There are several potential candidates that can some day, alone or in combination with one another, pose such a challenge to the US. Among them are a re-invigorated and economically strong Russia with its large land mass and wealth in natural resources, or a rapidly developing China with its huge population, and the ever-expanding European Union (still a US ally today) with a population base and economic strength rivaling that of the United States.

Although the US is likely to remain the strongest military power in the world for a long time to come, and can attempt to impose its will on the smaller nations by force, America nevertheless is a very vulnerable country. This is due to its dependence on foreign energy resources, which, were they to be cut off or otherwise restricted, would gravely undermine America’s economic strength. The simple fact of replacing the Dollar as the world’s trading currency for oil, and replacing it with the Euro – something that Iraq did under Saddam Hussein – would have grave consequences for the entire American economy.

Besides world domination…oil dependency is one of the reasons why the US lists so many parts of the world as being "in the strategic interest of the USA" and why it continuously gets involved in foreign adventures, involving the CIA and the US military. Wherever there is oil, you will find America. And so long as oil flows via the US corporations to this most energy hungry nation in the world, all goes according to plan.

But unfortunately for America, not all nations are so cooperative. Leaving aside the reasons for the September 11 attacks on the US, and why they were allowed to happen, these attacks were definitely used as the trigger to start the implementation of the PNAC program through the so-called War on Terror in Afghanistan (where an oil pipeline to the West is supposed to be built) followed by the war in Iraq where Saddam Hussein switched oil trading currency to the Euro, a step that is being considered by the other OPEC nations as well.

But the America’s need for oil does not stop in Afghanistan, Iraq or the Middle East. Other countries with oil resources outside of the Middle East are, for instance Nigeria, Sudan, Venezuela, and the region around the Caspian Sea in the southern parts in what used to be the Soviet Union. Interestingly, all of these regions are in a state of turmoil and all have a growing foreign, mainly American, presence.

Nigeria rightly ought to be one of the richest countries in the world, but the majority of its people live in utter poverty and despair. As written on Oneworld.net:⁽¹⁾

"There is a symbiotic relationship between the military dictatorship and the multinational companies that grease the palms of those who rule…And further on: "They are assassins in foreign lands. They drill for oil and kill in Nigeria."

As for the country of Sudan, recent civil strife has been described buy US Secretary of State Colin Powell as "genocide". Description not accepted by other countries. As reported by the Afro News⁽²⁾ September 10, 2004, the UN Darfur vote turns into a scramble for Sudan’s oil. "As the UN Security Council is debating a US draft resolution on the Sudan crisis, based on colliding views whether genocide is or not happening in Darfur, the issue of Sudan’s oil is becoming a key factor. If an oil embargo is approved, China and India would lose their influence over Sudan’s vast oil reserves and a Khartoum regime change would open up all these resources to the West. The USA is in favour of sanctions, China is against."

Colin Powell’s attempts at the UN are America’s two-edged sword. Clearly, the US is attempting here to exploit the Sudan crisis to its own advantage, while at the same time undermining both India and China, the latter being one of the potential future challengers to US hegemony.

Venezuela, a substantial supplier of oil to the US, has been under American pressure since the election of President Hugo Chavez, a reformer and a friend of President Fidel Castro. Covert actions by the CIA to overthrow Chavez have failed and Chavez’ legitimacy as president has just recently been confirmed in a national referendum. But that’s not a sufficient reason for the US to stop interfering in Venezuela’s affairs. Now, the US government seeks to punish Venezuela through economic sanctions and the withholding of foreign loans. As Los Blough writes on Axis of Logic:⁽³⁾

"President Bush last month ordered a partial cut in the US assistance to Venezuela, because of its alleged role in the international trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation.

There are no words to contain the sheer arrogance and stunning hypocrisy of this rationale on the part of a country that winks and looks the other way while funding the very existence of a country in which such activity flourishes unchecked. One of the biggest centers for trafficking women in the world is Israel. On August 18, 2004, US Fox News reported and called Israel a "Human Trafficking Haven".

But perhaps the greatest turmoil exists now around the Caucasus of former USSR, a region where independence struggle in Chechnya is being exploited to weaken Russia’s influence in its southern territories, while at the same time furthering the US interests. An article published on September 9 in the Asia Times⁽⁴⁾ sums it up as follows:

"The interest of the US in the Caucasus is the control of its oil supplies from the Caspian Sea, which involves securing complying regimes in Southern Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, where the oil is extracted, and Georgia, through which the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline will pass. As a consequence of this dominant interest, the US is also committed to thwarting any attempt by Russia to expand its influence in the Caucasus. From the American viewpoint, Russian failure in Chechnya is welcome, as long as it does not get to the point that Chechnya becomes a base for Islamic Revolution worldwide."

America, while itself is engaged in the so-called War on Terror, takes quite a different position when it comes to the terrorist actions in the Chechnya region. It provides sanctuary to terrorist leaders like Ilyas Akhmadov and has suggested that Russia negotiate with these terrorists, something that the US itself steadfastly refuses to do so. They also suggested the involvement of the United Nations, yet another step to extend US influence and undermine Russian authority in their own country.

One can add to this the on-going conflict in neighboring Georgia, a former Soviet Republic, the birthplace of Stalin, which is now already controlled by the US, and the most recent announcement by Azerbaijan – a substantial producer of oil, that serves as a corridor to Western access to the energy-rich Caspian Sea basin and Central Asia – that it has the right to "free its occupied territories" (the Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh), which is an old dispute - apparently in someone’s interest - is about to be re-ignited.

Why this Azerbaijan move at this time, and who is behind this? Read the statement by the Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense, as reported on September 9^th in Azertag.com:⁽⁵⁾

"Having mentioned the relations between Azerbaijan and the USA, Minister of Defense noted, that our country relies upon the United States of America as a strategic ally, and continues cooperation with them in all fields, including its military sphere. The Minister has expressed concern of our people in connection with the conflicts proceeding in this region, including the Armenia-Azerbaijan, that still have not found its settlement". In reply, the Deputy Commander of the US European Command, Charles Wald, expressing the US attitude to development of military links with Azerbaijan, had noted: "that the US attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan in the military area, and he said that this cooperation will be extended."

All of the foregoing indicates that the United States’ actual pursuit of the dual objectives of firstly ensuring control of all important areas of the world, where energy resources are found, and, secondly, to weaken and undermine potential challengers to US hegemony by exploiting (or fomenting) regional conflicts.

For many countries it must be a curse to have oil resources on their territory. Since Russia is the largest country in the word, and has a great wealth of natural resources, especially in Siberia and the Far East, including huge amounts of oil and natural gas, and since Russia in the future is also one of the potential challengers to US hegemony, it seems unlikely that the Caucasus region will be the last area within Russia where conflicts will arise, no doubt with compliments of the USA and the covert assistance of the CIA. Stay tuned!

(1) A CorpWatch Radio Interview with Nigerian Human Rights Activist Oronto Douglas. http://www.oneworld.net/exterenal

(2) http://www.afrol.com/articles/13921

(3) http://www.exisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_11675.shtml

(4) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/F109Ag03.html

(5) http://www.azertag.com/en/index.shtml