepers helped keep the peace in South Sudan, which was rewarded with a transit deal for Ethiopian oil and other goods. Egypt made some nasty, but toothless, threats over Nile River water (and Ethiopian hydroelectric dams). The border dispute with Eritrea festers, and rebellion by ethnic Somalis in Ogaden province persists. There's oil in Ogaden and that has caused the Ethiopians to be brutal to the rebels. 

INDIA-PAKISTAN

This year, for the first time in Pakistani history, an elected civilian government succeeded an earlier elected civilian government. Before that there was always a military dictatorship in between. But now the military has lost a lot of prestige and popular support. This trend began in May 2nd, 2011, when a U.S. raid into Pakistan killed Osama bin Laden. That caused an unexpected popular backlash against the Pakistani military. Not just for sheltering bin Laden (which the generals always denied) but for being unable to spot the "invading Americans", or stop local Islamic radicals from carrying out "revenge attacks" that left hundreds dead. This led to a continuing series of confrontation between the Pakistani military and the civilian government and growing hostility towards military economic and political power. The generals had created a confrontation with the United States as a way to get their own civilian leaders to back off on plans to trim the independence (and wealth) the Pakistani military has long enjoyed. This did not work, nor did an effort to increase hostility with India. This is the result of growing Indian anger at Pakistani support of Islamic terrorism and realization that China is the main enemy now, with Pakistan fading fast.

After the Mumbai terrorist attacks in late 2008, India pressured Pakistan to quit playing media games and get serious about anti-Indian Islamic terrorists (created and sustained by the Pakistani military) based in Pakistan. This caused a struggle within the Pakistani government, over how to deal with Islamic radicalism and their own armed forces. Pakistan quietly backed off on any efforts to suppress its anti-India Islamic terror groups (who are popular with nationalistic Pakistanis). Meanwhile, India has to deal with religious (Islamic) separatists in Kashmir, plus tribal rebels in the northeast, and Maoist (communist) ones in between. In 2010, India launched a large offensive against the Maoists, a war they expect to take several years to finish and, not surprisingly, is proceeding slowly. Pakistan has Islamic radicals in the north and rebellious Pushtun and Baluchi tribes along the Afghan border. The Taliban had become stronger in Pakistan, where it originated, than in Afghanistan. The elected (2008) Pakistani government tried to make peace with the Taliban and when that failed, invaded the Taliban heartland. The previous military government had always avoided open war with the Islamic radicals. But this time the Taliban were beat up pretty bad, and the number of Taliban sponsored terrorist attacks increased in response. The military refused to clear the Islamic radicals out of their two last refuges in North Waziristan and Quetta (Baluchistan). Meanwhile the economy is a mess and the favorite national pastime is blaming foreigners for all these problems.

By way of comparison, Moslem Bangladesh, which broke away from being part of Pakistan in the early 1970s, has no such Islamic radical problem (leftist rebels are the major troublemakers). India and Pakistan both have nukes, making escalation a potential catastrophe. As a result, recent peace talks have lowered the possibility of war, but both sides continue an arms race. Pakistan has always been a mess and does not appear to be getting better. For a while there was an effort to be less hospitable to Islamic radicals. But those Islamic terrorists who concentrated on attacking India were too popular to suppress. The military saw their control of these terrorists as a potential tool to keep the civilian government in line. It was a military government that, in the 1970s, introduced Islamic radicalism as a political tool for controlling the country and for making war against India. Many of the Islamic terrorists eventually turned on the military and were a dangerous failure as a tool for foreign policy. The military continues to support Islamic terrorists, especially those going after India, by providing secure bases in Pakistan and active support in getting into India. There are still many Pakistanis, including government officials, who back Islamic radicalism, but continued attacks on Pakistani civilians have made it more popular to criticize Islamic radicals for the many problems they cause. Pakistan still has a way to go in dealing with that demon.

 The U.S. has threatened to invade if Pakistan based Islamic terrorists launch a successful terror attack in the United States. Evidence is piling up that Pakistani based groups have supported, and still support, efforts to carry out attacks in the U.S. America has told Pakistan that this would have consequences, but the Pakistanis fear a larger civil war of their own if they go after the radicals, mainly because about a third of Pakistanis still back Islamic radicalism. The moderates are a majority, but the minority is more willing to die for their beliefs. That, however, is beginning to slowly change, aided by recent Taliban attacks on women doing “un-Islamic” things (like backing education for girls or vaccinating children against polio). There are also a lot of Pakistanis who are more comfortable with the “there is a Western conspiracy to destroy Islam and we must fight it” view of the world. Pakistan needs help, but mostly from Pakistanis, as the ills that torment Pakistan can only be resolved from within.

INDONESIA 

Mostly at peace but separatism, pirates, Islamic terrorists, and government corruption create a volatile situation that could get hot real fast. Islamic terrorists have been greatly diminished, as Islamic moderates flex their traditional popularity. But Islamic radicals are allowed to continue harassing non-Moslems and Moslems who are not Moslem enough. This is causing growing friction. Aceh still has a few diehard separatist rebels. There is growing separatist unrest in Papua. Newly independent East Timor has taken the leap and replaced peacekeepers with local police but is still stuck in a cycle of perpetual poverty. 

IRAN 

Last year brought many new economic sanctions that cut oil income sharply and resulted in more inflation and unemployment. The government says it will take care of all this, in time. Meanwhile the radical, Israel hating, and anti-corruption president Ahmadinejad openly took on the senior clerics (who hold the ultimate power) and failed. The recent presidential elections saw him replaced by one of the eight candidates the senior clerics allowed to run for election. None of them was anything like Ahmadinejad, who was popular because of his anti-corruption efforts. This was a major problem because the major crooks are senior clerics or their kin. The clerics fought back and Ahmadinejad had no chance of reelection. Meanwhile, popular unrest has been greatly reduced by intense government suppression. The basic problem, for all the things that bother Iranians, is that an Islamic conservative minority has veto power over any attempts at reform from within. Any other reformers are considered enemies of the state. Most Iranians just want a better life. The supply of peaceful solutions is drying up. After that comes another revolution. There are some more complications. Half the population consists of ethnic minorities (mainly Turks and Arabs), and some of these groups (Arabs, Kurds, and Baluchis) are getting more restive and violent (for different reasons).

