The Above Pic. Should Be Disturbing
Since the Euro Zone will continue its slow bleed until the Greek elections on the 17th of June, we thought we'd mosey on over to Central Asia for a quick look see! While the US is boast of killing another al-Qaeda number 2 guy, triggering anger and protest from Pakistan, the Chinese, Russians and regional players are planning to profit big time after the the US and NATO exits.
Without firing one bullet, the SCO is positioning itself to reap serious benefits regionally by playing the business partner and not the nation builder. Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney announced with a sense of accomplishment, that Abu Yahya al-Libi, the latest No. 2 man in al Qaeda and longtime pain on the ass finally got capped, but good this time.
Citing Al-Libi's demise was "another serious blow to core al Qaeda," Carney, went on to emphasize, that "His death is part of the degradation taking place in core al Qaeda in the last several years".
Earlier in the day, U.S. officials said al-Libi was killed Monday by a CIA drone strike in Pakistan, while fending off Pakistani accusations that the US refuses to recognize its sovereignty. For more than a year Pakistan has been bitching about the U.S. conducting operations in their country on the down-low, but to date it appears President Obama's M.O. of dealing terrorist knows no bounds.
We suppose this represents another trophy for the U.S. President that'll add a boost in his polling numbers, but at the same time, Al-Libi death seems like a short term gain while the SCO is playing for the long term win. While the US is rightly committed to killing a terrorist or two per week, its hard to see how that strategy will bear any bountiful fruit when competitors are literally lining up to divvy the spoils by hooking up with the last crews and warlords standing.
Those crews of course, will be all the same crews that were in place when the US and NATO first arrived ten years ago. Perhaps, all repopulated with new number ones twos and threes, but the attitudes, philosophies, traditions, religious practices and way of life will remain as they have for centuries. Oh did we forget to mention, the Taliban ain't going nowhere either.
President Obama may have severely weakened al-Qaeda in region, but apparently in the end the U.S. just made Afghanistan a safer place for the SCO and others to do business. Since America has essentially been given its walking papers, there is little left to do, other than keep heads low and power dry until its time to hit the bricks.
According to Afghan officials, China and Afghanistan will soon launch a deal to strengthen relations, signaling Beijing's eagerness to play a role beyond their economic partnership. All of Afghanistan's neighbors - Iran, Pakistan and India, who are also attending the summit as observers, are also making their play for influence in the country as well.
WTF, this means for the US going forward in the region may yet to be to be seen, but the way this story is being written, in the final analysis, America lost another one!
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