Essential Geography

Ignorance is not bliss

Get a globe, use the CIA’s World Factbook. Start to relearn geography. You may ask why, but your fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers all learned the hard way when they and their kids had to go overseas to fight wars…. wars that came about because “over there” wasn’t initially seen as a threat to them at home. Ignorance is no excuse for your later complaints when leaders and politicians make bad geo-political decisions. Geographical knowledge gives immediate perspective into problems and consequences, allows you the only intelligent evaluation of participation – before it is too late.

Your participation? Yes, you participate when you vote, when you chose to support politicians, and when you affirm fealty to an American ideal or leader – however you define your patriotism.

Perspective is the basis of any evaluation. Get a globe and check online and check your perspective, your “I am damn sure I know about Iran” opinion. Did you know that Iran is two and a half times larger than Texas with a three times larger population? Iran has a population roughly a quarter of the USA, true, but that’s 93,000,000 people. Iran’s population compared to Germany’s population of 70,000,000 in 1939 should make you – and politicians – pause to think of a population’s capability.

Oh, and Afghanistan? About the size of Texas, but with 45,000,000 people, 15,000,000 more than Texas. Vietnam’s size was half the size of Texas and that didn’t end well, especially because the population of Vietnam was, like Iran today, over 90,000,000.

At play, in this moment are the following countries that we, as Americans, may soon be sending family and friends into conflict – “over there.” Iran, that’s obvious. Iran links to Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan (a nuclear power) to the southeast. To the west-north-west of Iran fall Iraq, Syria, Jordan and, of course, Israel. Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman lie to the west-south-west. In terms of size (area) we’re talking twice the size of the US. And a much larger population.

And geography – looking at a map, a globe – will point out obvious choke points like the Straits of Hormuz, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea. Heck, just look at a maritime chart of the region.

In the case of geo-politicians, most of whom have had insufficient geography study, whatever they want to plan, they will come to learn – sooner or later -- that there will be no surgical strike, no quick military overwhelming advantage in that region. Recent history in Vietnam and Afghanistan should teach us that. Basic geography of the regions is irrefutable proof that wishing we could militarily overwhelm – no matter the reasons -- does not make it likely we will.