First, the I posted the article because I think it's ironic that the US, on behalf of multinational corporations, invaded Iraq and not finds itself bogged down, unable to be effective in much of the world.

The modification to your post I'd suggest is that the US is an agent of multinational corporations, whereas the large corporations in Russia and China tend to be agents of the state.

Russia has formed business relationships with Italy, Israel and India, for instance, which tend to promote positive relations and more trade between the countries. Said trade is usually in direct competition with the US-British multinationals.

And expending wealth and national energy in Iraq has allowed Russia and China to gain a head start in developing Africa.

The part about Chinese doing good deeds and then going for trade was interesting, too. American foreign aid seems to focus on the more immediate gain for corporations rather than good will first.

The post wasn't intended to point out a problem as much as point out the irony of the situation in which the US finds itself.

Arf