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Purna Lal Chakma

Aug 29, 2026, 12:00 PM

Could Bangladesh Become South Asia’s Next Ukraine?

Bangladesh is depicted inside a transparent shield associated with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, raising the central question: would the Makkah Pact provide real protection or only a political promise? (AI-assisted illustration created by the author for editorial purposes.)

The possibility of Bangladesh becoming South Asia’s next Ukraine may sound extreme, but two major security developments have made the question harder to dismiss. Dhaka is considering the Makkah Pact while preparing to buy Chinese J-10CE fighter jets. India...

Aparajita Acharya

Aug 26, 2026, 8:53 PM

The Identity Shift Reshaping the Gulf

For centuries, political analysis has repeatedly taken the identities of a particular moment and treated them as structural facts. But identities have astonishingly short political half-lives. Geopolitically identities have found life, succeeded , suffered from and failed- variably. Identities of...

Purna Lal Chakma

Aug 26, 2026, 12:17 PM

Why Bangladesh’s BNP May Have to Join the Makkah Pact to Survive

The BNP government faces a difficult choice over the Makkah Defence Pact, balancing domestic political pressure, India’s security concerns, Israel’s interest, and the long-standing militarization of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Created by the author for editorial purposes.

Bangladesh has been invited to join the Makkah Defence Pact formed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Dhaka has not accepted yet, but the BNP government says it is considering the invitation positively. For Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, this may...

Purna Lal Chakma

Aug 24, 2026, 2:24 PM

Israel-Turkey Tensions: Would Russia or America Back Erdoğan Against Israel?

Turkey stands at the center of competing strategic pressures involving Israel, Russia, NATO, Ukraine and the new Makkah defence framework. Illustration created by the author for editorial purposes.

For years, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has tried to keep Turkey close to competing powers at the same time. Turkey remains a NATO member, maintains important relations with Russia, supports Ukraine militarily, and is expanding its influence in Syria, where...

Purna Lal Chakma

Aug 22, 2026, 11:38 AM

Could an Israel-Turkey War Trigger NATO’s Article 5?

Illustration: Israel and Turkey face growing military tensions as questions emerge over NATO’s Article 5 and Turkey’s new defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Image created by the author for editorial purposes.

For years, a direct Israel-Turkey war seemed too dangerous to become real. The two countries could trade accusations, downgrade relations and compete for regional influence, but an actual military confrontation between Israel and a NATO member remained a worst-case...

Aug 22, 2026, 11:21 AM

Trump and MBS at The Scorpion’s Gate

Twenty years before the current Iran War, a former White House counterterrorism chief wrote a thriller that gave America’s Persian Gulf problem a name. Richard Clarke’s The Scorpion’s Gate (2005) is not, on its own terms, a work of...

Aug 21, 2026, 7:10 PM

The Mecca Agreement and Europe’s New Southern Front

https://x.com/ragipsoylu/status/2085674255736332439?s=20

Europe has spent the last four years almost entirely focused on its eastern frontier. Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought NATO back to its original purpose, increased defence expenditure across the continent and forced European governments to think seriously about...

Aug 20, 2026, 9:04 PM

The Mecca Pact: What Does It Mean for Israel’s Intelligence

On August 7, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, declaring that an armed attack against one member would be regarded as an attack against all three. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has compared its...

Aug 20, 2026, 9:24 AM

Why I’m Changing My Mind About Trump’s Naval Blockade of Iran

In June I wrote that the strategy behind the American naval blockade was to provoke Iran's implosion, and I doubted the instrument could deliver it. Six days ago I showed that no blockade in the past century has ever...

Aug 18, 2026, 3:04 AM

The Vanishing Democratic Alibi: India and the West’s New Politics of Power

Trump welcomes Mecca Pact. An AI Illustration.

On August 16, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he was “very happy” the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement had “finally” been signed, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP” and congratulating the “Great Leadership” of Saudi...

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