The ‘Heartland’ & Immense Military Movements in the Eurasian Land Mass
“Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland;
Who rules the Heartland commands the world-island;
Who rules the world-island controls the world.”
- Sir Halford John Mackinder
Sir Halford Mackinder in 1904 has stipulated that what was coined as the ‘pivotal area’ or later on what developed into the theory of the ‘heartland’ was the area of Eurasia that essentially formed the pivotally important core of the world—originally this was considered Eastern Europe, but with time and as modern geo-strategic realization developed the area started shifting and expanding eastwards towards or including vast areas in the east towards the Black Sea, the Caspian Basin, and Central Asia. Whoever should come to control these lands would dominate all Eurasia and could ultimately master the world. This concept is of great, but concealed, geo-strategic importance today as much as it was during World War II when the Germans had a whole group of individuals dedicated to Mackinder’s concepts—during those times the Germans too tried to advance to the oil fields of Central Asia as the United States now does. Zbigniew Brzezinski, an influential former U.S. National Security Advisor, has even wrote greatly about this area and how for the very first time in human history there exists a superpower that is not from the Eurasian landmass which must set a goal of controlling the Eurasian heartland to insure its monopoly on dominance in his book ‘The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geo-strategic Imperatives.’
Now, fast tracking to modern events unfolding in the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia it seems that Sir Halford Mackinder’s stipulations are hauntingly true as the world’s lone superpower—now a hyperpower as Hubert Védrine the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs originally termed it—the United States is resolute on establishing dominance over this area in a chess game that involves the heir to the Soviet Union—the post-Soviet Russian Federation—the Peoples’ Republic of China, and Iran.
Military Movement from the Balkans and the Middle East to Central Asia
“Bulgaria and Romania are war-proven allies of the United States…
They are valued partners in the global war on terrorism.”
-General David McKiernan, U.S. Army Europe (Commanding Officer)
Besides the daily events of the fighting in Anglo-American occupied Iraq, NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan, and the continuous ‘War on Terror’ that involves operations from Pakistan and the Philippines to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan there were the intense Israeli military activates and attacks against Lebanon, including the subsequent immense military tension in the entire Levant from the Gaza Strip to Syria. The Eurasian landmass is buzzing and intensifying with military activity from the onset of July 2006. This includes military movements from NATO and U.S. bases in Europe carrying military traffic to and from the United States, the Middle East, and volatile Afghanistan. In the Balkans this activity is current through the marshalling of air power; where the American military is busy engaging in practically unreported or little known war games and defensive operations with staunch NATO allies, Bulgaria and Romania—Immediate Response 2006 which ended in July and Viper Lance 2006 which will according to some sources continue1 until September, 2006 while other report it is rapped or rapping up.2 In the Middle East, besides the Israeli siege on Lebanon basically coming to a nominal ending under a one sided United Nations Security Council Resolution and the daily fighting in Iraq, recent massive and stretched-out Iranian war games, codenamed the ‘Blow of Zolfaqar’3 are taking place under the vigilance of the Iranian Armed Forces. In the Caspian Basin and western Kazakhstan, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) performed drills under the basis of protecting energy resources from terrorist attacks4—that could very well be another countries Black Ops or Special Forces. All the member of CSTO, are present in force, including Uzbekistan with observing participations, but the landlocked ex-Soviet republics of Armenia and Belarus on the account of the lack or non-existence of naval forces.
Sino-Kazakh Drills: China and Kazakhstan hold joint Exercises simultaneously with Russia, CSTO, and Iran—while the United States manoeuvre in the Balkans
Kazakhstan is involved in two distinct, but related, military drills and exercises’ one in its western boundaries off the Caspian Sea under the CSTO banner and another on its eastern borders, in the Almaty region, near China under the framework(s) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).5 The Sino-Kazakh drills include various law enforcement organs of both China and Kazakhstan and units of special forces from both China and Kazakhstan. This is also the third in a series of bilateral military exercises China has conducted under the framework of the SCO.6
‘Tianshan I,’ as the first joint anti-terrorism training drill Kazakhstan and China gives the impression to be more than just a routine security exercise. It is conveniently coordinated with the military manoeuvres and activities of the Russians, CSTO, and the Iranians. All this is while the United States is steadily increasing its troop and security force(s) concentration and man-power in occupied Iraq and Afghanistan with an ‘involuntary back-door draft.’ Furthermore, on a global scale it falls under a time when potentially seismic changes are taking place such as the choreographically visits of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Belarus, Russia, Iran, Qatar, and finally energy thirsty China where Venezuela announced to the anger of the United States—Venezuela’s main purchaser of oil— that it plans increase its oil sales to China.7 This will come at a cost to the United States and a strategic victory for both the Chinese and Venezuelans. Venezuela will be diversifying its clients and energy customers.
All these events are going on while on the other side of the mirror the United States is strengthening its position in the Balkans vis-à-vis Bulgaria and Romania, two former Eastern Bloc states that were once Soviet satellites and are now in the American and NATO fold(s).
The Associated Press has written in regards to the American interests in Romania:
“In December [2005], Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Romania’s Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu signed a 10-year agreement to set up four military bases in Romania. The facilities to be used by the Pentagon include Babadag and the Mihail Kogalniceanu base, which the U.S. has used in recent years as part of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Up to 1,500 rotational troops will use the Mihail Kogalniceanu base at any one time.
Last year, the Mihail Kogalniceanu airport was the subject of allegations that the CIA had secret prison here, a charge the Romanian government strongly denied”.8
The nuclear energy program of Iran might be what seems to initially be the Gordian knot binding and linking all these events together and both the covert and overt military movements within the Eurasian landmass from Europe to the Middle East and the borders of China, but the rivalry to control the world’s energy resources seems to be at the heart of the matter with even a broader ends or agenda of international ascendancy. There look as if the march eastward for the United States will not only stop with Afghanistan, and Iraq, but will have to attempt to secure and go through Iran to get to Central Asia and secure a consequential footing in the ‘Eurasian heartland.’ Something that Iran will not watch ideally nor China and the Russian Federation accept.
1 People’s Daily, August 12,2006
Romanian, US pilots hold exercise at Black Sea coastal base
http://english.people.com.cn/200608/12/eng20060812_292455.html
2 Army Public Affairs, Arnews: Army News Services, August 3, 2006
U.S., Romania, Bulgaria team up for Immediate Response 06
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=9380
3 Global Research, August 21, 2006
Iranian War Games: Exercises, Tests, and Drills or Preparation and Mobilization for War?
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=DAR20060821&articleId=3027
4 Global Research, August 24, 2006
Russia and Central Asian Allies Conduct War Games in Response to US Threats
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20060824&articleId=3056
5 People’s Daily, August 25, 2006
China, Kazakhstan hold anti-terror Drill
http://english.people.com.cn/200608/25/eng20060825_296744.html
6 The first was with Kyrgyzstan in 2002, and the second was with Russia in 2005 held in both Russian territory (the Russian Far East) and Chinese territory (Manchuria) 7 Globe and Mail, August 17, 2006 (originally from Associated Press)
Venezuela-China oil ties increase.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060817.IBVENEZ17/TPStory/Business
8 Air Force Times, August 9, 2006 (originally from Associated Press).
U.S., Romanian pilots to train together.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2011589.php
