The common denominator is that these benefits could empower Pakistan to truly become a regional power to be reckoned with if it successfully expands its influence in Central and West Asia.
Andrew, excuse me for this almost off-topic, but I am learning that China is, by far, the world's largest holder of frozen Iranian assets. Would Escobar and his bunch of buffoons have lied to us? Would China, far from helping Iran, servilely allow itself to steal $50 billion of Iranian assets to please the USA?
I don't know how many Iranian assets China holds, but I don't believe that they'd transfer them to the US under any circumstances. It would be the irreversible death of China's soft power if it did so.
They kept them frozen on paper to please the USA. Especially as there were UNSC sanctions. Of course, there was lots of black market trade, particularly in gold (which in not visible with SWIFT). With Russia, the case is somewhat different, as there are no UNSC sanctions.
*If* Pakistan and the Taliban reach a U.S.-mediated deal, then Biden's handover of U.S. equipment to Kabul will assume new meaning. Afghanistan will become a hub for TRIPP connectivity, including the transfer of Pakistani-backed Islamist proxies northward into Central Asia.
The Taliban already have inherited U.S. "aid" from 2021, so Trump 2.0 will be 100% compatible with this. Kabul has enough NATO hardware that can mesh with Pakistani (and Turkish) logistics, plus rare earth minerals. And once Russia is done in, Xinjiang is next. India will be neutralized by Venezuelan oil.
After the "war on terror", the U.S., like its British forebear, reverts to its longstanding pro-Islamist policy. It is hard to speak of "Islamophobia" when the Cold War-era petrodollar endures, along with attendant security ties between the U.S. and Muslim-majority states.
You may well be right, except for the Bagram airbase. There is zero appetite in the US for sending any troops back to Afghanistan. You are in Russia, therefore I don't have to explain why.
If Iran behaves (from the point of view of USA), there is no reason to invest in Pakistan. Iran would be a better case. And if Iran doesn't, there isn't a reason to invest in Pakistan either.
Andrew, excuse me for this almost off-topic, but I am learning that China is, by far, the world's largest holder of frozen Iranian assets. Would Escobar and his bunch of buffoons have lied to us? Would China, far from helping Iran, servilely allow itself to steal $50 billion of Iranian assets to please the USA?
I don't know how many Iranian assets China holds, but I don't believe that they'd transfer them to the US under any circumstances. It would be the irreversible death of China's soft power if it did so.
They kept them frozen on paper to please the USA. Especially as there were UNSC sanctions. Of course, there was lots of black market trade, particularly in gold (which in not visible with SWIFT). With Russia, the case is somewhat different, as there are no UNSC sanctions.
I disagree. It was the USA that unilaterally violated the Iran-Obama agreement, so there were no UN sanctions.
Once more, China has been a coward.
*If* Pakistan and the Taliban reach a U.S.-mediated deal, then Biden's handover of U.S. equipment to Kabul will assume new meaning. Afghanistan will become a hub for TRIPP connectivity, including the transfer of Pakistani-backed Islamist proxies northward into Central Asia.
The Taliban already have inherited U.S. "aid" from 2021, so Trump 2.0 will be 100% compatible with this. Kabul has enough NATO hardware that can mesh with Pakistani (and Turkish) logistics, plus rare earth minerals. And once Russia is done in, Xinjiang is next. India will be neutralized by Venezuelan oil.
After the "war on terror", the U.S., like its British forebear, reverts to its longstanding pro-Islamist policy. It is hard to speak of "Islamophobia" when the Cold War-era petrodollar endures, along with attendant security ties between the U.S. and Muslim-majority states.
Yet everyone talks about Zionism...
You may well be right, except for the Bagram airbase. There is zero appetite in the US for sending any troops back to Afghanistan. You are in Russia, therefore I don't have to explain why.
If Iran behaves (from the point of view of USA), there is no reason to invest in Pakistan. Iran would be a better case. And if Iran doesn't, there isn't a reason to invest in Pakistan either.