The specific Central Asian region of which I speak, rich in natural gas and oil, includes India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, among others. Russia, which borders the region and Iran are also key players. Transport of these critical resources via current and planned pipelines is at the center of the struggle to determine who will control them into the future. To understand the magnitude of this struggle we need to begin by examining the strategy that the U.S. is pursuing in Afghanistan and Pakistan as related to its greater objectives in Central Asia...
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.
