It already hasn’t, I’d argue. It’s just not effecting us or the people in the Russian core. The people in Ukraine and now places like Syria are already feeling the full effects of all this, though. I’m sure elsewhere, too.
That’s a strong possibility. I don’t think Putin is going to just give up on Assad and we won’t give in on that issue either and continue to argue he needs to go. But I don’t if it will turn into a divided country, so much as continue to devolve into chaos that groups like Daesh take advantage of.
Illinois has height, weight, and eyes, all of which can be changed but are usually somewhat consistent. I"m surprised that California, of all places, would assume hair color to be immutable.
Here’s the current situation (from http://syriancivilwarmap.com/). Unlike the Korean war, which was just drawing a line of control at one point along a peninsula, the current lines of control between the multiple sides don’t really allow this conflict to “freeze” cleanly. The Rebel held areas (green) are not contiguous- there are several areas entirely surrounded by Syrian Government held territory, and only few areas have a land border with external countries.
Also, take a look at this population density map:
This shows that the territory held by each side is vastly different in terms of population. Most of the ISIS held areas are thinly populated, which means that maps exaggerate their rise and fall. Also, note the light blue section, which is now controlled by the Turkish army, following their recent push across the border, which was in response to Kurdish pushes to join up the areas that they held. Who has that helped?
the “we” in this case is interesting. normally this would mean the civilised western community of values, represented by the NATO - with widely different short-term and strategical object (Erdoğan’s Greater Turkey, the US tangled up between anti-Assad and anti-ISIS, arms shipment from Europe to the Kurds in Iraq and Syria while the Turkish army bombs them as allies of the PKK).
I don’t think this will happen. I fear it becomes a Vietnam with even more involved parties.
I’ve seen reports that in a lot of areas it’s pretty much neighbourhood vs neighbourhood; affiliations shifting back and forth within walking distance.
Yes, you’ve got the key right. I should have included it in the post.
Do you mean “over in about 10 years” Like the Yugoslavia of the 1990s, or “the spark of a century’s worth of conflict” like the Yugoslavia of the 1910s, because depending on how pessimistic I am about the situation, i could see both.
Also, this is veering off the original topic somewhat. Do we need a thread split?
