US intelligence agencies believe the next 20 years will be the twilight of America's global dominance, the Times of London reports. A report from the National Intelligence Council paints a bleak future of an increasingly unstable world in which new powers and alliances emerge as competition for dwindling resources heats up—along with the planet.
India, Russia and a unified Korea are expected to gain influence as US and European power ebbs and wealth shifts, the report predicts. China will have more impact on the world than any other country in the next 20 years as it continues to build its economy and military. Organized crime networks and terrorist groups are expected to grow in power and may gain nuclear weapons—although the report predicts al-Qaeda's support will collapse.
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