Russia pokes America’s hemisphere

This story is a frightening development for the U.S. – while we’re bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq and wrestle with our economy melt-down, we don’t have the spare capacity to deal with Russia’s rise in influence. Russia knows it, so it’s pulling as many levers as it can in order to position itself favorably for when we extricate ourselves and face them. This time, they’re tightening their relationship with one of our biggest oil suppliers, Venezuela. It’s not the arms deals that are nerve-wracking – Venezuela is not a strategic threat to the U.S. in that regard – it’s the oil and gas deals. We should be nervous.

This development fits well (although not perfectly) with the geopolitical evolution of the BRIC Bloc, which allies itself with the New Caliphate in my novel. I’d hate to think that any more of what I wrote will actually come to pass. It’s pretty ugly.