The Eurasian region continues to disintegrate, and neither
Russia nor the West has been able to arrest the destabilizing dynamics. Evidence of rising instability throughout the region include the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, renewed terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus, the persistent failure of Western forces to stabilize Afghanistan, the inability of Central Asian rulers to reign in local clans and drug lords, and the paralysis of legitimately elected bodies of power in Ukraine and Moldova.
Violence is gradually spreading, waiting for an opportunity to erupt into a large-scale conflict.
Transregional transportation routes may soon be choked due to Russia ‘s conflicts with Ukraine , Georgia , and
Turkmenistan .
The West’s attempts to secure and stabilize
Eurasia after the end of the Cold War must be recognized as a failure. In the mid-1990s, U.S. geostrategists such as Zbigniew Brzezinski recommended that the United States pursue a policy of replacing
Russia as the referee and protector of the newly established non-Russian states in the region. After initial hesitation, the
United States and other Western states followed this advice. Yet
Eurasia has not become stable or peaceful and continues to disintegrate. The bureaucrats in Washington and
Brussels have failed to understand that they lack the resources, the will, and the experience to stabilize the complex region. Today — after the Iraq war and the global financial crisis — the United States is beginning to recognize its overextension, but it is not at all clear if Washington and Brussels are prepared to act differently in
Eurasia .
Once this is done in practice, and not rhetorically, many pieces of the region’s puzzle may start falling into place. Energy supplies may become more reliable; governments in politically contested areas — like Georgia , Ukraine , and
Moldova — may obtain a greater legitimacy; and the so-called frozen conflicts may have a better opportunity to be resolved.
Russia ‘s recent resurgence is a response to its lacking recognition as a vital power and partner of the West. If Russia chooses to dedicate itself to obstructing Western policies in
Eurasia , we will see more of the collapsing dynamics in the region. Ukraine and Moldova may disintegrate, as did
Georgia . Central Asia and
Azerbaijan are likely to be subjected to a much greater degree of instability with unpredictable consequences.
Russia too will suffer greatly as its modernization processes will be derailed. In short, the region may change beyond recognition — and possibly through the use of force.
Spirit Of Cooperation
Non-Russian powers too must become involved as participants in establishing a collective-security arrangement in
Eurasia . From a security perspective, it is important that the two most prominent actors in the region — NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — develop a joint assessment of threat and closely coordinate their policies. Instead of expanding its reach further, NATO ought to learn its limitations.
Without the full-fledged involvement of the SCO, Afghanistan is likely to turn into another version of Iraq, with additional negative implications for the
U.S. reputation in the world. Another key issue is energy security. A new, shared understanding of energy challenges must be reached that would encourage mutual respect for each side’s critical interests.
Viewing
Russia as a potentially reliable alternative to traditional Middle Eastern sources of energy may serve the West and members of the region better than the image of a “neo-imperialist” bully that only seeks to subvert its neighbors’ policies. Trying to persuade European countries to invest additional billions into the Nabucco pipeline in order to bypass
Russia may well turn out to be a waste of money and time. A more important and potentially unifying idea for all the parties would be to engage in the development of acceptable rules and principles of energy security among
Eurasia ‘s powers. Finally, to restore the region’s capacity to function and perform basic services for its residents, it is critical to curb Russophobic nationalism. While rebuilding a Russia-centered empire would be very dangerous, there is hardly an alternative to the emergence of an economically and culturally transparent community of nations with strong ties to the former metropole. Russians and other ethnic minorities must be able freely to travel, develop their linguistic and religious traditions, and celebrate their historically significant events. The overall objective of the outside world should be to strengthen
Russia ‘s confidence as a regional great power, while discouraging it from engaging in revisionist behavior.
Andrei Tsygankov is a professor of international relations at
This is the main problem when assessing Europe and US relations in regards to Russia is they do not consider or take the view despite the overwhelming evidence that the US has a political agenda since the break up of the USSR to weaken Russia as a potential geo-political rival and the post construct starting with George Soros enacting in 89 in Hungry promoting through his Open Society NGO and others economic reforms of the post Soviet governments and prevent an East European economic block with a unified Germany.
http://www.questionsquestions.net/docs04/engdahl-soros.html
And training and support of terrorist groups around the world mainly Chechens in areas of key untapped natural oil and gas reserves
Far from being a hindrance to the US destabilisation and spread of Islamic fundamentalism into the Eurasian sphere would directly benefit the US as it would give them assess to oil and gas reserves in Central Asia under a Russia\n lead coalition and transit routes bypassing Russia into Europe who would be under control of US oil companies like in Afghanistan and support the military industry creating jobs and profit to pacify the region. As outline in Brezinski’s 97 book The Grand Chessboard.
“In fact, an Islamic revival – already abetted from the outside not only by Iran but also by Saudi Arabia – is likely to become the mobilizing impulse for the increasingly pervasive new nationalisms, determined to oppose any reintegration under Russian – and hence infidel – control.” (p. 133).
“It follows that America’s primary interest is to help ensure that no single power comes to control this geopolitical space and that the global community has unhindered financial and economic access to it.” (p148)
As Sidel Edmonds reveals this has exactly been US lead policy since the break up of the USSR.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/15/551916/-Sibel-Edmonds-Case:-The-Central-Asia-Islamization-Cocktail:-Mosques,-Madrassas,-HeroinTerrorism
In fact all of the Islamic and non Islamic separatist groups in and near the Eurasian sphere are under the control and support of NED and other CIA fronts like USAID.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14327