Not so long ago, I ran the series "How Global is the War On Terror?" In it I explained that though we often concentrate on Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan and the whole world knows that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues decade after decade, the struggle between Freedom and Islamism is much more global with various levels of US participation and various levels and types of enemy activity. But with a rather broad stroke, I've painted the map of battlelines.
I say it is broad strokes because while Iran and The Sudan have Islamists governments, they are very different, as demonstrated in the original series. Green denotes Islamist control, whether as the recognized government or the pockets of shadow governments such as the Hezbollah or Hamas shadow governments.
Red denotes Communist/Nationalist government which would at first seem contradictory given the "traditional" definitions, but these types of government are much more akin to each other than they are to either Islamists or Democracies. It doesn't mean that they don't hold "elections" but that there is no real chance of an opposition candidate winning. Again there are various types of these tyrannical governments and while I near erased North Korea with red fill, China almost shouldn't be included.
Perhaps the bigger surprise in the red category would be Syria and/or Libya, which are certainly very different than Venezuela. Syria is a monarchy/Ba'athist controlled nation. It is as vehemently anti-Jew as is Iran, but the Ba'aths are 'secular.' And the Ba'ath Party was born in Paris early in the 20th Century.
I would put Syria into the category of "logic based tyrants" as their policies of terrorism are self-serving rather than ideological or political. Syria is a Nation more than willing to de-stablize other Nations through export of terrorism, even islamist terrorism, but tyrannically stamps out islamism within its borders, to ensure that it is not itself de-stabilized by its minions. It has been known to completely erase ancient cities to eradicate pockets of islamists.
The broadest strokes, though not comprehensive are the orange areas. These are the locations where islamism is at war for control and there are certainly various levels. Somalia for example has not had a true government in decades and is in a state of open warfare between islamists and anyone that stands in their way. Sri Lanka is shown as a battlefield but should include pockets of shadow government as the Tamil Tigers/LTTE is in complete control of some areas. But many other areas see only small groups with minimal activity.
In the orange, could also be France and much of Western Europe but I didn't paint it.
If you look very closely, you'll find other small pockets of green representing shadow governments of control, including areas inside the US, such as Dearborn, MI, the Caribbean, and South America. These are far from being properly sized and even at that are near invisible on the big map. The shadow governments in Lebanon and Pakistan areas are again far different than the Dearborn area, (highest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East), as Dearborn, MI still falls under the US Constitution and there is only a certain degree of Islamist Law that can be implemented voluntarily.
One very interesting thing becomes more apparent when seeing it this way. The mountains and borders of Afghanistan & Pakistan may be where we make the Central Front in the War On Terror, but Iran is the center of Islamism. This is not new news. I've stated it before. I've documented it elsewhere. Those in the know, know it. But it is not always popularly accepted or publicly acknowledged.
A book could (and several have to various degrees) be written on the worldwide War On Terror, so this isn't comprehensive, merely the broad stroke overviews. And here is what the Islamic Caliphate looked like in earlier history:
War on Terror News©2009, ARM, all rights reserved.
Part 1: Africa
Part 2: Europe & Asia
Part 3: The Americas
Part 4: Nationalism & Culture
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