Meanwhile, the Islamic conservatives are determined to support terrorism overseas and build nuclear weapons at home, rather than concentrating on improving the economy and living standards. All this is made more complicated by a year of more damaging economic sanctions which have cut oil income in half. The economy is a mess, Syria and Lebanon are in danger of being lost as allies, and unrest and terrorist violence are becoming more common in Iran. The government still seeks foreign adventures to distract an unhappy population but too many Iranians see through that and it just increases the popular anger with the government. The inept management of the economy is creating more unemployed young men desperate for a solution. The religious dictatorship is backed by religious fanatics that are willing to kill to stay in power, and guys like this are very difficult to remove. These are also the kind of men who would follow orders and take on the world (over access to the Persian Gulf). The nuclear weapon program moves forward and is very popular with nearly all Iranians (who feel they are a great and powerful people who need nukes to prove it once more).

IRAQ 

All American troops are gone for over a year and Islamic terrorists are now a local police problem. Terrorist violence continues because of diehard Sunni Arabs who refuse to accept Shia domination and growing support from Sunni Arabs elsewhere in the region who fear growing Iranian efforts to spread Shia Islam via Iraq. More areas of the country are now at peace (as some have been since 2003) but the 2007 Sunni Arab peace deals with the majority Kurds and Shia Arabs are unraveling.

Some Sunni Arabs, who had fled the country, are returning but nearly half the Sunni Arabs are still gone (either outside the country or hiding inside Iraq). The uprising in Syria is led by the Sunni Arab majority there (against the ruling Shia Arab minority). Iraqi Sunni Arabs are enthusiastically aiding the Syrian rebels and the Iraqi government is officially neutral (but actually doing much of what Iran asks to support the Syrian government). The Iraqi Shia militias, who were earlier defeated by Iraqi police and troops seven years ago are now being allowed to help suppress the Sunni Arab terrorists. This is what the Sunni Arabs fear most, because the Shia militias use death squads to murder Sunni Arabs, often indiscriminately. Corruption and inept government are major problems with potential Iranian meddling (or even invasion) a permanent threat. For example, the Iranians have had their way and Iraq has quietly allowed Iran to ship weapons via Iraq to Syria. Yet the government backed off on attempts to discourage Iraqi Sunni Arabs from supporting their Sunni brethren in Syria. There are growing tensions between the Kurds in the north (over northern oil fields) and the Arab majority. That could trigger a civil war. Because the Kurds are better prepared for war, and the oil money is very important to preserving their autonomy, the Kurds might win. Plus, the Kurds don't trust the Arabs. To make matters worse for the Iraqi government, Turkey backs the Kurds. 

ISRAEL 

Hamas is under intense pressure to halt rocket attacks from Gaza. That’s because they signed a truce with Israel over this matter and Hamas must get smaller Islamic terror groups in Gaza to go along, otherwise Israel will resume air, and possibly ground, attacks aimed at destroying most of the Hamas rocket stockpile. Hamas remains dedicated to destroying Israel and that rocket stockpile (built by smuggling Iranian rockets in for years) is the only thing that gives Hamas any credibility as a threat to Israel. Hamas needs all the respect it can get in the Arab world because it is losing popular support in Gaza (where its 1.6 million Palestinian subjects are angry at not being able to vote Hamas out of power and being forced to submit to more and more Islamic lifestyle rules). Fatah still rules in the West Bank and is still corrupt, inept, and unpopular. Neither Palestinian faction is interested in real peace talks with Israel. That's because Palestinian leaders continue to preach endless war against Israel and the destruction of the Jewish state. Any peace deal is seen as a stepping stone towards that ultimate goal. Some Palestinians keep trying to make any kind of peace, in order to reverse the economic disaster they brought on themselves as a result of their 14 year old terror campaign against Israel. Polls show that Palestinians are tired of terrorism, even though they still support it (in order to destroy Israel, which remains an article of faith in the Palestinian community).

The Palestinian economy in Gaza has collapsed, as a major component, foreign charity, was reduced because the people elected the Hamas (Islamic terrorists) party to power in 2007. Hamas is trying to convince foreigners that it has changed (it hasn't) in order to get more cash to keep their religious dictatorship going. Iran recently cut aid (over a million dollars a month) because Hamas came out against the Shia Assad government of Syria (under attack by rebels from the Sunni Arab majority). Palestinians are mainly Sunni and not known for religious fervor, so Hamas felt it had to renounce support for the Iran-backed government of Syria in order to placate its Gaza subjects. The antagonism between radical Hamas and corrupt Palestinian old guard (Fatah) has split Palestinians. But that’s not the biggest problem. Long time Arab allies are giving up on the Palestinians, who seem to have abandoned any meaningful attempt to unite and make some kind of peace with Israel. Iran backed Islamic radicals (Hezbollah) and Hamas are still allies, and most Lebanese back the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah violence threatens to drag Lebanon into another civil war or another war with Israel. Hezbollah followed Iranian orders and sent several thousand fighters into Syria. The Arab Spring in Syria has removed Syria as a threat to Israel for the moment and made Hezbollah vulnerable. Egypt has adopted a new constitution which threatens to turn into a religious dictatorship. Many Egyptians oppose that and are increasingly violent about it. Meanwhile, the Israeli economy booms, partly because of a very effective counter-terrorism campaign. This annoys Arabs most of all and a growing number of Arab countries are increasing their unofficial ties with Israel. Much of this has to do with cooperating against mutual enemy Iran, but it’s also a growing consensus that Israel is not going away and much effort is being wasted in trying to make that happen.

