Trump wants to return US forces to Afghanistan’s Bagram Airbase; there are newfound concerns about the North-South Transport Corridor’s viability after the recent Iranian-Israeli War; and Turkiye is making a powerplay to expand its influence into Central Asia.
Thank you Andreï. Very interesting. But bothering. In showing Russia considers to loose all Caucasus, all west and south Caspian see. It would be a terrible step back.
I have definitively no idea how this step back could be offset.
The only realistic possibility would be if Armenia complies with the Russian-mediated 2020 ceasefire agreement in which it and Azerbaijan agreed that Russia would control what Baku now calls the "Zangezur Corridor" through Syunik Province.
That way Russia could monitor and stop Turkish arms flows into Central Asia that could "poach" those former Soviet Republics away from the CSTO and into a militarized version of the "Organization of Turkic States".
Russia has barely any leverage over Armenia nowadays and the popular protest movement thus far failed to pressure Pashinyan into stepping down so I'm also pessimistic though nonetheless not hopeless either (at least yet).
Georgia moved away from Russia with 🤬👿👹 Sakashvili but Russia succeeded in building new bridges with it.
Perhaps the same is it come in Armenia.
In Azerbaijan, knowing that Aliyev is not a Poutine's friend neither Russia and that people is not really happy in this dictature, why not a pro-Russia régime change?
It's interesting to see how this strategic harassment against Russia is typically Anglo-Saxon. They did the same to Japan till Pearl Harbour. Before they did the same to Spain( English then US) from 1815 to 1900. Before, it was French from 1700 to 1815. Before, it was Spain from 1570 to 1650.
Even the same way: patient, resolved, arousing dislike among neighbors and aggressive alliances, to place the full weight of blood on allies and proxies, no honor, systematic violation of every word, every treaty, every commitment. Treason of former allies if strong or reduction in servitude if weak.
English and US dream themselves as lions or eagles but their totem is rather the python.
Man or nation, there is only two ways to prevent a harassment of a pervert. Because harassment is the brand of pervert. Either you never let him come close to you or you crush its head. But fighting it's rings is without hope and deadly.
Is the dollar the Anglo-saxon head?
In reading what said Poutine in Kazan, I think that Russians think that.
Alas, BICS(without R) an especially China is too obsessed by the money they earn with dollar.
And as Lénine said that capitalists were so stupidly greedy that they will sell the rope to hang them, we can say that China is so stupidly greedy to sell the chain of its future servitude. For India and Brazil, it's the compliance in current servitude.
The great Jacob van Arteveld said that challengers often decide to use force...when it's too late to do it.
Hope China will follow the way of dragon, not that of big fat turkey.
Pretty good. So far, they overcame, destroyed and submitted huge Spanish empire, France, Indian empire, Chinese empire, spanish empire remains, german two Reich, Austrian empire, ottoman empire, nippon empire, soviet empire. Always the same way. Not to bad, no?
This is a very insightful analysis highlighting how Russia's formal recognition of the Taliban is more than just a diplomatic gesture—it's a strategic move to cement economic and geopolitical influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
If anyone recalls the Trump US pullout was to be done in stages where the Taliban had to meet certain requirements to gain more power in Govt. Bagram air base being abandoned wasn’t in any of these agreements. Trump always wanted to keep Bagram to be a counter to China. Biden screwed the whole thing up and not just the way he pulled everyone out as he is responsible for the deaths of 13 US military members. Russia recognizing the Taliban is vexxing considering the attack that happened at that concert in Moscow. It might’ve been ISIS that claimed responsibility for that attack but they grew out of the Taliban and probably received funding to help in some way.
Pashinyan has pretty well given up the fight to even maintain an independent Armenia when he gave up, Nagorno-Karabakh by acknowledging Azerbaijan as the legitimate ruler.
It was all over once Pashiyan abandoned Armenia's ties to Russia. Now Armenia is going to be at the mercies of 2 Muslim countries. And we all know how badly that turned out for the Armenians during WW1.
