Has Yemen reshaped the Middle East geopolitical map? by Graham Fuller

Has Yemen reshaped the Middle East geopolitical map?

April 22, 2015 by Graham E. Fuller • Blog •
Has Yemen reshaped the Middle East geopolitical map?
21 April 2015
Graham E. Fuller -grahamefuller.com
Does anybody remember the old Cold War geopolitical concept of the “Northern Tier states?” They consisted of three countries—Turkey, Iran and Pakistan (sometimes Afghanistan) that lay along the southern border of the Soviet Union; they were perceived in the West as a potential bulwark against Soviet aggression southwards into the Middle East. Is it just possible that we are witnessing today the possible recrudescence of a “Northern Tier” bloc? But this time it would not be united against Russia at all. On the contrary these three states demonstrate warming geopolitical congeniality with many aspects of Russian, Chinese, and “Eurasian” geopolitical views.
The ongoing crisis in Yemen may have become the midwife to such a development. If so, it is Iran that seems to be pulling the pieces together of a new loose power coalition in the Middle East.http://grahamefuller.com/has-yemen-reshaped-the-middle-east-geopolitical-map/