I left his comment at Syrian Perspective- In the comments Sigh, used to really enjoy that place- Ziad is still great. And I go and read his updates. After reading hundreds of really absurd comments- I decided to leave some geopolitical information. Much of it discussed here at the blog. Some additional information expanding on previous postings done here- My chatter is in blue- the rest is quoted from sourcePennyWell, I don’t know about everyone else but the ‘freemason’ “knights of malta’ secret society talk has run it’s course, in my opinion- so let’s talk geopoliticsGeography and Politics- Back in 2011, the topic of: Assad’s “Four Seas Strategy” Damascus converges with China I used this source for that article: The Jamestown FoundationSorry to disappoint- no secret handshakes, or whistles. Published right in the public sphereAssad’s Four Seas Strategy was integrated with the Silk Road“Syria’s Four Seas Strategy- Geography and Politics"While China is moving west towards the Caspian Sea, Damascus is concurrently moving eastward. Since 2009, Bashar al-Assad has been promoting a “Four Seas Strategy” to turn Damascus into a trade hub among the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea and the Caspian Sea. Aligning Syria with countries that lie on these shores—Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan (The Weekly Middle East Reporter, August 1, 2009)—Assad peddled this idea in May 2009 with Turkey, stating that “Once the economic space between Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran become integrated, we would link the Mediterranean, Caspian, Black Sea, and the [Persian] Gulf … we aren’t just important in the Middle East…Once we link these four seas, we become the compulsory intersection of the whole world in investment, transport and more.” He described Syria’s nexus of “a single, larger perimeter [with Turkey, Iran and Russia]…we’re talking about the center of the world” [17]. Syria can thus act as a means of access for EU countries to markets in the Arab world and western Asian countries [18]. Assad discussed this vision with Medvedev in May this year, and in August 2009 he received Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s blessing when he presented this strategy [19]"PennyWe see Assad is a smart guy. He’s got good advisers. Probably Russian and Chinese in the mix. He wants to make Syria the center of the world.Cue the Americans- who do not want this- nor Israel because they will lose their strategic influence. And as always the Kurds can be employed as they have been for decades/centuries to wage war. They want a nation state? And Israel and the US want to block the Silk Road and Syria’s rise as a regional power backed by both Russia and China.So use the Kurdish proxies, and others, to destabilize 4 nations/ win for Israel/USNot so good for Russia. China. Iran. Iraq. Turkey. Syria.PennyContinuing ” China’s Silk Road Strategy is linking up with Syria’s look east policy at the Caspian region. The region is a key source for feeding various pipeline projects: Azeri gas to the first stage of the Nabucco pipeline to Europe, which will eventually connect with the AGP to the Middle East; Turkmen and Kazakh gas via the Central Asia-China Pipeline and the Kazakhstan-China Pipeline to China; and Turkmen gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India via the TAPI pipeline to South Asia. Concurrently, a new Eurasian regional security architecture based on energy security appears to be emerging, with Turkey, Syria and Iran in the Four Seas Strategy to connect with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In 2007 an Iranian Fars News Agency article, entitled “Inevitable Iran-Turkey-Syria-Russia Alliance,” discussed how this “union of four” would challenge U.S. policies in the Middle East (Fars News Agency, November 5, 2007). Likewise, Russia and China may be taking steps to use the SCO to build a new regional security architecture that reinforces each other’s territorial integrity while retrenching Western influences [20]. As Russia is steadily increasing its Black Sea Fleet (Reuters, July 12; Christian Science Monitor, May 19), gaining a foothold in the Mediterranean via the Syrian port Tartus and forming a Black Sea military alliance with Turkey and Ukraine to be signed in August 2010 (RIA Novosti, June 28; Vestinik Kavkaza, June 29; World Security Network, July 7), China is increasing its footprint in the Caspian region via the SCO and Silk Road of pipelines, rail and highways [21]. Once again, there appears to be a new “great game” around the Caspian region and the Greater Middle East”Penny
The great game as been at hand for years and years now. This is why I speak always of the remake the region agenda– the moves and counter moves- As they extend into North Africa.Which is why Tell Rifaat was one stop on the silk road. it’s a battle between the big powers. Who is going to reshape the region?Who will succeed? Who will control resources?Etc.,What is going on in Syria has larger ramifications for the entireregion- reverberating in Europe, China, Russia. It will affect how trade is conducted. How and where money is spent- Winners/LosersSadly much of this reality has been obfuscated by the media- fake alternatives and troll patrols that talk about rubbish when none of that is raising awareness of the geopolitics at play.
Finally! Geopolitics- Geography and Politics- Converging, Merging, Diverging What is occurring in the region of the Middle East/North Africa is not unrelated.It's interconnected. Like a web with multiple strands spanning great spaces and many places. The web has multiple spiders spinning strand after strand. But each spider alters the pattern of the others.Frustrating and impeding planned weavings, maybe for only for a short time? It's unknown. Until the repairing is done? Or perhaps an entirely new path has been embarked upon? Perhaps some spiders become permanently thwarted? As others continue on?While the desired final weave was long planned for it often takes an extended period of time to accomplish. That's geo politics.
