The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

AS I looked on the news and saw the Russian ambassador to Turkey assassinated and the terrorist attack with a mere truck in Germany, I contemplated about the new geopolitical reality of the world, the Caribbean, especially The Bahamas.

It is very difficult to fight an enemy that’s fanatically committed. The Caribbean is historically and immensely connected to the United States and Europe. They are our number one trading partners. We study in both zones and we have a lot of family and friends that live in both zones. The derisking is one of the side effects of this global war on terrorism  on Caribbean countries, including  The Bahamas. Derisking have made doing business in all Caribbean countries more costly and inconvenient. I am certain there will be other detrimental side effects to this international war on terrorism. For instance travelling internationally will definitely become more cumbersome and international trade will become more onerous.

There is also a cold war 2.0. The take over of Crimea by Russia and the civil war in Syria that both US and Russia are involve in supports my assertion. The allegations that Russia interfered in the recent United States presidential election illustrates that this new cold war will be modern and different from the first Cold War.

Preliminary evidence suggests that new geopolitical strategies needs to be developed and implemented and that conventional diplomacy will be inadequate. The Bahamas must become more self sufficient in response to the volatile geopolitical global situation. We must not wait until this global instability gets worse. The Bahamas must find ways to mitigate the present and future challenges. The Bahamas will either rise or fall it depends on how strategic we act instead of just reacting.

BRIAN ELLIS

PLUMMER

Nassau,

December 20, 2016.