KOREA 

China has finally turned on its wayward client North Korea. China does not want an irrational nuclear power on its border and is cutting off various forms of aid in an effort to get North Korea to reform its economy and get rid of its nukes. China is also furious about public defiance from North Korea and is also going public with its criticism and threats. The death of Kim Jong Il in 2011 made Chinese style economic reforms more acceptable, but not in a big way. Continued famine in the north prompted China to send more and more troops to the border to keep hungry North Koreans out. China also pressured the north to implement Chinese style economic reforms. The North Korean government has been split into reform and conservative factions, making change difficult to achieve. China has made it clear that North Korea is a Chinese responsibility and if the North Korean government collapses China, not South Korea, will pick up the pieces. South Korea does not agree with that, and this could be a big problem in the future.

The death of northern ruler Kim Jong Il changed nothing, yet. Growing unrest, corruption, and privation continue to weaken the iron control that has long kept the north peaceful and the Kim family in control. North Korea continues to destroy its economy, in order to maintain armed forces capable of invading South Korea and maintaining its own population in bondage. North Korean military power declines, as lack of money for maintenance or training causes growing rot. Torpedoing of a South Korean warship and firing artillery at a South Korea island in 2010 are seen as a signs of factions maneuvering for control, as once Kim died, several key people associated with those attacks disappeared from power. There have since been a lot more changes in the military high command. South Koreans are growing tired of the madness that still reigns in the north and have, for the first time in over half a century, promised retaliation if the north fires again. This could lead to war, especially since North Korea sees this threat as, well, a threat. Meanwhile, it's become clear that political collapse in the north is now a matter of when, not if. Growing popular unrest in the north is more evident with each passing month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il selected his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to succeed him. Some factions were not enthusiastic about this but China endorsed the heir, and that seems to have been decisive and the reason why Kim Jong Un is getting away with removing so many dissident leaders from power. It’s unclear if Kim Jong Un is willing or able to trade the nukes for a better economic and political future. 

KURDISH WAR 

Earlier this year the Turks and Kurdish rebels worked out another peace deal. It’s unclear if this one will work, but so far there is no major opposition. That could change, and it will take up to a year to see if this peace deal is the real deal. Last year Iraqi Kurds agreed to crack down on the PKK separatists, the Turks have been fighting for over a decade. But the crackdown never did as much damage as the Turks want. The PKK has a lot of quiet support among Kurds. As a result, Kurds continued their 5,000 year long struggle to form their own country. Iran has also cracked down on its Kurds, in cooperation with Turkey. There are different Kurdish rebel organizations in Turkey (PKK), Iran (PJAK), and Syria (PYD), and PKK is not the absolute leader in the field of Kurdish separatism. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurds believe they will get control of some Iraqi oil fields, providing cash for all manner of opportunities. But that is opposed by Iraqi Arabs and other minorities, although it is now encouraged by Turkey. Turkish success in dealing with the autonomous Kurds of northern Iraq helped build support in Turkey for Turkish Kurds to have autonomy and freedom to be Kurds (and not "mountain Turks"). Iraqi Kurds have Turkey guaranteeing their autonomy in Iraq (and ability to control local oil fields) in return for keeping a lid on the PKK and helping broker a wider peace deal. That works for the Turks but has the Arab dominated government in Iraq threatening yet another war with its own Kurds. That has already happened in neighboring Syria, where the Kurdish minority have chased government soldiers and Sunni Arab rebels out of their territory and are threatening to secede (and probably merge with the northern Iraq Kurds) if not given more autonomy in the post Assad government. 

MALI  

France took swift action in January and led an operation to clear Islamic terrorists out of northern Mali. Aided by Chad and a growing number of other African peacekeeping contingents, this operation is expected to continue for years. It all began early in 2012, when Tuareg tribal rebels (with the help of al Qaeda affiliated Islamic terrorists) in northern Mali chased out government forces and declared a separate Tuareg state. The army mutinied down south but backed off when neighboring nations threatened to intervene. The thinly populated northern two-thirds of the country has a population of less than two million, out of 15 million for all of Mali. The north was very poor in the best of times and over a year of violence there has halted tourism (a major source of income, especially in the three major cities) and the movement of many goods. Al Qaeda, better financed and more fanatic, soon took over from the tribal rebels. The Tuareg rebels had objected to the imposition of Islamic law, but the Islamic radical gunmen drove the Tuareg fighters out of the cities and large towns. There were only about 2,000 Islamic terrorists up north, which was, a year ago, declared a sanctuary and base for Islamic radicals. The few thousand Tuareg rebels began negotiating with the Mali government about cooperation. The UN approved an invasion of the north by a force of about 7,000 troops, with half from Mali and half from neighboring countries. France agreed to lead a NATO effort to train, equip, supply, and support the invaders. The invasion was supposed to take place in late 2013, but France concluded that even this might be too ambitious for an African force and decided to act largely alone in January. This was triggered in part by al Qaeda efforts to invade southern Mali while setting up training camps in the north. The bold French move paid off, although Mali still has internal problems (corruption and an independent minded military) and an unhappy Tuareg majority in the north. 

MEXICO 

Violence with drug cartels refuses to be put down. A newly elected PRI (the party that controlled the government for most of the 20th century until finally eased out by reformers in 2000) president promised changes but has found that determination is more needed than change. Nearly all the cartel violence (which accounts for three percent of all crime) occurs in 3.2 percent of the 2,500 municipalities. But the often spectacular Cartel War violence gets the headlines, making it appear that the entire country is aflame. Because so much of the violence is on the U.S. border, it seems, to Americans, that Mexico is a war zone. The passing of one-party rule, the growth of drug gangs, and increasing corruption in the security forces has triggered unprecedented levels of violence and unrest in the areas involved. The government has gone to war with the drug gangs, and the outcome is still in doubt. Presidential elections returned PRI to power last year, and now there is fear that the decades old PRI deal with the drug gangs (keep quiet and the police won't bother you) will be quietly reinstated. 

