Sharing its eastern border with Iran, its northern border with Turkey, its western border with Syria and Jordan, and its southern border with Saudi Arabia, Iraq is arguably the single most geopolitically important country to the U.S., China, and Russia in the entire Middle East. In turn, the lawless western desert province of Anbar is perhaps the most geopolitically vital area in Iraq, and the most strategically important asset in Anbar is the huge Akkas gas field. With the new Iraqi Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, having taken office on 16 May and…