Julian McBride

Hezbollah’s shift to being Iran and Syria’s mercenary eroded its support among Arabs, leaving it vulnerable in its conflict with Israel.

France and Azerbaijan are waging a global shadow conflict beyond the South Caucasus, highlighting how small wars can spark a global domino effect.

The term ‘blowback’ originates from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). With foreign policy risks came unintended and harmful consequences to the nation or allies due to unwarranted side effects from covert operations. There have been several notable covert actions that ultimately came to light due to leaks or Americans directly suffering from the actions of the government.

Already bogged down in a perpetual ten-year war that has not yet captured a fully occupied oblast or reached any military objective, the Neo Russian Empire Putin envisioned he would have, akin to Peter the Great, is now rapidly taking heavy losses simultaneously in various regions akin to the last Tsar, Nicholas II. Time will tell if Vladimir Putin’s disastrous imperial ambitions will leave him in the same fate as Nicholas II.

Syria, due to the civil war, may take decades to recover and is now a frozen conflict. However, one of the biggest winners of the war was the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has not only imported large military assets into Syria but tens of thousands of followers and families into the country to enact a population transfer to continue to export the Iranian Revolution.

East Africa’s regional conflicts could intertwine if another world war were to break out akin to Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia; major players are aligning to interests in Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and even Kenya. Not talked about as much in mainstream media, MSM should cover East Africa more, as, eventually, our national interests could intertwine with theirs.

Restless American diplomatic engagement in the Middle East and backdoor negotiations between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other major regional players are keeping the Camp David Accords alive. However, if these regional powers were to take diplomatic mishaps, one of the strongest peace deals in modern history could tread on thin ice.

Wanting to modernize their fleet against Chinese naval threats, the Philippines are currently in a decade-long military modernization, during which the Gripens can play a crucial role. The JAS-39 Gripen is one of the most capable fighter jets today, and the Gripen-E variant is on par with the F-35A. Helping to control the skies in Northern Europe, the Gripens can supplement the Joint Nordic Air Command and act as an aerial shield throughout the continent.

Now, with Hamas degraded and their once vaunted ballistic missile program exposed to the world, Hezbollah and their growing capabilities become even more important to a growingly unpopular Iranian regime. The Mullahs, realizing their Shiite militia in Lebanon has far better capabilities to confirm Israel, will now put all chips on Hezbollah in an attempt to keep Israel away.

The French-backed Armenian Legion is the prime example of courage, and later betrayal that saw many ethnic groups in the Middle East hold a grudge against the Western Powers as they all fought against the Ottoman Empire for independence but were left discarded later on.

Today, one could argue the collective West remains idle to a brewing threat that uses various hybrid means of warfare to continue causing strife, which benefits the overall geopolitical standing and furthers favorable negotiations for the Russian Federation. It is now up to world leaders and constituents to expand their scope and realize today’s threats.

Despite some of the most brutal weapons being used in warfare, various weapons with gruesome side effects are not banned today. However, major military regions and superpowers should work to mitigate after-effects and usage near civilian populations as much as possible.