Masopher is looking forward to 2009. Maybe not for the same reasons that you are. Bloody footage has already started flowing into the mind thanks to the Israel-Hamas conflict in gaza and there is going to be a lot more. Here in alphabetical order is the 10 most promising places for murder mayhem and misery in 2009!!
1. Afghanistan-Pakistan
Pakistan home of the terrorists and Afghanistan the place where the west chooses to fight them. The indio-paki-afhgani area is bound to bring a lot of bloodshed in 2009.
2. Congo
Central Africa is where a lot of secret wars are carried out. Diamond rich native warlords and quasi-governmental private contractors go head to head with each other for the rich untapped resources in the area. Truly the wild west of the world and where presidents die in plane crashes almost routinely.
3. Indonesia
Islam, communism, lots of AKs and very pliable populations. Perfect ingredients to start something nasty. There are 4 concurrent conflicts raging even as I speak. Countries like Laos, Cambodia and Thailand are all simmering and boiling over and Indonesia could be where it all kicks off. Lots of potential for blood and fire for the 2009.
4. Iraq
As with Israel and Palestine, the Shiite and Sunni Muslims have centuries of grouses to work out in the most bloody fashion imaginable. Western forces don’t make things easier and only distract them from getting at each other’s throats. Iraq has so many proxy battles going on that it becomes hard to tell enemies apart. Hundreds of thousands of contractors, local militias supplied by Iran, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan the UK and USA. Iraq seems to be dying out, but now that oil money is starting to flow there is nothing stopping this from flaring up into a nice conflagration.
5. Israel-Palestine
Did someone say the third infatada? When two diametrically opposed races are stuck in a small area and supplied with weapons and support there can only be endless war. There will be many a waltz to be danced next year.
6. Somalia-Sudan
Another wild-west area with no end to the conflict in sight. Muslims with Egyptian links are here as well as western backed Ethiopians, Eretrian wildcards and lots of irregular forces over the massive area of land and sea. At stake….a lot of desert apparently. Ethiopia needs to bring out the Ark of the Covenant on their asses!
7. Venezuela-Colombia
The jungles of Gran Colombia (Venezuela-Bolivia and Colombia) is where the last gasps of communism can be found. Chavez with state of the art Russian military hardware, Uribe’s Colombia with USA trained and supplied forces, and lots of cocaine money makes for a dangerous mix.
8. Russia
Russia has stopped pretending to be communist but can’t stop being evil and unstable. With internal and external conflicts being fought Russia is a good candidate for becoming a shore of hell in 2009. Let us not forget all the unstable nukes and unstable leaders they have.
9. Sri Lanka
No matter how much killing goes on here the media just won’t pick it up! This is where Hollywood dreams are coming to life. These guys are taking bits of plastic and making planes and submarines. The MacGyvers of civil war. The military technology being invented to kill each other is mindboggling. Sri Lanka is a dark horse in the race for being the shore of hell of 2009 but I hope that the Tamils don’t disappoint.
10. Zimbabwe
Mugabe is an old pariah who is fast fading even as his country becomes ravaged by the 12 plagues of the exodus. The real fight is over the spoils. Will Zimbabwe fall back into the hands of the corporations and rich western individuals or will neighbours come in to pick the spoils. Southern Africa is a relatively peaceful sector in the dark continent but Zimbabwe could be the match to get the tinderbox going.
