> less radical type that exists in Iran already. Add Iraq, Libya, Syria, and
> Japan and Europe are up for ransom. (Economically, if the cost of the
> circulating part of constant capital goes up, this hits the rate of profit
> hard, something neither Japan nor Europe can take at the present time,
> already having falling profits.)
Hardly. Japan and the EU consume far less energy per capita than the US -- about half as much, on average -- and are moving quickly towards windpower, solar and hydrogen cell tech. EU profit rates aren't at US levels, but they've been pretty respectable nonetheless; Japanese rates have improved since the trough of 1998.
> risk in oil supplies. The fact that Koizumi has volunteered to host the UN
> conference to hammer out a new Afghan state is another. The fact Schroder is
> using this to expand Germany's use of the military option in its foreign
> affairs policies is another.
There's no such thing anymore as German foreign policy; there's only EU policy. Japan and the EU are taking the sensible attitude that they don't want WWW III -- it'd be bad for business, and Nokia and Sony want to sell the planet cellphones and Playstations, not missiles and lead-lined coffins. From their perspective, the US and its habit of pissing off big chunks of the planet is becoming a serious liability.
-- Dennis