MYANMAR (Burma)

The new government is actually trying to not be a tool of the former military junta. Reforms are slowly being made. Elections in November, 2010 replaced the military dictatorship with many of the same people, out of uniform and trying to hide the fact that they rigged the vote. The rural tribes in the north revolted (again) but most were persuaded to make peace deals in the past year. Decades of low level fighting against ethnic separatists in the north has resulted, during the last decade, in major victories for the government. There is not a lot of fighting but major movements by Burmese troops into separatist areas that were long outside the control of the government. Temporary peace deals were made but the tribal rebels are producing major quantities of methamphetamine, and increasing amounts of heroin, to support continued fighting. China is not happy with many of these drugs (particularly heroin and meth) coming into China. That is difficult to change because the tribes are poor and the drug money is very attractive. China is also concerned with the popular opposition to major Chinese economic projects (dams and pipeline) in the north but the fundamentals remain the same. Tribal separatists continue to flee into Thailand. The half century old military elite remains entrenched in power, even as it makes moves to change its status as an international pariah. Economic and political progress is slow. 

NIGERIA 

A group of Taliban wannabes (Boko Haram) in the north were subjected to a major counteroffensive in the last two months. Suddenly the Boko Haram were on the defensive. Having been chased out of its urban and suburban bases in the three northeast states they were most active in, several hundred surviving Boko Haram members have set up operations in the mountain forests along the Cameroon border. The terrorists got in touch with Boko Haram groups known to exist across the border in Cameroon. The army is now visiting the area and seeking the new Boko Haram camps. There are still some armed Boko Haram members in the cities, especially Maiduguri. There they are sheltered by civilians and are difficult to root out. By itself Boko Haram is too small to have much impact on a national scale. But the attacks against Christians in the north have triggered revenge attacks against Moslems in the north and, more ominously, in the south. Efforts to suppress Boko Haram made some progress, but the Islamic radical group was still operating and this prompted the major operation in the northeast. Meanwhile, too many tribes, not enough oil money, and too much corruption create growing unrest. The government continues to placate the ethnic oil gangs and rebels in the oil producing region (the Niger River Delta) with a 2009 amnesty deal. That worked because, while the gangs were getting organized, and a lot more violent, the government was moving more police and military forces into the region. Most gang members accepted the amnesty, rather than take on the armed forces. The amnesty deal did not hold, and there are still attacks on oil facilities. It was later discovered that local politicians and business leaders had taken over the oil theft business from the disarmed tribal rebels, and the thefts are larger than ever. Meanwhile, the northern Moslems want more control over the federal government (and the oil money).  The situation is still capable of sliding into regional civil wars, over money and political power. Corruption and ethnic/tribal/religious rivalries threaten to trigger, at worse, another civil war and, at least, more street violence and public anger.

POTENTIAL HOT SPOTS 

Various places where the local situation is warming up and might turn into a war. The most recent one has been in CAR (Central African Republic) where rebels united, after years of struggling independently and managed to overthrow the corrupt government. 

PHILIPPINES 

The Islamic minority in the south agreed to a peace deal that gave it more autonomy but not its own country and the expulsion of non-Moslems. The government convinced the separatists to settle for less. Working out the details is taking longer than the Islamic rebels expected but everyone is still talking. Communist rebels fight on for social justice and a dictatorship, but the government believes the leftists are on the way out. The communists are taking a beating and agreed to negotiate a peace deal. The Moslems have, as always, lots of clan feuds and internal violence, which will survive the autonomy deal with the government. One of these feuds spilled over into neighboring Malaysia, where local security forces had to deal with several hundred invading Filipino clan gunmen. Meanwhile, most Filipinos are more concerned with endemic corruption and the resulting economic stagnation. There is also the Chinese threat, with more Chinese warships showing up in what had been, until recently, unquestionably Filipino coastal waters. 

RUSSIA  

Rebuilding and reforming the decrepit Soviet era armed forces continues. It has not been easy because the Soviet Union left a lot of bad habits behind. The defense industries still suffer from second-rate technology and management. The military is also torn by infighting among traditionalists and reformers. This rebuilding must succeed because the Cold War era weapons are wearing out fast. It's either new stuff or being stuck with nothing that works anymore. The major problem the reformers are facing is corruption and resistance to change. The war against gangsters and Islamic radicals in the Caucasus (Chechnya and its neighbors) has been sort of won, but the Islamic radicals continue to operate in the Caucasus, preventing the government from proclaiming peace. Corruption keeps rebellion alive down there. Russia has returned to police state ways and the traditional threatening attitude towards neighbors. Rather than being run by corrupt communist bureaucrats, the country is now dominated by corrupt businessmen, gangsters, and self-serving government officials. The semi-free economy is more productive than the centrally controlled communist one but that just provides more money to steal. A rebellion against the new dictatorship is brewing, showing enough democratic impulses remain to shape government and push reform. But for now, most Russians want economic and personal security and are willing to tolerate a police state to get it.

RWANDA & BURUNDI 

Wars between better organized and more aggressive Tutsis and more numerous Hutu tribes have died down in both countries. It's been going on for centuries, but the latest installment has finally, mostly, ended, with the last Hutu group in Burundi giving up, then changing its mind,but not making nearly as much trouble as in the past. Rwanda was blamed for continuing violence in eastern Congo, as they attempt to destroy Hutu terrorists based there. As long as there are armed Hutus fighting, the 1990s wars will never be over. 

SOMALIA 

Al Shabaab, an Islamic radical group, has been crushed but not completely destroyed. Al Shabaab has been driven out of most of the territory it controlled for years. The economy is reviving but it is still a dangerous place to be. Kenyan troops invaded from the south in 2011, and Ethiopian troops from the west. Al Shabaab has fragmented into factions and most of the international (pro-al Qaeda) members are dead or fled. The imposition of oppressive Taliban-like lifestyle rules created local armed opposition that contributed to the collapse of Islamic radical control. Between that and the peacekeepers and Western trained troops of the transitional government, the Islamic radicals were doomed. But al Shabaab is not gone and remnants will linger for a while. The new Somali government, propped up by foreign aid (most of which is stolen) was forced to elect a permanent government last year. Somalia is still a failed state that defies every attempt at nation building. But the situation is worse than it appears. Somalia was never a country, but a collection of clans and tribes that fight each other constantly over economic issues (land and water). The country remains an economic and political mess, a black hole on the map. Not much hope in sight, until the pirates (which have been around for a decade) became a major problem. The major trading nations launched a counter-piracy effort which, in the last year, reduced pirate success (captured ships) considerably. In fact, no large ships have been captured in over a year. The northern statelet of Puntland was persuaded (and subsidized) by wealthy seafaring nations to attack the pirate bases. There are not many pirate groups left, because of the lack of multi-million dollar ransoms. The far south (where the second major port, Kismayo is), a third statelet (after Puntland and Somaliland in the north), is trying to form as Jubaland. The UN backed government in the center is trying to prevent this, but the problem remains the independent minded clans. There is not a lot of enthusiasm among local leaders for a national government. 

