by Graeme Wood
Under a sleepy headline ("Dutch Withdrawal Understandable"), The Australian hints that the beleaguered NATO coalition in Afghanistan wouldn't mind help from a new source:
If the Dutch are leaving Afghanistan, perhaps China should send soldiers to fill the gap.
It is, after all, developing the country's biggest copper mine -- currently guarded by US and Afghan soldiers -- and has an eye on other resources.
Just a thought, prompted by the collapse of the Dutch government last weekend -- although you have to admit that China, Pakistan's ally, would bring complications. But when the Dutch conclude that they have taken their share of the strain, it makes sense to turn for help to those who see a lucrative future there.
Reihan used to suggest that the United States subcontract the pacification of Iraq to the Han Chinese. Try mounting an insurgency against Beijing, and see how far that gets you.