08-22-2021, 11:12 PM
Montana,
On the rare earth point I do agree with you. It remains to be seen but it does look like China is maneuvering to take advantage of their lithium deposits. I doubt China's experience will be any better than any other empire that has sought to subjugate that lot. For sure, they will crank up the opium production again, because they are not exporting anything else. In the meantime they have to feed their people and keep control.
As for Afghanistan being a safe haven, that mission was sorted two decades ago, and there are plenty of other havens around the world that the US finds more difficult to deal with. Iran recently flew a drone into a UK registered ship in the Gulf, and the 9/11 attackers were all Saudi's. Pakistan has been harboring terrorists in the tribal lands for years. Plenty of other places to launch an attack from. And like you say, a lot of western countries have let in a lot of questionable asylum seekers in recent years.
The chaos of a barely planned exit should not be conflated with the strategic value of that moonscape, or with your own gun laws. My thoughts are that local politics should be removed from the strategic geopolitical picture. Regardless of who is the President what are you going to do and where is the existential threat?
GF
As for bringing religion into it ('spiritual revival') - that is the cause of this problem.
On the rare earth point I do agree with you. It remains to be seen but it does look like China is maneuvering to take advantage of their lithium deposits. I doubt China's experience will be any better than any other empire that has sought to subjugate that lot. For sure, they will crank up the opium production again, because they are not exporting anything else. In the meantime they have to feed their people and keep control.
As for Afghanistan being a safe haven, that mission was sorted two decades ago, and there are plenty of other havens around the world that the US finds more difficult to deal with. Iran recently flew a drone into a UK registered ship in the Gulf, and the 9/11 attackers were all Saudi's. Pakistan has been harboring terrorists in the tribal lands for years. Plenty of other places to launch an attack from. And like you say, a lot of western countries have let in a lot of questionable asylum seekers in recent years.
The chaos of a barely planned exit should not be conflated with the strategic value of that moonscape, or with your own gun laws. My thoughts are that local politics should be removed from the strategic geopolitical picture. Regardless of who is the President what are you going to do and where is the existential threat?
GF
As for bringing religion into it ('spiritual revival') - that is the cause of this problem.