Armenia will go the way of former Christian majority Lebanon. Just one more Christian country swallowed up by hostile Muslims. Erdogan wants to bring back the Ottoman empire. Just look at what Turkey has done to erase Christianity on its half of Cyprus. And the destabilizing presence of Turks in Western Europe.
The U.S. has been playing a leading role in the genocide against Christians in Africa, Middle East, Ukraine, and even in Europe. The U.S. has been the main driver of Europe's Muslim refugee crisis for decades.
Your last paragraph is spot on and invalidates your comment about "hostile" Muslims. Christians fled Muslim countries like Iraq and Syria because of US and western assaults on civil society. Regarding Lebanon are you suggesting that the higher birthrates of the poorer Shia population in the south, as well as those of the Palestinian refugees driven out of Palestine, constitutes hostility?
As for Cyprus, surely you know that the reason why Turkey invaded was because of the military junta in Greece was planning to take over the country.
All I can say is that Turkey continues to occupy Cyprus while no one in NATO says a word about Turkyie's violation of Cyprus' borders.
Yes, Islam is hostile to Christianity. Christians in Muslim majority countries are a subclass that is systematically discriminated against. They aren't allowed into politics, play a major role in any business and its very odd that the number of Christians doesn't grow.
I don't see any Muslim countries celebrating or even acknowledging Christian holidays.
Christians are targets for mass murder in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia etc. You don't hear about it when Christians are killed in church in Muslim countries. But if there's an attack on a mosque in a Western country it gets covered all day.
Turkyie didn't go into Cyprus just to combat a dictatorship takeover. It went in to occupy. The Christians have been driven out of the Muslim occupied area. Churches have been turned into Mosques, closed or destroyed.
Historical signs of the Christian presence have been systematically removed.
Well, I have to say that you are completely and utterly misinformed, and to be so blatantly wrong on almost everything you wrote, without a trace of nuance, tells me that you have been propagandised. Here are a few items off the top of my head that refutes your categorical statements:
- In Bangladesh and Pakistan Easter is a public holiday.
- In Lebanon the highest position in the land, the presidency, is reserved for a Christian.
- The foreign minister in Saddam Hussein's government was Tariq Aziz, a Christian.
- If you knew your history a military junta had already taken hold in Greece. It was this junta that planned a coup in Cyprus in order to incorporate Cyprus into Greece. The Cypriot political divide had a history and it was more to do with ethnicity not religion. With the Turkish invasion the Turkish population fled north and the Greek population fled south.
With regard to mass murder in Nigeria and other African countries it is not done by the government but rather extremist groups funded and backed by, you guessed it, the US, as you correctly stated in your first comment. This is true all over the world. In fact, today, in Syria, the US and their western lackeys are celebrating the leader of the new government in Syria, a former Al Qaida/ISIS leader and butcher, and they are slaughtering the Christians. Under Assad it was a secular state.
I don't remember saying that the government of Nigeria was directly responsible. However I see no serious efforts by the government to stop the Christian genocide.
I know about the power sharing arrangement in Lebanon but it was made when Lebanon was a majority Christian country. Times are different now and the Christians of Lebanon are now only tolerated.
Pakistan keeps Christiand in subjugation. Christian women are kidnapped by Muslim men, forced into Islam and live as second class citizens.
How do you think that majority Muslim countries have managed to remain majority Muslim countries for over a thousand years?
Muslims in Egypt have no problems with walking into Coptic church service and slaughtering Christians.
There is no such thing as a Muslim extremist. Just like there's no such thing as a moderate Muslim.
As Erdogam of Turkyie said, Islam is Islam. There is no moderate Islam.
Islam is hostile to any religion that isn't Islam. Kind of like the way the U.S. is hostile to any country that isn't America.
Both Muslims and the American political elite are incapable and unwilling to get along with others.
Islam is an intolerant religion.
Christians can rise to higher roles in government in Muslim countries but only if they can be useful tactically.
I've never read of any Muslim country that celebrated Easter as a public holiday. How could they since Islam doesn't believe in the Trinity. Islam abhors everything Christian. Islam is the photographic negative image of Christianity.
