Buck Sexton Breaks Down Mackinder's 'Geographical Pivot of History' and How It Relates to the World Today

TheBlaze's national security advisor Buck Sexton appeared on The Glenn Beck Program Wednesday to weigh in on the violence that exploded Egypt today -- officials now put the death toll in Egypt at nearly 300 people -- before discussing an influential theory from the early 1900's and how it applies to the region today.

"This is, honestly, a day of infamy for the new Egyptian interim government," Sexton said.  "This is martial law, which they're not calling it,  following a coup, which they're not calling it."

"This is just what happens when you have a crisis of legitimacy," he added.  "Which side do we pick?  The military? They're shooting unarmed civilians."

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi clash with security forces near the largest sit-in by supporters of Morsi in the eastern Nasr City district of Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013. (Photo: AP)

Both Sexton and Beck agreed that the latest developments will inflame Muslim Brotherhood supporters, before Beck asked Sexton to break down why the issue is so important to international affairs.

Sexton pointed to an esoteric work by Halford Mackinder called "The Geographical Pivot of History," saying: "[Mackinder] was really the father of modern geo-political strategy.  And what you have here is the map that is based upon his 'Geographical Pivot of History' paper that he published in 1904.  What this essentially says is for a country to rule the world -- for it to be the preeminent power of the world -- it has to control this area."

See the map below:

(Photo: TheBlaze TV)

"Anybody who controls this controls resources that have dramatic impact on the geo-stratetic balance of the world," he continued to explain.  "This, by the way, also gives us a sense of why the U.S. has bases surrounding the area."

He added: "This is essentially where all the world powers meet -- and it's determined by geography, not even necessarily ideology."

Sexton explained that for a great power, you need great resources.  When Mackinder came up with the theory, coal, timber, and iron ore were the resources that powered the world.

"However, now with the fossil fuel economy, you bring the Middle East into the equation, it dramatically changes the entire thing," he said.  "You've talked about World War III...If it's going to happen it will be triggered in this area because that's the only place where these world powers collide."

Watch the entire segment, below:

Complimentary Clip from TheBlaze TV

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