If we are tritely facing “world war 3”, then this should indicate the battle lines that are being drawn. All of this has occurred over the last week.

1. Putin plan to shut out US oil giants

President Vladimir Putin is set to keep US oil companies out of a lucrative gas field in the latest sign of the deteriorating relationship between Moscow and Washington.

The Russian leader is expected to favour Norwegian companies and reject bids by America’s Chevron and ConocoPhillips after failing to secure backing from the United States for his country’s attempt to join the World Trade Organisation.

The tit-for-tat snub will be a blow to US companies scrambling for access to Russia’s huge gas reserves at a time of high energy prices. It comes after Putin failed to resolve differences with US President George Bush over trade and human rights at the G8 conference in St Petersburg last week.

2. Russia defies U.S. with Venezuela arms deal

Russia said Thursday it had sold 24 aircraft and 53 helicopters to Venezuela, defying the United States, which has urged Moscow to halt arms sales to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Russia’s arms export chief, speaking as Chavez met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, said the aircraft deal was part of a long-term package of arms contracts with Venezuela that was worth more than $3 billion.

Chavez is a vocal critic of what he calls U.S. imperialism. Washington considers him a dangerous radical and had urged Russia to rethink the weapons sale. It bans its own producers from selling weapons to Venezuela.

3. Chavez invites Iranian investment

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged Iran to increase investment in his country’s oil and gas assets. Visiting Tehran as part of a foreign tour, Mr Chavez also pledged Venezuela would “stand by Iran at any time and under any condition”.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described Mr Chavez as a “brother and trench mate”.

Venezuela and Iran are close allies, both members of the Opec oil-producing cartel and fierce critics of the US.

This is perfect reasons why we should avoid “world war 3”, no matter how hard Newt Gingrich, Bill Krystol and others on the radical right beat their war drums. Our military is definitely in a weakened state right now, with thanks to Bush and his Iraq experiment. Military.com sums that up the best:

Up to two-thirds of the Army’s combat brigades are not ready for wartime missions, largely because they are hampered by equipment shortfalls, Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday, citing unclassified documents.

In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said that “nearly every non-deployed combat brigade in the active Army is reporting that they are not ready” for combat. The figures, he said, represent an unacceptable risk to the nation.

At a news conference, other leading Democrats said that those strategic reserve forces are critically short of personnel and equipment.

“They’re the units that could be called upon or would be called upon to go to war in North Korea, Iran, or any other country or region,” said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated Marine who has called for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

 So as we got these battle lines possibly being drawn, with Russia, Venezuela, Iran and the whole Middle East, North Korea and China standing on the other side, our chance of surviving is dwindling. This is the product of a lethally failed foreign policy of the Bush administration. This is how the Republicans, along with Bush have worked to weaken our nation in a very dangerous time.

Should we be afraid? Hell yeah – be very afraid. The rest of the world sees what is happening, why can’t America?