You are, in no uncertain terms, Mr Hudson, a religious bigot with little or no experience of the outside world. Most of what you say can be described as pure, unadulterated vitriol. That is what I think and nothing more that you have to say will budge me from that stance.
I understand. But you fail to look at Islamic teachings and practices. Islam is a hegemonic, political ideology. Islam has a longer track record of conquering and subjugation than does the West.
The practice of polygamy is a brilliant ideal if you want Islam to win the demographic race. The more wombs that Muslim men can occupy the quicker will be the demise of Christians and Jews or any one group that practices monogamy.
Islam is the early version of Apartheid and systemic genocide. Jim Crow.
If Muslims had discovered North America first, things would've turned out even worse for the Native Americans.
One more reason why Trump isn't to be trusted. There's probably no man so cunning and ruthless as Trump. The man is positively diabolical and has not an ounce of shame or self respect.
Here we have the man who says he wanted to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and that he wanted to do it when the fighting season was over, so as to protect the lives of U.S. soldiers. And now he wan5s back in.
How odd is that. He obviously doesn't care that Bush turned the U.S. presence in Afghanistan into a nation building mission. Which is one of the things that Trump has rejected as playing a role in future U.S. reasons for sending its military overseas.
So if that isn't the reason now then what is it? It's clearly U.S. Containment policy to obstruct Russia and China. This is an all out war against BRICS. And an attempt to maintain U.S. hegemony. This isn't what he campaigned on. Just like his counterpart, Zelensky, Trump campaigned on a peace platform but all that he's done is to give us war.
I believed Trump when he ran the first time because he was saying the same things he had been saying for decades before. Things such as bring the troops home, close the overseas bases, Bush was foolish to try nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump is rich and had no reason to be beholden to anyone, least of all anyone who was part of the D.C. elite.
I didn't believe anything he said the second time around.
if realestate mafioso trump who was shaking hands with al-qaida bandit, Russia shall recognize Taliban and shake hands with them. Such move will counterbalance us conduct
Has Trump and his merry band of war hawks learned nothing from the previous disastrous US military incursion into Afghanistan? What arrogance to assume that the Taliban would trust and parley with USA.
Disastrous? What disaster. For 20 years US MIC, corrupted politicians and officials stuffed itself with trillions dollars. Disaster for who exactly?
Do you really think that USA sells less weapon than before? Do you really think that USA are less feared by servile nation's? By weak and small nations? By hostile nations? Do you really think that US voters give a shit to this "disaster"?
It isn't just Trump who hasn't learned. None of the U.S. presidents of my lifetime have learned. Trump though seems like he's the one whose going to double down on stupid and get us all killed over nothing.
Why dead men like Kissinger, President Monroe and Brezenski are still telling us what to do is something I can't understand.
Nor do I understand why these think tanks are involved in determining government policy. These people have either never been elected or they've been elected and then unelected. Either way you look at it these unelected people shouldn't be involved with giving advice nor should they be in the federal government or President's Cabinet.
They are a threat to the Republic. And maybe Congressmen/women should go back to not being paid unless they are working. They need to have jobs.
Perhaps Russia could offer to lease the Bagram Air Base and in return supply training to the Afghan military in how to operate all that left behind western equipment.
I don't think that Russia could financially compete with the US in this regard, and the US could leverage its newly restored influence over Pakistan -- which is feuding with the Talban over terrorist-related issues -- to put more pressure on Afghanistan.
On top of that, Russia doesn't have a need for Bagram Airbase since it already has an airbase in nearby Kyrgyzstan. Putin also doesn't want to get bogged down by having Russia directly fight ISIS-K in Afghanistan, preferring instead for the Taliban to do so.
Thank you Andreï. Very interesting. But bothering. In showing Russia considers to loose all Caucasus, all west and south Caspian see. It would be a terrible step back.
I have definitively no idea how this step back could be offset.
The only realistic possibility would be if Armenia complies with the Russian-mediated 2020 ceasefire agreement in which it and Azerbaijan agreed that Russia would control what Baku now calls the "Zangezur Corridor" through Syunik Province.
