Whistling through the Graveyard

China and Russia are Cosying up to Afghanistan and Pakistan...

With the prospect of a decline in US influence in the region in sight, Russia and China are reaching out to Pakistan and Afghanistan in a bid to improve economic ties and to secure their southern borders against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism. (Foreign Policy)

They can succeed in AfPak where we have failed...

China and Russia can exploit with impunity the Afghan people and denude the environment as they strip the country of it’s mineral wealth. We cannot.  Our most sincere efforts are dogged the whole way by CNN, BBC and a polyglot crowd of nattering nannies from multifarious international organizations. We care about those things and adjust our policies until they are completely ineffectual, and then we are assailed for not doing enough and abandoning people.

Russia and China suffer under no such scruples. China is not content with slavery within its own borders.  It now runs slave camps all over Africa, complete with armed Chinese soldiers and mandarin bureaucrats. Do you think Russia will care about Karzai or the Pakistani’s hurt feelings? If they try the crap on Putin that they do on us, he will simply cut off the money and twist their tits until they cry uncle, all the while never changing his stony expression. Yes, the Russians and the Chinese know how to play the great game, we do not. We should admit it and quit the region. It’s a ruthless place and we just don’t know how to roll like that.

An Alignment of Strategic Objectives

We don’t want Afghanistan to revert to a terrorist haven. China and Russia share that goal, and it’s their backyard…

Both China and Russia will be happy to see US troops leave Afghanistan, but they are equally worried about the Taliban and other extremist groups penetrating Xinjiang province in southern China and the Central Asian republics, whose national security is very much in the hands of Russia.China is deeply concerned by the long-running crisis in Pakistan, fearing that it may lead to a strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism. (Foreign Policy)

A perfect opportunity to get them to pay the freight

We’re worried about who will fund the Afghan government, police and military? If Russia and China want to enrich themselves exploiting Afghanistan’s natural resources while checking terrorism, they will have no choice but to pony up the money to secure the place. Us getting out of there and leaving them to foot the bill would be a major feat of strategery.

China Gets Approval for Afghanistan Oil Exploration Bid