>>A big investment is about to be made in Iraq, then Iran, followed by North Korea, and eventually, apparently China and Russia. There will be side wagers in Georgia CIS, Sri Lanka, Peru, Philippines, Columbia, ..., and certainly Afghanistan, and possibly Pakistan.<<
Attack Iraq, probably. Gas prices around here jumped from $1 a gallon to almost $1.50 seemingly overnight.
Attack Iran - maybe. Attacking Iraq will be sort of like kicking over an ant hill. No telling what will happen.
North Korea? No. We told North Korea we will use the nuclear option if they attack South Korea. All we have to do is wait for North Korea to implode due to its own misguided policies.
China? No, again. There is a problem vis-a-vis Taiwan. We've talked about it before. China has no reason to invade Taiwan, just as the US military has no reason to invade Puerto Rico. I am sure that Puerto Ricans would find it very disturbing if the US military mounted a campaign to take it over by force. China and Taiwan should integrate peacefully.
Russia? No. We are friends with Russia. They share a continent with China, but their culture with Europe.
Georgia, yes, Columbia, yes, Philippines, yes, Peru, yes, Sri Lanka I had not heard about, Afghanistan of course, Pakistan - - not unless asked.
"Investment" - yes. The Pax Americana costs a lot of money, but pays off big time for free trade and tourism, and is cheaper than real war, and cheaper than old fashioned empires, which were, for the most part, money sinks.
<tangent>Empires, per se, are not profitable without slavery, which has gone out of style. Slavery never was in style with free traders, by the way.
econlib.org
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