There has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth regarding the Obama administration's ban on off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico since the BP oil spill.  Lawsuits have been filed, challenges won, but yet the ban remains in place.  It's gotten so bad that even Sen. Mary "Louisiana Purchase" Landrieu has involved herself by holding up the nomination of John Lew as the new head of the Office of Management and Budget (OM. 

Long lost in the debate over drilling in the Gulf is the 'forgotten oil fields" of the extreme north.  The Svalbard Ice Shelf which encompasses the Arctic Circle is a vast area full of natural resources, including billions upon billions of barrels of oil.  Currently, there is an international organization - the Arctic Council - made up of those counties whose northern borders touch or lay claim to part of the Arctic Circle.  Included in this council is Canada, Denmark/Greenland/Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Russia, and the United States.  Noticeably absent from the council is China.

Back in May, the Obama administration put a ban on all drilling by US interests in the Arctic Circle.  All in the name of environmentalism.  Enter the dragon...

I almost overlooked an article the other day from the TV Novosti regarding China wanting a piece of the Arctic Circle.  While the United States has balked at drilling more domestically and elsewhere, countries like Russia and China have expanded their drilling for oil from Africa to South America and now to the Arctic.  Meanwhile, our reliance on foreign oil goes unabated while the Progressives in DC and elsewhere talk about higher fuel standards and looking for "alternative energies" (except nuclear). 

China seems to be doing all it can to jump start its economy either through slashing capital gains taxes or through procuring new drilling sites.  The United States seems to be more interested in expanding government programs, government spending, and taxing more all the while stunting economic recovery. 

Somewhere down the line, our national leaders have grown either scared of or have ignored China's economic expansion.  China is updating their military while we are growing more concerned about making our military go green.

I know it is not politically correct in the elitist circles in Washington to do so, but we need some kind of Long Telegram similar to the one George Kennan penned long ago about the post-WWII Soviet Union.  Our policy makers need to be pro-active regarding China instead of being reactive.  Eventually, US hegemony will clash with Chinese hegemony in the economic spheres and possibly in diplomatic spheres.  This clash of the titans will not happen tomorrow, but it is something that will happen at some point in the future when our economy begins to recover.  Thinking real long term, our policy makers need to start planning for the day the Chinese economy fails in order to insulate the US from the damage that could result if the largest consumer in the world decides to stop buying.