In a world governed by the West, and sustained by the developing nations (the political south) it is interesting to note that the Cold-War dynamic was rapidly replaced by a bi-polar system that relaxes its tendencies according to leanings - alliances as they manifest themselves.
The call to rally behind the 'superpowers', as they perceive themselves, against the total eradication of the threat of terror continues along the faded lines of Cold-War times. The only obvious difference is that the face of the enemy has changed. No longer is the enemy the 'red faction' as represented by the Communists, but it is now a faction of another kind - the Islamist Religious Extremist. This is a very dangerous enemy as we are constantly reminded, and one that should be stopped at all cost - even at the cost of innocent human lives.
This brings me to my point. Back in 1991 there was what the world termed 'The League of Dictators', which of course was the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) - the late father of the African Union (which some will say is the League of Inept Heads of State). In 1991, the world was still grappling with the demise of communism and the fall of the Berlin wall - too busy to notice a certain tendency that was becoming evident. Well this tendency seemed to be clear only to these 'dictators' who ran Africa like their own little piggy banks. These dictators, taking a break from looting their countries, recognised the increasing amounts of religious ideology that was pa**ing itself off as political agenda. And anyone who has been a student of history could have told you that where religion and politics converge - disaster cannot be averted. This notion was way too much for the civilised world to accept - and was pa**ed off as nothing more than a load of lunacy with the ability to further polarise the world. Fast forward a decade into the future and we have a 'historically significant' date of 09-11-2001. The so-called ramblings that came of Abuja 1991 seemed almost prophetic.
Lucky guess by the political south, or maybe forward thinking by bored dictators - you tell me.
