Aviation Week’s Defense Technology International has compiled a summary of all the current and probable conflicts of 2012, so I made this map*. The only conflict that is not in this map is the incoming Obama-Romney nuclear war.
The world doesn’t seem like a very nice place right now.
Middle East
The biggest conflict is clearly in Iran, where the tension is escalating by the day. Intercepted spy drones, nuclear researchers assassinated, bombings, nuclear developments — things are not good in this part of the world, as usual. In Lebanon and Gaza things continue to be the same, while people keep fighting their governments in Syria and Yemen.
Central and Southern Asia
Afganistan is the worst point in this part of the world, for obvious reasons. Other than the never-ending Taliban conflict there, there are the usual border problems between India and Pakistan and India and China, like usual, with insurgency in Nepal, Kashmir and Pakistan.
Eastern Europe
In Kosovo, the ethnic conflict is ramping up. Russia keeps the same attitude towards many of its neighbours, grumbling about borders.
Africa
On the North, change of regime in two huge countries. God only knows where that would end. Somalia keeps being the biggest clusterf**k of the region, however, followed by Uganda. And of course, Somalian pirates trying to hunt prey while half of the navies of the world try to hunt them down.
East Asia and Oceania
Four words: Korea. There has been a change of dictator on the North while the South keeps being as suspicious as always (and rightly so). In the Straits of Malacca, the piracy is rampant.
Americas
Lots of drugs and narco-terrorism in the American continent, from North to South. Things have calmed down between Venezuela and Colombia but the latter still has a bad terrorism problem.
Meanwhile, computer attacks will continue to grow worldwide.
In other words: LIFE AS USUAL. To me, it’s just comforting to check out a map to see all the conflicts going. [Aviation Week]
* They also have a map, but it’s horrible.