That way Russia could monitor and stop Turkish arms flows into Central Asia that could "poach" those former Soviet Republics away from the CSTO and into a militarized version of the "Organization of Turkic States".
Russia has barely any leverage over Armenia nowadays and the popular protest movement thus far failed to pressure Pashinyan into stepping down so I'm also pessimistic though nonetheless not hopeless either (at least yet).
My hope is in the Georgian precedent.
Georgia moved away from Russia with 🤬👿👹 Sakashvili but Russia succeeded in building new bridges with it.
Perhaps the same is it come in Armenia.
In Azerbaijan, knowing that Aliyev is not a Poutine's friend neither Russia and that people is not really happy in this dictature, why not a pro-Russia régime change?
Regime changes aren't always easy to pull off, especially for post-Soviet Russia, which has a history of failed ones that they allegedly attempted.
As regards Azerbaijan, Aliyev is genuinely popular and there's no realistic Color Revolution or military coup scenario for deposing him.
Thank you for these infos.
Precious because we don't know the place in France.
In west generally speaking.
We never cared this area and it's where, not in Ukrain or Taiwan, that the fate of the world for the next century will be decided.
It's interesting to see how this strategic harassment against Russia is typically Anglo-Saxon. They did the same to Japan till Pearl Harbour. Before they did the same to Spain( English then US) from 1815 to 1900. Before, it was French from 1700 to 1815. Before, it was Spain from 1570 to 1650.
Even the same way: patient, resolved, arousing dislike among neighbors and aggressive alliances, to place the full weight of blood on allies and proxies, no honor, systematic violation of every word, every treaty, every commitment. Treason of former allies if strong or reduction in servitude if weak.
English and US dream themselves as lions or eagles but their totem is rather the python.
Man or nation, there is only two ways to prevent a harassment of a pervert. Because harassment is the brand of pervert. Either you never let him come close to you or you crush its head. But fighting it's rings is without hope and deadly.
Is the dollar the Anglo-saxon head?
In reading what said Poutine in Kazan, I think that Russians think that.
Alas, BICS(without R) an especially China is too obsessed by the money they earn with dollar.
And as Lénine said that capitalists were so stupidly greedy that they will sell the rope to hang them, we can say that China is so stupidly greedy to sell the chain of its future servitude. For India and Brazil, it's the compliance in current servitude.
The great Jacob van Arteveld said that challengers often decide to use force...when it's too late to do it.
Hope China will follow the way of dragon, not that of big fat turkey.
So what? It works.
Pretty good. So far, they overcame, destroyed and submitted huge Spanish empire, France, Indian empire, Chinese empire, spanish empire remains, german two Reich, Austrian empire, ottoman empire, nippon empire, soviet empire. Always the same way. Not to bad, no?
Lmao what? Russia was defeated by Germany and Austria in WW1. They also lost to the Japanese in 1905.
If it gets the results, then that is all that matters.
Matters for who?
The one who win?
Or the one who is crushed?
Both.
Russia makes a move, the West makes a counter move.
- ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders -
https://www.rt.com/news/621227-icc-arrest-taliban-leaders/
Well observed I must say.
Thanks for this context. Better than what I've seen anyone else do. Iappreciatr your keen eye on the "bouncing ball."
This is a very insightful analysis highlighting how Russia's formal recognition of the Taliban is more than just a diplomatic gesture—it's a strategic move to cement economic and geopolitical influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
If anyone recalls the Trump US pullout was to be done in stages where the Taliban had to meet certain requirements to gain more power in Govt. Bagram air base being abandoned wasn’t in any of these agreements. Trump always wanted to keep Bagram to be a counter to China. Biden screwed the whole thing up and not just the way he pulled everyone out as he is responsible for the deaths of 13 US military members. Russia recognizing the Taliban is vexxing considering the attack that happened at that concert in Moscow. It might’ve been ISIS that claimed responsibility for that attack but they grew out of the Taliban and probably received funding to help in some way.
Pashinyan has pretty well given up the fight to even maintain an independent Armenia when he gave up, Nagorno-Karabakh by acknowledging Azerbaijan as the legitimate ruler.
