The relationship between the majority Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya has long been a tinderbox.

But the biggest risks posed by unilateral recognition of Kosovo s independence are in the South Caucasus, a region that abuts the tinderbox of today s Middle East.

No one can create a stable political order for them with the Americans gone, meddlesome Arab neighbors and anxious Iranians can only lose by dooming Iraq to remain a tinderbox.

Unless collective action is taken now to transform cities like Nairobi into the drivers of economic development and sources of opportunity that they are supposed to be, they will become a tinderbox of perpetual inequality.

The Middle East is a tinderbox, with some key players on all sides waiting for every opportunity to destroy their enemies with bullets, bombs and missiles. One of the special vulnerabilities of Israel, and a repetitive cause of violence, is the holding of prisoners.