SUDAN 

An unofficial state of war developed after the south became an independent "South Sudan" in 2011. The northern government agreed to the vote and the split but did not really back the idea and sent troops and pro-government militias to seize disputed border areas. The border fighting continues. Moslems in the north tried, for decades, to suppress separatist tendencies among Christians in the south, and Moslem rebels in the east (on the coast) and west (non-Arab Darfur). All this was complicated by the development of oil fields in the south and Moslem government attempts to drive Christians from those oil regions. The central government tried to halt, or rig, the independence vote in the south. Meanwhile, battles over land in the west continue to pit Arab herders against black Sudanese farmers. Both sides are Moslem but the government has long backed the Arabs. The government uses Arab nationalism and economic ties with Russia and China to defy the world and get away with driving non-Arab tribes from Darfur. Sudan is also an ally of Iran and recipient of weapons and advice on how to best terrorize a population into submission. The government believes time is on its side and that the West will never try anything bold and effective to halt the violence. So far, the government has been proven right but keeps losing control of Sudan, bit by bit.

SYRIA

Going into its third year, this has become a proxy war between Iran and the Sunni states (and their Western allies). The pro-Iran Syrian government has the backing of Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, and the other usual suspects. The West does not want the expense and bother of doing another Libya (air support and special operations troops on the ground) but that is where this is headed. Syria was one of the many Arab Spring uprisings but one that did not end quickly (as in Tunisia and Egypt), evolve into a brief civil war (as in Libya and Yemen), or get suppressed (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain). The Syrian protests just continued and turned into armed rebellion in late 2011. Syria is, like Iraq under Saddam, a Baath Party dictatorship. But there are two differences. Unlike Iraq, where a Sunni minority dominated a Shia majority, it's just the opposite in Syria. More importantly, Syria has little oil wealth and the government depends on subsidies from Shia Iran to survive. Despite growing international criticism (even from the Arab League) the government refused to stop using violence and other police state tactics to suppress the pro-democracy demonstrations. In over two years of growing violence, nearly 100,000 people have died. The outcome is no longer in doubt. The growing strength of the armed rebels has doomed the stubborn dictatorship, despite reinforcements from Iran (mainly in the form of several thousand Hezbollah gunmen from Lebanon). 

THAILAND  

Malay Moslems in the south (three percent of the population) continue to cause problems.  In the last year the government was able to find someone down there to negotiate with and these talks are making progress. Most Thais are ethnic Thais and Buddhist while the southerners are Moslem and ethnic Malays. In the south Islamic radicalism arrived a decade ago along with an armed effort to create a separate Islamic state in the three southern provinces. Islamic terrorists grew more powerful month by month for several years and refused to negotiate. Security forces persisted and are making progress in identifying and rounding up the terrorists. But there is no quick victory in sight. Up north, a civil war over military control of the government has been avoided, for the moment, as has war with Cambodia over border disputes. Burma is causing more problems with its growing illegal production of drugs (heroin, meth, and ecstasy). 

UGANDA 

Religion and tribalism created unrest (the LRA or Lord's Resistance Army) in the north that just will not go away. LRA was driven out of Uganda over six years ago but has since been marauding its way through neighboring states. A final peace deal with LRA rebels proved impossible to negotiate because no amnesty was possible. Meanwhile, Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia briefly brought Somali Islamic terrorists to Uganda. This turned out to be more threat than reality and the biggest problems in Uganda remain corruption and tribal feuds. Uganda is still relatively stable (for the region and Africa) and has become a major source of peacekeepers for less stable states in the area. 

WAR ON TERROR 

September 11, 2001, and the aftermath forced the Moslem world to confront their self-inflicted problems. Al Qaeda is as self-destructive as its many predecessors. Al Qaeda suicide bomb attacks killed civilians, turning Moslems against al Qaeda in a big way. But the terrorists justify such counterproductive attacks because their doctrine holds that Moslems who don’t agree with them are not really Moslems. You can imagine how well that goes over with the survivors and the many potential victims. You can, but al Qaeda can’t, and that is what guarantees their decline and eventual transformation into an obscure cult (which is where groups like it begin). Since all this is religion based, and Islam is a faith that calls for world conquest and violent intolerance of other faiths, you have a large pool of ambitious and murderous new recruits who have been staffing major outbreaks of this terrorism for over a thousand years. Many Moslems insist they do not support the "world conquest" crowd, but few are willing to confront the maniacs head-on and denounce the killing on religious grounds. Islam has some internal problems that Moslems will have to deal with before all this unpleasantness goes away. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that the various Arab Spring movements were initially dominated by pro-democracy groups. Islamic radicals were a minority, and one that was often better organized, feared, and not trusted, either. Thus the Islamic conservatives were better organized and have been winning the elections and providing more sanctuary for Islamic terrorists (for a while, anyway). Osama bin Laden was killed by American commandos in 2011, and there were some "revenge" attacks (mostly in Pakistan, where bin Laden was hiding in plain sight). But it's not the terrorist backlash that's important. International terrorism has created an international backlash and a war unlike any other. These days, most terrorist victories are in the media. On the ground, the terrorists are losing everywhere. Their last refuges are chaotic, or cynical, places like Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Gaza, Mali, the Sahel, a few of the Philippine islands, and especially tribal regions of Pakistan (where al Qaeda is staging a well-publicized last stand). They were chased out of Iraq (and replaced by terrorists who were diehard Sunni Arab nationalists), Indonesia, and the Philippines. Iran continues to support terrorism in the face of much local disapproval. Lebanon is in chaos because of Iranian subsidized terrorists. Gaza went the same way. Islamic radicals are a traditional reaction to tyranny in their region and the inability of local despots to rule effectively. Economic and diplomatic ties with the West are interpreted as support for "un-Islamic" thought and behavior, leading to attacks on Western targets. After 2001, this resulted in a devastating counterattack that continues, despite frustration at the slowness of the Moslem world to act. 

