[Cronos]

Exactly, and we will still appease them and we're going to the largest democracy India and fledgling democracy Russia into alliances with china to keep it at bay -- it's a no hoper but they may have no choice. On the other hand if we get a bit more forceful and support the Russians and Indians in containing China we could have an upper hand.

[taiwansemi]

If you don't like my use of the word, "messy," to describe today's Third World republics, how about "fledgling." And it isn't just Russia's democracy which is a fledgling banana republic but every other Third World democracy on earth you can name.