@Bozza I think this is about oil. Securing control of oil rather than about getting actual oil.

Its about who controls the access to the oil.

In recent years, the west has been saying "Oh no we won't trade with you, you are not libtarded enough" This has meant that an axis of trade has developed among those who would resist the west. Every time the west sanction someone or embargo their product they send them to this axis.

When the west was by far the greatest consumer this meant the naughty country was in the dog house and suffered but of late it has led to a virtuous circle for some nations. If you are already in the dog house, then you lose nothing by buying some nice cheap oil. Someone who is subject to sanctions and embargos gains a new much needed customer. China laughs and buys cheap oil, while the west its competitor pays more and has tighter margins.

The solution is to get in control of the market in that country.

Will it work -dunno. The US has not make its mistake of Afghanistan and Iraq and tried to bring in its own administration which has insufficient local loyalties but it has also got very little control of the country by just removing the leader and trying to work with a pragmatic second in command who might otherwise have never been leader.

Its a good stab at imperialism by a country without much experience in the field. Will boots on the ground be needed to get anywhere once the dust has settled? Lets see. It depends what they offer and what they can threaten.

Random Thought - Saturday Edition:

Many women talk about how hard housework is, how difficult it is raising children, the mental and emotional labor they experience, and not being “heard” in marriage.

One could make the case that a MAJOR component of this is their own addictions. Many modern women are, or have become, addicted to:

• The party life
• Social media
• Attention
• Promiscuity (new dick)
• Dancing
• Male validation
• Female validation
• Freedom
• Laziness of youth
• Any one of a number of substances
• The unspecified “hope of the future” (see note below)

So a normal, stable, calm, wholesome, dependable, safe, financially sound life can seem like a prison to them; or as many women have claimed, "a slavery contract"

Reminiscing about the old days, college dorm shenanigans, and whatever her ex is doing to day is a form of self-harm. One could live with this, but the long-term consequences fall on the husband and children - not to mention entire families on both sides who are invested in the success of that marriage.

ALL that gets shattered by a woman’s addictions.

Addictions are ugly, capricious, cruel, and relentless. And some of the worst things an addict can do are:

• Deny the problem
• Hide, lie, obfuscate, deceive, omit information
• Ruminate on the past
• Put themselves in an environment where the addiction is readily available
• Framing the addiction as a form of personal freedom, and the person trying to help you as an oppressor (or controlling, or jealous, or insecure, or a narcissist, or a financial abuser, etc.)

I have no way to validate this, so let’s call it an anecdote - a pattern recognized by one man with an obvious axe to grind.

But now that I’ve put this out there, prove me wrong.

Cheers

DD