Sorry about the post above, and not sure how I misplaced it, but I now posted it under the correct thread "UN Legion Force".

As for Mr Barnett's article, it is interesting, though a bit tough to follow. Africa, at least parts of Africa offer sanctuary to the AQN and other security concerns, but unfortunately the security and economic problems (clearly related) will require a substantial investment of time and resources to address, resources that the U.S. doesn't have right now. I have read that China's economy is nearing the capacity of its current bubble and will soon be reeling (speculation, but it seems to be well founded), so depending on China as a partner to help manage security problems in Africa is probably a bridge too far. Furthermore, now that State Ideologies (except for our neo-cons) are pretty much dead (communism, fascism, etc.) the next wars may very well be over natural resources, or simply economic survival. A blast back to the past.