Another Friedman/Stratfor follower here. Thanks for mentioning he has a new book. Yes, they were both there. Zeihan ran the analysis dept. Agreed that future prediction is an iffy thing - major reason I started with Zeihan's 2014 book. He had to have written it in 2012-13, do I had a 10-ish year lookback period to see what he got wrong. Turns out it wasn't much. In that one (or the next?) he forecast that the RF, faced with demographic collapse was going to try to regain control of the 'geographic gates' to European Russia, probably starting with Ukraine. This was long before the Maidan Revolution (Ukraine's turn to the West). Color me impressed.

Also, he has an impressive level of snark, particularly as he makes his living by presenting these scenarios to button-down investor groups and military brass.