Ukraine has announced that it will withdraw its troops from Crimea. Such a decision is incredibly difficult for a sovereign state, and Ukraine is to be applauded for not taking actions that would only make the life of its citizens much worse. The decision accepts the fact that Russia now controls the territory and the violence would only give Russia an excuse to take similar actions in other parts of Ukraine. The decision is radically different from the decision the Melians made in the Peloponnesian War. Now the Ukrainians can step back and work out a long term plan to recover its territory under more favorable circumstances.
A British newspaper, The Independent, got a leaked copy of a UN report on climate change that is due to be released next month. The report emphasizes the international dimensions of climate change which are likely to be violent and very difficult to manage. The underlying dynamic of these dislocations wil likely be the migration of millions of people who cannot survive under the circumstances of climate change. The mass movement of peoples is more than likely to precipitate violence as resistance to the migrations will be intense and nasty.
There has been a rapid uptick of violence in the Middle East, between the Israelis and the Gaza as well as the Israelis and Syria in the Golan Heights. The negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians seem to be breaking down over a variety of issues. But perhaps the most dangerous development is the growing movement in the Israeli Knesset to exert control over the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. The Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, and is supposed to be under the protection of Jordan. If the Israelis try to exert sovereign control over the Mosque, the dispute will become much more significant than a regional conflict.
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