Russia is playing games with Iran, but we were playing games with the Chechen rebels also. Granted, the Chechen's don’t and won’t get nukes.
My point is that Russia traditionally has been very sensitive about her borders. Russia is starting to act more like Russia, and less like the USSR. Which isn’t the best for the US in a way. Prior to the communist revolution, they played the “Great Game” with the best of them. And they are starting to again.
So we have to be careful.
When I see a defense bill of 1/2 trillion dollars I assume the DoD also sees some new emerging dangers. I never saw the US get involved in Chechnya besides us protesting. According to our intelligence, the Russian FSB (KGB) started this war with Chechnya on their own by staging bomb attacks on Russian apartment buildings. The job was very sloppy and even the lowliest intelligence officer could find the clues. This war did what Putin wanted it to do, help him rally the population and consolidate power.
Their is coordinated global struggle for control of ME oil with the West on one side and Russia/China/Islam on the other. The real problem will be funding our protection of our vital oil interests, with our enemies and greedy elite alike picking apart the economy. We are facing very similar problems that led to the fall of Rome as an empire, but it’s greatly accelerated in our time and our enemies know our strength lies in the West’s towering economies.
The best solution to preserving our way of life is to become energy independant in the next decade. If we do this as an Apollo style project we can begin curbing spending on the ME and the government can heavily subsidize the free market and minimize risks for investors. This would add windfall economic benefits after a decade and create many jobs in the economy in the process. Doing this would of course slow down terrorism and our enemies momentum they are building through petrodollars.
If we don’t do it (it’s unlikely unfortunately) then expect Russia/Islam/China to gain the majority control of oil resources and then we will be in real trouble. It will then take very little to push our economy into demise and we would be then unable to protect our oil interests or project any power overseas. It’s not a coincidence this Administration is kissing Saudi behind and selling them $20B worth of arms. With the ME nuclear equation growing more unstable by the day, it is only a matter of time before we see a regional ME war using nukes. When that occurs the price of oil and the West’s economic strength will evaporate.