Bismarck famously said that a major war would be sparked by ‘some damned fool thing in the Balkans’; and so it came to pass. The region is now an economic and diplomatic battleground with the EU, NATO, the Turks and the Russians all vying for influence

- Prisoners of geography

أوتو فون بسمارك بالقرن ال 19 كال مقولته الشهيرة أنه من الممكن أن تندلع حرب عظمى بسبب "شي سخيف وأحمق بمنطقة البلقان"... وهالشي تحقق بالحرب العالمية الأولى.
اما بالوقت الحاضر، المنطقة تعتبر ساحة حرب إقتصادية ودبلوماسية بين الناتو، الإتحاد الأوروبي، الأتراك، الروسيين، وكلهم يسعون للحصول على نوع من التأثير بداخل المنطقة.

- كتاب Prisoners of geography

U can tell why they call it "black forest"

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THE MIDDLE OF WHAT? EAST OF WHERE? The region's very name is based on a European view of the world, and it is a European view of the region that shaped it. The Europeans used ink to draw lines on maps: they were lines that did not exist in reality and created some of the most artificial borders the world has seen. An attempt is now being made to redraw them in blood.

- Prisoners of geography, Middle east

Back to 1923

Iraq is a prime example of the ensuing conflicts and chaos. The more religious among the Shia never accepted that a Sunni-led government should have control over their holy cities such as Najaf and Karbala, where their martyrs Ali and Hussein are said to be buried. These communal feelings go back centuries; a few decades of being called ‘Iraqis’ was never going to dilute such emotions.

- Prisoners of geography

How can it get worse?!!!

There's always a way