It was all over once Pashiyan abandoned Armenia's ties to Russia. Now Armenia is going to be at the mercies of 2 Muslim countries. And we all know how badly that turned out for the Armenians during WW1.
Armenia will go the way of former Christian majority Lebanon. Just one more Christian country swallowed up by hostile Muslims. Erdogan wants to bring back the Ottoman empire. Just look at what Turkey has done to erase Christianity on its half of Cyprus. And the destabilizing presence of Turks in Western Europe.
The U.S. has been playing a leading role in the genocide against Christians in Africa, Middle East, Ukraine, and even in Europe. The U.S. has been the main driver of Europe's Muslim refugee crisis for decades.
Your last paragraph is spot on and invalidates your comment about "hostile" Muslims. Christians fled Muslim countries like Iraq and Syria because of US and western assaults on civil society. Regarding Lebanon are you suggesting that the higher birthrates of the poorer Shia population in the south, as well as those of the Palestinian refugees driven out of Palestine, constitutes hostility?
As for Cyprus, surely you know that the reason why Turkey invaded was because of the military junta in Greece was planning to take over the country.
All I can say is that Turkey continues to occupy Cyprus while no one in NATO says a word about Turkyie's violation of Cyprus' borders.
Yes, Islam is hostile to Christianity. Christians in Muslim majority countries are a subclass that is systematically discriminated against. They aren't allowed into politics, play a major role in any business and its very odd that the number of Christians doesn't grow.
I don't see any Muslim countries celebrating or even acknowledging Christian holidays.
Christians are targets for mass murder in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia etc. You don't hear about it when Christians are killed in church in Muslim countries. But if there's an attack on a mosque in a Western country it gets covered all day.
Turkyie didn't go into Cyprus just to combat a dictatorship takeover. It went in to occupy. The Christians have been driven out of the Muslim occupied area. Churches have been turned into Mosques, closed or destroyed.
Historical signs of the Christian presence have been systematically removed.
Well, I have to say that you are completely and utterly misinformed, and to be so blatantly wrong on almost everything you wrote, without a trace of nuance, tells me that you have been propagandised. Here are a few items off the top of my head that refutes your categorical statements:
- In Bangladesh and Pakistan Easter is a public holiday.
- In Lebanon the highest position in the land, the presidency, is reserved for a Christian.
- The foreign minister in Saddam Hussein's government was Tariq Aziz, a Christian.
- If you knew your history a military junta had already taken hold in Greece. It was this junta that planned a coup in Cyprus in order to incorporate Cyprus into Greece. The Cypriot political divide had a history and it was more to do with ethnicity not religion. With the Turkish invasion the Turkish population fled north and the Greek population fled south.
With regard to mass murder in Nigeria and other African countries it is not done by the government but rather extremist groups funded and backed by, you guessed it, the US, as you correctly stated in your first comment. This is true all over the world. In fact, today, in Syria, the US and their western lackeys are celebrating the leader of the new government in Syria, a former Al Qaida/ISIS leader and butcher, and they are slaughtering the Christians. Under Assad it was a secular state.
I don't remember saying that the government of Nigeria was directly responsible. However I see no serious efforts by the government to stop the Christian genocide.
I know about the power sharing arrangement in Lebanon but it was made when Lebanon was a majority Christian country. Times are different now and the Christians of Lebanon are now only tolerated.
Pakistan keeps Christiand in subjugation. Christian women are kidnapped by Muslim men, forced into Islam and live as second class citizens.
How do you think that majority Muslim countries have managed to remain majority Muslim countries for over a thousand years?
Muslims in Egypt have no problems with walking into Coptic church service and slaughtering Christians.
There is no such thing as a Muslim extremist. Just like there's no such thing as a moderate Muslim.
As Erdogam of Turkyie said, Islam is Islam. There is no moderate Islam.
Islam is hostile to any religion that isn't Islam. Kind of like the way the U.S. is hostile to any country that isn't America.
Both Muslims and the American political elite are incapable and unwilling to get along with others.
Islam is an intolerant religion.
