China has also been aggressively negotiating to buy natural gas in Central Asia which has just resulted in the commissioning of a 1,833 kilometer pipeline connecting gas fields in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. By 2013, the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong will be receiving substantial quantities of gas. This amounts to a resounding defeat for the U.S. whose competitive proposals were rejected.
So if anyone still thinks that the surge in Afghanistan is strictly intended to defeat the Taliban and the remnants of Al-Qaeda, it's time to think again. This is the new launching point for the eventual control of the Balochistan region. The threat of Iran becoming a major player because of its gas and oil resources and the desire of China to also become involved in that area must be neutralized at all costs.
We are just in the beginning stages of a new chapter in this grand chess game that pits the U.S. against China in achieving dominance in the world's natural resources, primarily oil and gas, for many years to come. So far, China has used diplomacy and negotiations around the world and has stayed completely away from involvement in wars. Conversely, the U.S. has initiated wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan at staggering costs to achieve its goals.
We are going to hear more and more reports of various types of incursions into Pakistan by various means; the use of drones will greatly intensify, and Blackwater (now renamed XE) is actively setting up clandestine operations in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Whether U.S. and/or NATO troops will actually make incursions into Pakistan is anyone's guess but, if that happens , then the situation could become very dire indeed.
What I'm describing is not an unsubstantiated theory. It has been well documented, not in the Western press, but by major Asian news outlets; the Asia Times, headquartered in Hong Kong, is closely monitoring this grand chess game being played out. There is no great secret in that area of the world as to what is really happening and why.
At this point, China is winning the grand chess game because of its apparent ability to use diplomacy in securing critical resources. The danger is that the U.S., rather than using diplomacy, is committed to using military "persuasion" to achieve its objectives. Carrying out such aggressive military policies in a region where four nations with nuclear capabilities -- Russia, China, India and Pakistan -- exist is moving this game into a highly dangerous phase.
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