Could the US ignore a country that in roughly ten years will become the world’s second-largest oil exporter, generating more than $200 billion annually in revenue, while increasingly being dominated by an authoritarian Shia regime that is close to Iran? Would it withdraw in the face of the consequent strategic threat to its three allies – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel – in the region?
在未来十年中，伊拉克可能将成为世界第二大石油出口国，每年产生2000多亿美元收入，同时又在日益被亲伊朗的什叶派独裁政权主导。这样一个国家容得美国忽视吗？美国会放任其三大地区盟友——沙特、土耳其和以色列面临战略威胁从该地区撤退吗？