I read the book only a year or two after it came out, so I don't remember much of the details other than the importance of fuel. However, I don't think there's

I read the book only a year or two after it came out, so I don't remember much of the details other than the importance of fuel. However, I don't think there's a way to create an interesting war simulation that is based on current geopolitical reality. Even without the US as a counterbalance, could today's Russia pose a threat to western (or eastern) Europe, or conquer and control oil production in a significant part of the Middle East? With the US involved, there isn't the prospect of achieving anything, even as part of a wild gamble. I think Daniel Drezner described the context pretty well here: https://www.google.com/search?q=russia+is+not+america's+geopolitical+equal+site:foreignpolicy.com https://www.google.com/search?q=russia+is+not+america's+geop...