China Russia & Europe in order to grow or boom economically need two natural items - Water and Oil. Water to irrigate & grow food, Oil as the lifeblood of industry.

Water is not a problem for these countries (China gets too much in short bursts).

Oil: US has just engineered a stranglehold on 'Stans' oil (Oil rich region is the nth Stans, piping the oil thru Afghani-Stan avoids it having to pass into Russian controlled areas. US has a stranglehold on oil from the 'Americas' (ie Venezuela, etc:). US is withing weeks of securing a stranglehold on M.E. oil.

So in terms of superpower supremacy, any other budding superpower will really have to wrest control of a major source of oil, from the US. If super powers were to go to war, the one controlling the flow of oil has the best chance to choke of the industry & military of the challenger.

Economic WW2 (with US as incumbent & Europe led by France as challenger) looks like a hands down open mezzaire win to US.

As for China, as long as Taiwan is not integrated & Nth & Sth Korea split & Japan remains unmilitarized, US has many cards up her sleeve to use to destabilize China should that ever become neccesary. Also for China's boom to continue for any time, she *must* consume growing amounts of oil & like US does not have the needed reserves withing her own borders. With US having got control of the vast majority of oil, US can effectively control China's destinty to some significant degree (Hey China, you can grow but on our terms & only as long as you never try to usurp our world leadership).

As said once before, just watch National Geographic channel to see how we animals (ie Dog packs for QAD comparison), establish leadership and maintain it <g>.


Cheers Doug Marker