YEMEN 

It's still unclear where the al Qaeda survivors of last year’s anti-terrorist offensive will flee to, as all of the usual refuges are not so safe anymore. Mali attracted some Yemeni based terrorists for a few months last year, until France led a surprise (and very fast moving) offensive into northern Mali seven months ago. Some terrorists from Mali have moved back to Yemen, where small groups of Islamic terrorists are operating from remote rural bases. These remnants are broke, disorganized, and desperate. Sounds like Yemen in general. The Arab Spring hit Yemen hard and upset the "arrangement" that left one group of tribal, criminal, and business leaders in charge for over three decades. This uprising was finally resolved towards the end of 2011. A successor coalition emerged and persuaded (with the promise of amnesty) the old dictator Saleh to step down. Meanwhile, there are still many Yemenis who have a grudge against the government. Most of this can be traced back to the civil war that ended, sort of, in 1994. That war was caused by the fact that, when the British left Yemen in 1967, their former colony in Aden became one of two countries called Yemen. The two Yemens finally united in 1990, but another civil war in 1994 was needed to seal the deal. That fix didn't really take and the north and south have always been pulling apart. This comes back to the fact that Yemen has always been a region, not a country. Like most of the rest of the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa region, the normal form of government, until the last century or so, was wealthier coastal city states, nervously coexisting with interior tribes that got by on herding or farming (or a little of both). This whole "nation" idea is still looked on with some suspicion by many in the region. This is why the most common forms of government are the more familiar ones of antiquity (kingdom, emirate or modern variation in the form of a hereditary dictatorship). For a long time the most active Yemeni rebels were the Shia Islamic militants in the north. They want to restore local Shia rule in the traditional tribal territories, led by the local imam (religious leader). This arrangement, after surviving more than a thousand years, was ended by the central government in 1962. Yemen also became the new headquarters of "Al Qaeda in Arabia" (Saudi Arabia no longer being safe for the terrorists) after 2007. Islamic terrorists have been more active since the government began arresting key members of al Qaeda in 2010. Other groups (mainly tribal leaders) in the south wanted more say in the government and a larger share of the oil revenue and foreign aid. In early 2012, the new ruling coalition massed its military and tribal forces and decisively defeated al Qaeda in the south. The tribes that had allied themselves with al Qaeda quickly made temporary peace but the separatists are still active, as are the Shia tribes in the north.

Mali - The Saudi Connection

In the three months since French led forces drove Islamic terrorists out of the cities of northern Mali, life has been hard up there. That’s because these cities depended a lot on tourism, which disappeared a year ago when the Islamic radicals and Tuareg rebels showed up. The tourists have not returned and the lost income has over a third of the population in the cities dependent on charity or foreign aid to survive. Hunger is common and many refugees in neighboring countries have not returned because of the poor economic conditions. 

The Malian army is concentrating troops near the northeastern town of Kidal, which is controlled by the MNLA rebels. The MNLA means (in French) “Liberation Army of Azawad” and the Mali government is upset that MNLA men control most of the rural (and very thinly populated) areas in the north. The only large town the MNLA controls is Kidal and the Mali troops are threatening to take it back by force. It’s unlikely the Mali soldiers and police could handle the MNLA gunmen, so the concentration of security forces near Kidal is seen more as a bargaining tactic than as a real threat to the MNLA. Negotiations with the MNLA have not gone well as the rebels are insisting on an autonomy agreement and the French and African peacekeepers have been unwilling to shut down the MNLA for the Mali government. The Mali Army is seen as more of a threat to an elected Mali government than to the Tuareg rebels. 

MNLA rebels torment the Mali troops with things like approving documents (like passes) with rubber stamps that say “State of Azawad”. That is the Tuareg term for their homeland in northern Mali and at the moment its capital is Kidal. The MNLA refuses to disarm but is willing to negotiate their role in the north. After invading in January France tolerated the MNLA as long as the rebels cooperated and did not fight the Mali army or government officials. Several hundred Tuareg Malian soldiers work directly for the French as scouts and translators. These men help the French determine which Tuareg rebels can be trusted and which are Islamic terrorists (usually members of MUJAO or Ansar Dine.)

The Tuareg rebels still want autonomy (self-rule) and the black African majority (90 percent of the population) in the south does not want to allow it. But the Mali Army, dominated by black Africans, is still a corrupt bunch of ill-trained poorly equipped and ineptly led gunmen who tend to serve whoever pays them. This army is still incapable of defeating the MNLA and so far has been unable to persuade the peacekeepers to do it for them.  The MNLA expects the July elections (the 7th for the president the 21st for parliament) to bring another group of corrupt southerners to power. 

French troops continue to search for and attack Islamic terrorist groups in the north. French intelligence has identified dozens of camps and equipment storage sites al Qaeda constructed in the north during the last year and, in the far northern mountains near the Algerian border, over the last decade. France is using its warplanes and smart bombs to attack these bases and supply dumps. 

Sending in ground troops is a less attractive option because of the al Qaeda use of landmines and the possibility of ambush by nearby terrorists. The French troops can go in on foot, but there are more targets to be hit than there are infantry to hit all of them. It takes time and manpower to clear the mines.

