With this in mind, it is retooling its infrastructure and
investing in new pipelines and ports.
The United States is aggressively courted by Russian officials and
"oiligarchs" - the energy tycoons. With the Gulf states cast in the
role of anti-American Islamic militants, Russia emerges as a sane and
safe - i.e., rationally driven by self-interest - alternative supplier
and a useful counterweight to an increasingly assertive and federated
Europe.
Russia's affinity with the United States runs deeper that the
confluence of commercial interests.
Russian capitalism is far more "Anglo-Saxon" than Old Europe's. The
Federation has an educated but cheap and abundant labor force, a patchy
welfare state, exportable natural endowments, a low tax burden and a
pressing need for unhindered inflows of foreign investment.
Russia's only hope of steady economic growth is the expansion of its
energy behemoths abroad. Last year it has become a net foreign direct
investor. It has a vested interest in globalization and world order
which coincide with America's. China, for instance, is as much Russia's
potential adversary as it is the United State's.
Russia welcomed the demise of the Taliban and is content with regime
changes in Iraq and North Korea - all American exploits.
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