If that is indeed the case, it will mark a major reprieve for Agarwal whose expansionist ambitions have been facing regulatory hurdles of late in his homeland.

FORBES: Billionaire Anil Agarwal inches closer to snatching Cairn India

Second, in the event the Soviet Union does not reorder its traditional priorities, as Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney has predicted, and the West is obliged to contend once more with the full panoply of expansionist Soviet ambitions, the United States and its allies will be far better able to do so if they have kept their guard up in the meantime.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: US-Soviet Relations