While America has been preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan, what new geo-political developments formation of alliances, etc.

当美国正忙于伊拉克问题,和阿富汗问题时，在地缘政治发展方面,如建立联盟，等等。

普林斯顿公开课 - 国际座谈会课程节选

And one of the best analogies you can think of is the oil rich nations of the world in post-World War Two, in the post-World War Two era, whether it's Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, the Emirates, or Venezuela, name--today Russia.

做个非常恰当的类比,你们可以把棉花想象成,二战后时期的石油,想想沙特阿拉伯,伊拉克,伊朗,阿联酋,委内瑞拉,和今天的俄罗斯吧

耶鲁公开课 - 美国内战与重建课程节选