Tomorrow, Part 4: The West's thorny crown

THE HUNGRY BEAR
PART 3: No more Mr Nice Guy
By W Joseph Stroupe

(For Part 1, Promises that can't be kept, click here
For Part 2, Corporate gigantism, click here)

East and West are now irreversibly locked in a monumental struggle for control of the globe's coveted strategic resources - this is the revived Great Game and its players are rapidly approaching the moment of truth. The stakes for both sides are
colossal and both sides fully recognize that fact. However, neither side likes to admit explicitly the existence of such a struggle that will define which side achieves global ascendancy and which side faces the potential of an energy-based economic checkmate.

The United States prefers to strive for advantage in the Great Game while hiding behind the veil of the ostensibly noble policy of spreading " freedom" and " democracy" - yet it is active in such a policy primarily only in countries that are either rich in strategic resources or are strategically located as respects the export of such resources. By military invasion and occupation, by encirclement through proliferation of its military bases, by the spread of " colored" revolutions, by sponsoring oil and gas pipelines that circumvent Russia and its partners, and by various diplomatic drives, the West attempts to roll back Russian control over resources and to consolidate its own.

Russia and the East prefer to make advances in the Great Game while simultaneously and fervently denying any interest whatever in locking up the bulk of the globe's strategic resources and thereby winning the game - yet virtually every diplomatic and economic move on the part of Russia and the East is obviously targeted at and designed incrementally and insidiously to accomplish that very goal, and rapid progress is being made toward that very end.

Are onlookers supposed to conclude that Russia and the East are progressively and rapidly achieving dominance over the globe's resources purely by random chance, through no conscious effort or clever strategy on their part? How could that be the case, especially when the West is actively and fervently working against Russia and the East to try to prevent such an outcome, yet that very outcome is nearly completed?

In the Great Game the loser will forfeit virtually everything of value, or will be held backward on its heels in a position where there is no escape from the threat of such forced forfeiture. If Russia loses the game, then the West, sitting in de facto control of massive reserves of oil and gas around the globe, will be sufficiently able to control the global price and availability of oil to bring the price down to a point where Russia's economy will begin to falter, or worse.

Of course, a win by the West at this late date in the Great Game would take much more than a Hail Mary pass. [1] However, the West in general and the US in particular will never willingly forfeit the game, even though the odds are massively against it now. The game will be played out to its finish and the US will stop at nothing to pull out a win, even at the last moment if possible.

By additional military adventures and " colored" revolutions, threatening even Russian and Chinese territorial integrity and economic stability themselves, the West can fully be expected to strive to forestall its own forfeiture of the game as it increasingly sees the clock running out on its energy security fortunes. Considering the current occupant of the White House, no one should make the mistake of assuming further US military adventures are not likely, because as the clock runs out on the US, the likelihood of such adventures increases radically.

Russia and the East will thus be given no choice by the West but to resort to the full and potent use of their growing energy leverage. For reasons far beyond President Vladimir Putin's control, therefore, his promise to " play nice" with energy is entirely an empty one.

How is Russia already bringing its global leverage as an " energy superpower" to bear on the global markets and on political leaders to oblige the West to come around to its preferred terms, and what are the implications? Perhaps the analogy below will help explain.

Inside the two-minute warning
Folks, we're back. You're watching the Petroleum Bowl world championship game being played out between these two longtime rivals, East and West, right here at the grand old stadium at Mineral Field. This grand stadium was always the venue of choice for these two rivals until 1991 when the East's program virtually collapsed. This whole complex has deteriorated through disuse since then. But the East is back now, and how, and Mineral Field has recently been restored to a glory greater than ever.

The West was heavily favored coming into this game, but what a reversal we've seen today! To recap, during the first half the West got deep penetration into the East's territory with runs and pass plays up the gut and to the outside and was able to get into the n-zone several times. But late in the second half of the game the East has quickly capitalized on multiple fumbles by the West in a come-from-behind impending win like we've never seen before.

The East is getting deep penetration all the way down to the n-zone of the West, but not up the gut - those end-runs and trick passing plays to the outside have taken their toll on the West, and they're down by a touchdown late in the game. The West is virtually beating itself in this pivotal game. We're inside the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter of the game and the East is inside the 10-yard line with a first down, driving toward another touchdown.

The West has burned all its timeouts and can't stop the clock, and most of the West's best defensive players along with both its quarterbacks are out of the game with injuries. The East looks unstoppable. Even if the West gets the ball back before the clock runs out, it's very unlikely to be able to advance the ball down the field against the powerful, combined defense of the East. Make no mistake about it, though, this West team is going to fight down to the bitter end with everything they've got. They've been in a similar bind before and there's no " quit" in them. The East knows they've got their hands full in the closing minutes of this game.

And what do you think of the late comments coming in from the East's head coach, Putinov? That East team has endured slam after slam about its dirty play from the West's assistant head coach Mick Shaney, and now the offensive coordinator Pritchard Shugar has gotten into the act, saying the East should have been penalized several times on its last drive to the n-zone. But the penalties and personal fouls racked up by this West team aren't anything to be proud of, either. Head coach Putinov just smiled wryly and promised that his team would " try to be more courteous on the field", and that when it comes right down to it winning the game cup doesn't matter to the East.

Don't you believe it for one minute, folks! You don't get to this level of play and competition unless you train harder than anyone else, strategize harder, play harder and want victory more than you want anything else. Head coach Putinov is just having some fun at the expense of coaches Shaney and Shugar. And Putinov knows full well that as the clock runs down he's going to have to pull out the stops and give it all he's got in the last two minutes of the game to seal a victory. It has all come down to what happens in the next two minutes, folks. Stay glued to your screens because we're not going anywhere until one of these two teams achieves victory.

Note
1. In American football, a Hail Mary pass is a long, desperate forward pass of the ball when it is clear no other play will work; it is so called because chances of its success are low enough to suggest the need for divine intervention.

Tomorrow, Part 4: The West's thorny crown

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