Thanks for the link, souperman2, really a great article.

A couple of things I don't understand. Looking at the following maps:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__e2VLp6gwyk/SL1wN3MEX5I/AAAAAAAAAqU/KOS60yuYTS...

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/asia_pol00.jpg

Turkmenistan is located east of the Caspian Sea.

First, how is the gas to be transported to the intake of the Nabucco pipeline without crossing Russian or Iranian territory? Are they planning a sub-sea pipeline to cross the Caspian Sea?

Second, if you look at the two existing trunks that connect the intake of the Nabucco pipeline at Erzurum to the Caspian Sea, one crosses Iran and the other crosses Georgia. Since Russia made it very clear that it considers Georgia to be within its sphere of influence, doesn't this also present a problem?

I also found another very telling tidbit of information in the article:

But Russia also has factors of advantage. It has a surplus of hard cash at a time when the Western banking system is collapsing... A Russian business daily reported on Tuesday that Putin is forthwith providing $9 billion to Russia's four largest oil and gas companies to "refinance" their foreign debt in the context of the meltdown of the Western banking system.

The government had earlier announced $5.5 billion in tax breaks for the Russian energy companies. The four Russian oil majors had addressed a letter to Putin last month asking for a total of $80 billion to pay off their foreign debts and finance strategic projects. Putin responded on Friday by saying the government would disburse up to $50 billion.

So while Putin is busy bailing out oil companies, the United States is busy bailing out the finance industry. And while this may go a long way in keeping up the price of luxury condos in Manhattan, it does nothing to help our domestic energy production.

Kevin Phillips claims this is not accidental:

Finance became the chose sector of the U.S. economy--the one that would be protected and promoted because it was too important to fail. Manufacturing would receive no such help, however excited members of Congress might get from time to time.

Kevin Phillips, Bad Money