27-06-2009, 05:51 PM
Magda Hassan Wrote:BERLIN
(Own report) - The German foreign intelligence service is predicting shifts in the global power constellation and is demanding "a geo-strategic debate in Germany." According to a classified Federal Intelligence Service (BND) study, the collapse of the western national economies, whose recuperation is unpredictable, could lead to a drastic acceleration of China's rise and the decline of West Germany's long-term primary ally, the United States.
Another real find, Maggie, with much to ponder. A few random observations to follow:
1. According to a Grauniad piece a couple of weeks ago, Britain has already begun cutting deals over African minerals with the Chinese: Is this what underpins the curious marriage of convenience in Zimbabwe?
2. The US has sought to make much of the decision by Turkmenistan to cut a deal with China, to the exclusion of Russia, on a big pipeline. The courtship of Russia by the West promises to be perhaps the bizarrest geopolitical soap of recent decades.
3. What value does Washington expect Moscow to place on any of its blandishments? It's credibility is zero.