By THOMAS P. M. BARNETT, Scripps Howard News Service

The world heads for another war in the Persian Gulf that nobody wants but everybody seems to need. Looming behind the most crucial dynamics is the possible presidency of Barack Obama, suggesting that war may become inevitable due to the fear of peace. After eight years of Bush-Cheney, such is the state of our world.

The advanced Western world is getting old and the rising East grows gray around the temples. Meanwhile, the developing South is in the midst of processing huge "youth bulges" that should keep it restless for another couple of decades before slipping into middle age.