Islamic terrorists who have fled Mali are showing up in nearby countries. Tunisia recently revealed that a group of fifty armed Islamic terrorists have been operating in the Atlas Mountains (the coastal mountain range that runs from Morocco to Tunisia) for the last six months and that at least a quarter of them were veterans of the recent fighting in Mali. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had members from all over North Africa, but mostly from Algeria and while defeated in Mali it was not destroyed there. Hundreds of experienced Islamic terrorists have scattered and are reorganizing via email, cell phones and hand-carried documents. Recruiting has taken a hit, as the operations in Mali this year showed once more that Islamic radicals cannot stand up to professional soldiers and their “Islamic” governing methods tend to turn the population against them. This caused over a thousand AQIM members to desert, while nearly 500 were killed in the Mali fighting. Hundreds of local Islamic terrorists (Tuaregs and black Africans from countries in the region) have stayed in northern Mali and are carrying out a terrorism campaign. There are a few larger groups of these Islamic terrorists still wandering around the far north but they are being hunted by French aircraft and hit with smart bombs. Some of these Islamic terrorists have renounced their alliance with al Qaeda and are trying to evade attack by just being another group of Tuareg separatists. 

One aspect of the Islamic terrorism in the north has not run for cover. That is the Wahhabi Moslems created over the last two decades by Saudi Arabian missionaries and money. Since the 1980s nearly a hundred billion dollars of Saudi money (from the government and private donations) has been used to send thousands of Wahhabi missionaries to (mostly Moslem) foreign countries and recruit new adherents to this conservative and intolerant form of Islam. The money went to build mosques and madrassas (religious schools) and pay Islamic conservative clergy and teachers to convert more people to the Wahhabi way of thinking. 

Al Qaeda started as an organization of Wahhabi militants and Wahhabi believers still form the core of most Islamic terror organizations. The Saudis deny that they are subsidizing Islamic terrorism, but the Wahhabis preach hatred of non-Moslems and violence against those who do not accept the Wahhabi way. These Islamic radical missionaries have been active in Mali for over a decade and although less than ten percent of Mali Moslems adhere to Wahhabi beliefs, they are among the most active Moslems and did not get upset when, a year ago, Islamic terrorists in the north began destroying the holy places of the majority Sufi Moslems up there. Wahhabis were busy in the south as well as the north and police has recently discovered and arrested southerners who had formed terrorist cells as a result of their Wahhabi beliefs. 

May 10, 2013: Five suicide bombers died in two attacks on peacekeepers. One bomber attacked a Niger Army camp 300 kilometers east of Gao. That one consisted of the bomber driving a car through the camp entrance checkpoint and being shot at by guards and other troops. The bomber was shot dead before he could detonate his explosives. The second attack was to the west, near Timbuktu, against a Mali Army camp. The four bombers died and two soldiers were wounded. These five bombers were recruited, trained and sent out by MOJWA (Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa) which is largely composed of black African Islamic radicals and led by Mauritanians. 

MOJWA is unique among Islamic terrorist groups because its leadership is black African. 

Mauritanian security forces have made it very difficult for MOJWA to operate in Mauritania and that’s why so many MOJWA members moved to Mali in the last year. Many are still there and not looking forward to the arrival of Mauritanian troops as peacekeepers.

May 7, 2013: AQIM released a video on the Internet in which Moslems worldwide were urged to attack French people and property wherever they could. AQIM has been calling for this sort of thing since French led forces drove them out of northern Mali last January. There have been a few attacks, but not much damage. In response, France has increased its efforts to hunt down Islamic militants in France. 

Troops from Mali and Burkina Faso entered the village of Ber (50 kilometers northeast of Timbuktu). MNLA rebels had withdrawn from Ber to avoid a fight with the Burkina Faso peacekeepers. There had been fighting in Ber between Arab and Tuareg residents, which attracted the attention of the peacekeepers. 

May 6, 2013: In neighboring Niger a Nigerian Air Force Alpha jet crashed as it was returning from a reconnaissance patrol over northern Mali. The two man crew of the Alpha jet died, so it will take more time to find out what exactly happened. Ground fire is unlikely as the jet was in Niger air space when it went down. Nigeria sent two of its light bombers (Alpha jets) to Niger last January as part of its contribution to the Mali peacekeeping force. Nigeria has used these jets in peacekeeping missions before, for scouting and attacking ground targets with machine-guns and bombs. 

May 5, 2013: Morocco announced that it arrested members of two local Islamic terrorist cells and found that both groups had been in touch with Islamic terrorists in Mali. 

May 4, 2013: In Gao a suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked a Mali Army patrol, killing himself and five soldiers. Elsewhere in Gao three Islamic terrorists in a car opened fire on Mali soldiers, killing two of them. Return fire killed all three of the Islamic terrorists. 

April 28, 2013: Another French soldier was killed in northern Mali, this time by a roadside bomb. This makes six French soldiers lost in the last four months. There are about 4,500 French troops in Mali, about half of them in the far north pursuing the remnants of the Islamic terror groups that controlled the north for over six months.

Malian military prepares for Kidal offensive

The spokesman for the Malian military confirms that the army is preparing for an assault on Kidal, the last rebel-held town in northern Mali.

Lt. Col. Souleymane Maiga refused to give a timeline, saying only that preparations for the deployment are "in an advanced stage."

Kidal is currently controlled by Tuareg separatists from the NMLA rebel group. The NMLA swept into northern Mali last year. They were soon ousted by al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists. In January, France launched an operation to help Mali take back the north. Though they purged the main towns of the al-Qaida groups, they failed to stop the NMLA from returning to Kidal, which they now control.

The NMLA has vowed to fight the Malian military should its troops try to enter Kidal.

Another Battle Of Kasserine Pass

In Tunisia a group of fifty or more Islamic terrorists are operating in the Mount Chaambi region near the Algerian border (close to the Kasserine Pass through the Atlas Mountains that stretch across most of the North African coast ). Soldiers and police are searching a hundred square kilometers of sparsely populated forests and mountains without much success. The searchers have found evidence that there is someone up there, but the group has so far managed to avoid detection. This is the first time Tunisia has had to deal with armed Islamic terrorists since 2007.

