Wikistrat's chief analyst quoted in Reuters piece on great-power rivalries in the Mideast
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 10:06AM 
Here's the intro and my section:
Global "great power politics" returns to Mideast
LONDON |
(Reuters) - With Russia sending warships to discourage foreign intervention in Syria, and China drawn more deeply into Iran's confrontation with the West, "great power" politics is swiftly returning to the Middle East . . .
Chinese officials might be willing to use sanctions to negotiate better oil prices from Iran, but there seems relatively little prospect that they will stop buying even if Tehran's rival Saudi Arabia makes up the difference in output.
"Each time the West tightens the leash, Beijing quietly avails itself of the slack," says Thomas Barnett, a former strategist for the U.S. Navy and now chief analyst at political risk consultancy Wikistrat. "The more explicitly Washington bases its global strategic military posture on the perceived Chinese threat, the more Beijing will welcome - and even overtly encourage - these diversions" . . .
Read the entire article at Reuters.
China, Iran, Middle East, Russia, Turkey, US | in Tom in the media, Wikistrat | Email Article | Permalink | Print Article 
Reader Comments (1)
Welcome to the new World! The US is no longer going to have to deal with only yes men (Britain, Canada, Australia etc) and outright baddies (Russia, Iran etc) but a large number of assertive new powers that fall into neither category.
I'm glad India was mentioned, if India could live with a nuclear Pakistan and if America wasn't too concerned about a nuclear Pakistan, then why should India be unnecessarily bothered with a nuclear Iran? India is happier with a nuclear Iran because it puts more pressure on Pakistan to behave.
The same rivalries that are being played out in the Middle East are going to be replicated in Africa. It may surprise you, but there is a lot of common ground between India and China in Africa. Do not expect the Brazilians or the Turks to automatically side with America simply because America is a "democracy".