U.S. Weakness and Russia's Window of Opportunity

U.S. military bandwidth — and the domestic political bandwidth of the Bush administration — is stretched to the point where Washington cannot respond to another major crisis in the world. This creates an immense opportunity for other global powers (especially Russia) to push their own agendas.

Key Analysis
Geopolitical Weekly Free
Graphic for Geopolitical Intelligence Report
Russia's Window of Opportunity
August 21, 2007 1854 GMT
The United States has entered a place where it has almost no room to maneuver. President George W. Bush is becoming a lame duck in the fullest sense of the term. This opens a window of opportunity for second-tier powers that would not be prepared to challenge the United States while its forces had flexibility. One power in particular has begun to take advantage of this opportunity -- Russia. [more]
U.S. Marines arrive in Kandahar, Afghanistan
United States: Troop Availability and the 'Window of Opportunity'
August 18, 2008 2053 GMT
Stratfor examines the current status of the U.S. military's operational capacity. [more]
Geopolitical Weekly Free
Graphic for Geopolitical Intelligence Report
The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power
August 12, 2008 1508 GMT
The last week saw the Russian military move against Russia's small southern neighbor Georgia. [more]
Fidel Castro and Vladimir Putin in 2000
Cuba: The Prospects for a Russian Revival
July 24, 2008 1932 GMT
Rumors of Russian bombers deploying to Cuba suggest Havana is weighing its options. [more]
Geopolitical Weekly Free
Graphic for Geopolitical Intelligence Report
Russia and Rotating the U.S. Focus
April 1, 2008 1659 GMT
Russia has taken advantage of the U.S. preoccupation with the struggle against global jihadism to attempt to re-establish its sphere of influence in the former Soviet Union. [more]
Annual FSU Map - Real One
Annual Forecast 2008: Beyond the Jihadist War -- Former Soviet Union
January 8, 2008 1800 GMT
Russia enters 2008 in the strongest geopolitical position it has known since the Cold War's end. This is one section of the Annual Forecast 2008. [more]
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