AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster [Note: This essay appeared today at Asia Times. I have removed it from the paywall and reposted it here because the issue is so important. Christopher Clark entitled his groundbreaking account of the origins of World War I The Sleepwalkers. The West is now sleepwalking into a confrontation with Russia and China that will not end well]. by Spengler The Russian pessimist says things are so bad they can’t possibly get worse; the Russian optimist says, “Don’t worry, they will!” If Western leaders think that Russia and China are aggressive now, the Russian-Chinese alliance now emerging will be a nastier combination than most Western observers can imagine.