We’ve spent a lot of energy over the years covering the pipeline race between Russia and the West, as alternatives to Kremlin-controlled energy are desperately sought and usually thwarted by adept maneuvering from Moscow. Grigory Pasko has literally traveled the entire route of the Nord Stream pipeline, we’ve looked at South Stream, and had plenty of blog posts about the Caspian and Central Asia. Today we’re pleased to see that the Wall Street Journal is running an extensive and intelligent analysis of the Caspian/Central Asian situation, which even discusses the non-traditional bargaining tactics and incentives that Russia is bringing to the table (which we think is one of the primary reasons for their success). I’m in agreement with Steve LeVine’s comment on the article that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev have not only “out-foxed” the United States and Europe, but they have also worked much harder at it. However this begs the question: why isn’t the pipeline race being taken seriously by any Western government? Are they overextended with foreign policy issues like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and a dwindling global economy? The change in leadership? None of the excuses seem sufficient for this enormous oversight. Check out some good cuts of the WSJ piece below the break.