Region should beware zombie's apocalypse now

As a relic of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should long ago have been laid to rest. Yet despite the more temperate times that followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it was kept animated by ideological summoners on both sides of the Atlantic who claimed that it still had a role to play.

Thus in the guise of a peacemaker, it was sent to meddle in various regional and international affairs. In recent years, with the incantation of the noble trinity — "human rights, democracy and peace" — ringing in its ears, it has compounded the suffering in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and former Yugoslavia.

NATO's relentless stretching of its legs eastward has also been the reason for the ongoing Ukraine conflict as it totally ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, pushing it into a corner.