 

These armed men have been active in the area for at least six months. Soldiers sent to the area have suffered about twenty casualties from booby-traps and handmade landmines left around by the terrorists. A camp found near the top of Mount Chaambi and it contained documents, weapons and equipment indicating the size and origin of the group. This group appears to be well supplied and seems to have enough cash to keep themselves going for a while. Some of these men have recently fled Mali and others are from Algeria. These were joined by a smaller group (a dozen or so) of Tunisian Islamic terrorists who had apparently not been active until joined by all these new men and a few local recruits. Eleven of the 32 terrorists killed nearby in an attack on an Algerian natural gas field in January were Tunisian which provided a hint that there were a lot more Islamic terrorists in Tunisia than the government wanted to admit. 

 

There has been one gun battle near Mount Chaambi so far, in which no one was hurt. Police have arrested twenty suspects in the region, but none of these appear to have much knowledge of the Islamic terrorists in the mountains. There appear to be at least two separate armed groups and police are blocking the few roads in the area to try and prevent the terrorists from moving to another part of the country. 

 

Tunisia was the first country to carry out an Arab Spring uprising and a new government was installed two years ago. Islamic radicals were released from jail and allowed to operate in the open as long as they did not turn to terrorism or anything illegal inside Tunisia. These radicals have tried, so far without success, to get the new government to establish a religious dictatorship that would enforce Islamic (Sharia) law.

Logistics - Old Reliable Over Mali

The U.S. continues to play a crucial supporting role for French air operations against al Qaeda forces in Mali. France lacks the aerial tankers needed to keep enough of its warplanes in the air over Mali. American KC-135 aerial tankers have so far (since last January) delivered over 3,000 tons of fuel to French warplanes, allowing for these aircraft to spend hours more in the air, waiting for a request from troops below for a smart bomb or missile. The American KC-135s are operating out of a base in Spain.

 

French warplanes are delivering smart bombs to their troops below, or African peacekeepers that have French air controllers with them. As in Iraq and Afghanistan, the GPS or laser guided bombs were a decisive weapon against the fanatical Islamic terrorists, especially when these guys are trapped and willing to die in a hail of gunfire. But that is dangerous for the attackers and it’s easier to blow the fanatics up with a smart bomb or missile. 

 

Despite having 14 KC-135 tankers of their own these are, like the 400 the U.S. Air Force has, elderly and often out-of-service. France has a dozen new A330 tankers on order. But they need more tankers than they possess to sustain the vital air operations over Mali, so they called in their ally the United States. Even the twelve new A330s would not have been adequate to sustain the current French effort over Mali. Most of the French warplanes fly in from France, largely because the fuel supplies and maintenance facilities in Mali are limited. For decades its been common for America’s European allies to depend on U.S. aerial tankers in situations like this.

 

While a quarter of the American tanker aircraft are sidelined because of age and maintenance needs, there are enough to sustain the French operations. As these tankers are also used for many training exercises and the movement of air cargo, it was not easy for the air force to collect enough for the Mali operations. But the U.S. has so many tankers that it had the flexibility to shuffle them around to keep everyone in the air. That may not be the case in the future. 

 

The elderly KC-135s are difficult to keep running, and many of them still have to serve another twenty years until completely replaced by the new KC-46A. Operating aircraft this old is unexplored territory because this is the first time in history that so many large, and fast, aircraft have gone on flying for so long. Commercial freighter aircraft fly more frequently than their military counterparts, putting more strain on them and forcing their operators to develop new maintenance techniques the air force can use. The KC-135s are the oldest transports the air force is still using, and keeping them working is proving to an expensive and challenging effort.

 

The basic problem is that, despite constant maintenance and careful monitoring, unexpected failures still occur with elderly aircraft. Nothing that is cause for alarm but it is more expensive to keep them flying and problems are more difficult to predict. Older aircraft are grounded if any unexpected failure seems imminent. While that just about eliminates these aircraft having fatal failures while in the air, it also makes older aircraft less available for service. For a long time it was considered more cost effective to keep the old birds flying than to buy new ones. Eventually advanced age made replacement a necessity, not an option.

 

After over a decade of effort the U.S. Air Force finally managed select a replacement in 2011. The air force procurement process has been cursed with corruption, incompetence, meddling politicians, and litigious suppliers, all combining to prevent the acquisition of a new tanker. The air force might order over a hundred KC-46As, but the exact number depends on what kind of future aircraft the air force will be using. If there are a lot of unmanned aircraft (UAVs), fewer tankers will be needed (because UAVs are smaller and need less fuel). 

 

The KC-46A is based on the Boeing 767-200 airliner. The 767 has been in service since 1982, and over 800 have been manufactured so far. Boeing also developed the original KC-135 tanker in the 1950s, and has since built over 2,000 of these. The Boeing entry was competing with the A330 the French, and several other air forces are buying. Had Boeing not been the home team, the air force may well have selected the A330. 

 

The KC-46A was selected partly because it is about the same size as the KC-135 (wingspan is 50.3 meters/156 feet, 6.8 percent larger than the KC-135). Thus the new tanker can use the same basing and repair facilities as the 135. The KC-46A can carry up to 94 tons of fuel (compared to 90 tons for KC-135). It can also carry up to 114 passengers or 18 cargo pallets or 58 patients (24 on litters).

Mali: Germany ready to commit troops

Germany is ready to commit troops to a United Nations mission to Mali, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Saturday during a visit to the Ghanaian capital Accra.

Noting that the German parliament would have the last word on the actual deployment, Westerwelle added that the two previous engagements in Mali allowed up to 330 German troops, mainly for logistical help and EU training missions.

The UN Security Council decided Thursday to send a peacekeeping force to Mali to help the government face Islamist rebels in the north and restore stability.

The force, composed of more than 12 000 troops and police, is expected to replace the 6 000-strong African Union-led mission by July. The African forces had been assisting Mali since last year. France is pulling out most of its around 4 000 troops deployed in January.

Westerwelle is in Ghana on the first leg of a five-day Africa tour that will also see him visit South Africa and Mozambique.