Again,  Mr. Le Carre proves himself astute, sentient, and right on target.  Thank you, Peter, for posting a message that I'm sure I would have missed, from someone who is not only one of the world's greatest and most underappreciated novelists, but also one of the canniest and most succinct readers of international policy and realpolitik alive. 

If we're to have a war for oil dominance, let's call it that and drop the rest of the rhetoric.  But let's not forget that there are alternatives. And let's not forget who is directly profiting, and who is likely to be murdered for those profits.

db