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Originally Posted by marichiko
China's failure to secure a strong domestic supply of its own combined with its quasi-capitalist economic upsurge makes it public enemy number one as far as the US is concerned. ...
The above scenario was described to me by a retired Lt. Colonel who was a professor of Russian studies at the US Air Force Academy. He was half joking when he told it, but by the end of his narration, he got a serious look on his face and said, "Hell, I think they'll actually do it."
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To appreciate the larger picture as describes by marichiko, one should be looking at a map. Oil fields in the Chechnyan side of the Caspian Sea are now obtained by the west using the recently completed Caspian Sea pipeline that terminates on Turkey's Med coast. This leaves the regions between the Caspian Sea and China; wedged in between Russia on the north, China on the east, and Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran on the south: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kirgizstan. A race is ongoing for access.
Even though the region's oil tends to be rather bitter – requires significant additional refining - it is the region where thirsty manufacturing nations could collide if we all are not careful. As if it was not bad enough that powerful nations vie for control. The region is dominated by dictators of unsavory histories, and a ripe breeding ground for religious fundamentalist uprisings. Imagine Indiana Jones as an oilman - and even his American bosses are nothing but greedy.
It does not help Indiana when American reputation in Iraq makes life difficult for Americans everywhere else. You have not yet seen the fallout from Guantanamo and Abu Ghriad. You have seen all the phoney orange alerts created by torture. You have seen increasing insurgency that will only get worse. Now our poor hero, Indiana must go to other places where these American traditions (including torture) are widely rumored.