Comments by "Cross Link" (@crosslink1493) on "The Middle East, After America || Peter Zeihan" video.

  1. I thought Japan, at least its leadership beginning with P.M. Abe, realized they were in an 'isolated' area (geographically) and needed to be more 'assertive' with its axis neighbors such as Russia, North Korea, and China. Abe tried to push through changes to Japan's Constitutional description of the military (the JDF) from a purely defensive force to allow for more regional operations. I thought some changes got approved by their Parliament (the Diet) and has allowed the JDF to do more cooperative operations with South Korea, the USA, and Philippines (and Taiwan through some backdoor channels!). As for Germany, I don't know how well prepared they (or the rest of Western Europe) is as Russia's sabre rattling gets louder and louder. Contrast that with their neighbor Poland which is becoming more militarized and defiant of any provocations from the East (Russia or its 'cannon-fodder-puppet' Belarus).
    15
  2. I wonder why Peter didn't include India in this analysis. They are not a naval superpower yet, but they can be a regional power in the Indian Ocean and project into neighboring Middle East areas (I'll leave S.E. Asia and East Asia out for now). Combine them with the Japanese and assistance from a few other countries in the region, and they'd be a pretty potent combination if China expands its 'bullying' diplomacy tactics into the region (and we all know how well India and China get along!). And India does have an interest in making sure the oil flows freely from the Middle East to Southern Asia. Just a few thoughts beyond the tight regional boundries Peter sticks to in the video.
    6
  3. I thought the Houthis were more interested in thwarting Israeli/Jewish causes rather than being generalized terrorists in the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea (although there is the long simmering feud with the Saudi Arabia that dates back to the 'tribal' days before both countries borders were established).
    2
  4. I'm not up on the financials of US Steel and why they were sold, but if it has to be I'd rather see a company like Nippon Steel, from an international partner country, rather than a Chinese company or other foreign company (maybe India's Accellor, although they might be too big to own it if US anti-trust law was to come into play). Cheers
    1