( Not that I disagree, that we shouldn’t get involved with boots on the ground,

( Not that I disagree, that we shouldn’t get involved with boots on the ground, but the choice here isn’t binary)

AMERICAN ECONOMY (a High Spatial Consumption Society)

1 – economy funded by financing of homes.

2 – cheap oil necessary for commerce and trade in large territory requiring cars trucks, heat, electricity over large areas.

3 – cheap oil possible by preserving a meritocratic market for oil.

4 – a meritocratic market for oil preserved by an extensive military empire.

5 – a vast military empire paid for by use of the dollar as a reserve currency.

EUROPE

Europe not only does not pay for her own strategic defense, but by issuing the Euro, buying oil in euros, and circumventing the need for dollars to pay for oil, europeans free-ride non only on the personal and social costs of defense, but on the discounted prices for oil that they experience at no cost to themselves.

GEOSTRATEGY

Russian Sphere;

Russia (140), Belarus(10), Kazhakstan(17)

The choice is between

1 – Iran(77)+Syria(23)+Iraq(33)+Russia(140), 265M?

2 – ISIS+Al Queda+Iran = ~100?,

3 – Turkey(75)+ whomever survives the above

and on the opposite side:

4 – The Gulf States + Saudis + Israel+Egypt+the rest of north africa.

OBJECTIVE

What looks increasingly possible is Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, allied with Pakistan. With Iran as the core state like ‘Germany’ planned for europe, russia for the slavic lands.

if that occurs the orbit will include Azerbaijan(9.5) and Turkmenistan(5.2), and while russia will fight for the oil fields, she will not be able to defend herself, and will lose Kazakhstan from Russia’s influence.

At which point we will lose Russia.

And iran will control the world’s oil supply, issue its own currency, demand it as the world’s oil currency, and then the word’s reserve currency, making the islamic civilizations exploit the developed civilizations.

China(1.4b) takes north asia (siberia) back.

Leaving the west and china and islam as the only surviving civilizations.