Christians can rise to higher roles in government in Muslim countries but only if they can be useful tactically.
I've never read of any Muslim country that celebrated Easter as a public holiday. How could they since Islam doesn't believe in the Trinity. Islam abhors everything Christian. Islam is the photographic negative image of Christianity.
You are, in no uncertain terms, Mr Hudson, a religious bigot with little or no experience of the outside world. Most of what you say can be described as pure, unadulterated vitriol. That is what I think and nothing more that you have to say will budge me from that stance.
I understand. But you fail to look at Islamic teachings and practices. Islam is a hegemonic, political ideology. Islam has a longer track record of conquering and subjugation than does the West.
The practice of polygamy is a brilliant ideal if you want Islam to win the demographic race. The more wombs that Muslim men can occupy the quicker will be the demise of Christians and Jews or any one group that practices monogamy.
Islam is the early version of Apartheid and systemic genocide. Jim Crow.
If Muslims had discovered North America first, things would've turned out even worse for the Native Americans.
One more reason why Trump isn't to be trusted. There's probably no man so cunning and ruthless as Trump. The man is positively diabolical and has not an ounce of shame or self respect.
Here we have the man who says he wanted to get U.S. troops out of Afghanistan and that he wanted to do it when the fighting season was over, so as to protect the lives of U.S. soldiers. And now he wan5s back in.
How odd is that. He obviously doesn't care that Bush turned the U.S. presence in Afghanistan into a nation building mission. Which is one of the things that Trump has rejected as playing a role in future U.S. reasons for sending its military overseas.
So if that isn't the reason now then what is it? It's clearly U.S. Containment policy to obstruct Russia and China. This is an all out war against BRICS. And an attempt to maintain U.S. hegemony. This isn't what he campaigned on. Just like his counterpart, Zelensky, Trump campaigned on a peace platform but all that he's done is to give us war.
Is this a surprise? Do you believe campaign promises? Maybe you won't anymore.
I believed Trump when he ran the first time because he was saying the same things he had been saying for decades before. Things such as bring the troops home, close the overseas bases, Bush was foolish to try nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump is rich and had no reason to be beholden to anyone, least of all anyone who was part of the D.C. elite.
I didn't believe anything he said the second time around.
if realestate mafioso trump who was shaking hands with al-qaida bandit, Russia shall recognize Taliban and shake hands with them. Such move will counterbalance us conduct
Has Trump and his merry band of war hawks learned nothing from the previous disastrous US military incursion into Afghanistan? What arrogance to assume that the Taliban would trust and parley with USA.
Disastrous? What disaster. For 20 years US MIC, corrupted politicians and officials stuffed itself with trillions dollars. Disaster for who exactly?
Do you really think that USA sells less weapon than before? Do you really think that USA are less feared by servile nation's? By weak and small nations? By hostile nations? Do you really think that US voters give a shit to this "disaster"?
It isn't just Trump who hasn't learned. None of the U.S. presidents of my lifetime have learned. Trump though seems like he's the one whose going to double down on stupid and get us all killed over nothing.
Why dead men like Kissinger, President Monroe and Brezenski are still telling us what to do is something I can't understand.
Nor do I understand why these think tanks are involved in determining government policy. These people have either never been elected or they've been elected and then unelected. Either way you look at it these unelected people shouldn't be involved with giving advice nor should they be in the federal government or President's Cabinet.
They are a threat to the Republic. And maybe Congressmen/women should go back to not being paid unless they are working. They need to have jobs.
Perhaps Russia could offer to lease the Bagram Air Base and in return supply training to the Afghan military in how to operate all that left behind western equipment.
I don't think that Russia could financially compete with the US in this regard, and the US could leverage its newly restored influence over Pakistan -- which is feuding with the Talban over terrorist-related issues -- to put more pressure on Afghanistan.
On top of that, Russia doesn't have a need for Bagram Airbase since it already has an airbase in nearby Kyrgyzstan. Putin also doesn't want to get bogged down by having Russia directly fight ISIS-K in Afghanistan, preferring instead for the Taliban to do so.