Wars and rumours of wars

The Hamas attack on Israel is quite astonishing – shock, and maybe even awe.  To pull off coordination and surprise like that in a space so confined and – as we are given to believe – so intensively, comprehensively and ‘intelligently’ monitored, is little short of impressive.  (And on Putin’s birthday, too …)  So much so, that it can easily trigger all manner of speculation – but for now we must wait for more data and developments.

However, some very broad comments can be essayed.  From the start of Putin’s war upon Ukraine, it was obvious that the implications for Taiwan would be uppermost in the minds of some important actors.  Several leading commentators assumed that Ukraine would provide a distraction that allowed other ‘geo-political initiatives’ to kick off, with Taiwan heading the list (by dint of the seriousness of the global implications) but with the middle east also very much in mind, alongside the Balkans, the near east and central Asia.  In point of fact, for many months nothing much really happened.

Maybe the waiting is over.  In the runup to the Hamas offensive we’ve seen Armenia humiliated, Serbia stirring the pot, Syria being brought to the boil, Putin meeting the Wrong’Un … and there are no doubt other things I’ve overlooked.  Players like the latter, Turkey and Iran are always looking to manoeuvre purposefully for advantage, in contexts of expansionist policies.

Coordinated?  Woah!  - down that rabbit-hole, lunacy lies (e.g. “The flywheel of WW3 is spinning faster and faster ...”).  For now, let’s just say “opportunistic”.  Sometimes, though, just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you …

ND

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