There's a lot of things going on in the world that seems very troubling. Of course, there is always "something" that is troubling going on in the world at any one time. But this feeling that we are nearing an abyss of some sort is starting to become more manifest the more we look around. Are we experienceing the eerie silence of the calm before the storm?
Europe
There is an article from the Fiscal Times that counters the prevailing punditry regarding the EUROZONE and its eventual demise. They believe it could provide the impetus to form a more stronger union albeit at the expense of some other states within Europe. Really, the European Union is simply too big and too diverse to live up to its' reputation or should we call it misconception as being "united". The European Union has multiple sides that are pulling the EU in different directions.
One side has the weak Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain pulling down the more stronger northern nations of France, Germany and Britain. Then there is Portugal and Ireland that are economic basket cases. Iceland recently voted to not pay Britain back for monies they lost in Iceland's banking system. Of course, nearly all of Europe is exceeding the GDP ratio of debt to revenue percentages that continues to plague their trading bourses with the effect that we have a very skittish mercantile and financial class of professionals that is just itching to jump ship to a more financially safer harbor which unfortunately none are in sight.
Another side has a religious dimension rarely discussed: Catholic Europe verses the rest of Europe. Can Eastern Orthodox countries such as Greece, Romania and Bulgaria continue to coalesce around the more Catholic countries of Poland, Germany, France, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and Spain? Can the Church Of England continue to hold out against the Roman Catholic Church? Are the Protestant countries of Britain, Scandinavia and Northern Germany relevant any more to maintain their religious sovereignty against the ever encroaching Catholic Church?
Another side pulling the EU apart is massive and apparently unchecked immigration. How can Europe stay united when they are importing a slave caste of Africans, Arabs and Turks to work their more menial jobs? Even Denmark has decided to raise the border guards once again and check identity papers when someone crosses the Danish frontier much to the chagrin of the bureaucrats in Brussels. Greece has appealed for help from the EU border guard to keep its eastern gate secure (is there anything the Greeks can do besides capitulate?). Italy is taking on Libyan nationals fleeing the civil war down south. Then there is the existential problem of the European gypsies.
Another side pulling Europe apart is the sudden realization that Islam is not compatible with the European modus vivendi. Gert Wilders in the Netherlands was recently acquitted of fomenting religious hatred against Moslems for his defense of Dutch liberties which are antithetical to Islamic dogmas. Germany, Switzerland, France, and Italy have all passed legislation that is forcing the Moslem to either adapt to Europe or move back to their country of origin from whence they came.
All of these things are coming to a head in Europe with potential explosive consequences. And what happens if America decides to pull their military forces out of Germany, Italy and Britain? Something stinks in the state of the EU but we can't put our finger on it!
Middle East
The uprisings in countries that were nominal allies to Europe or to America has suddenly taken a more ominous turn. Dubbed the "Arab Spring" by the more optimistic among us, countries that were once aligned with the West are now being overthrown by their more servile populations as Twitter, Facebook and cell phones replace newspapers, radio and TV as the primary modes or nodes of information warfare. Egypt is the country that we must continue to watch. It is this country that may prove the most explosive as some have wisely suggested from Real Clear Politics that if Egypt is unable to feed its people then indeed all hell is going to break loose. Egypt also is the country that has the only peace treaty with Israel still in operation, albeit heavily gifted by the United States each year to the tune of 2 billion dollars per annum. Will Egypt continue to be paid off to be Israel's friend? Turkey is also a problem as they are embracing a more Islamic tradition that clearly is at odds with is Kemalist past at least since Ataturk disbanded the Caliphate after World War One. Then there is Afghanistan and Iraq that have been occupied by the United States since 2001 and 2003 that were on the receiving end of America's wrath following the 9/11 Terrorist attacks in America. Then there is Pakistan's duplicity in harboring the greatest terrorist in American history, Osama Bin Laden, from prying American eyes. Will we continue to play stupid with them or will they finally come out of the proverbial Islamic Terror closet and truly embrace what they have become? India certainly thinks Pakistan has come out of the closet but the world looks away.
The so called Arab Spring, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan's duplicity and the American War On Terror all are taking their toll on the Arab and Islamic mind. Something big is afoot that I can't quite pinpoint.
American Debt
If America can't pay its' debts then it will cut "discretionary" military spending before anything else is done. This of course will spell disaster for America's role as the global cop since World War II. If America goes home then the lights will go out throughout the world. Can you imagine South Korea without American Troops? Or Germany? Or Japan? And perhaps more ominously, Iraq or Afghanistan fighting the forces of Al Qaida or the Taliban without American military support? Gunna make Saigon in 1975 look like a cakewalk in comparison. Imagine what Germany or Britain will look like when there are no American military bases or troops to defend Western Europe. Sounds improbable? I don't know about you but I got this gut feeling that things are about to turn out for the worse.
These are all hunches with no empirical evidence to back them up. Only anecdotes come to mind. However, how many times has history turned on hunches? I have only touched on the more pressing feelings I have but there is always China's weakness that could surprise us as well especially if the hundreds of millions of Chinese rise up against the communist party. So with that I think I will end this segment with this: As the Chinese might say "We live in very interesting times".
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