OBOR / “ ONE BELT…ONE ROAD” THE FORCES OF MORDOR ARE ON THE MOVE!  

It’s no secret the Dragon moves in large, slow and complex ways. Plans that have “long-term” goals are much easier for a government where one party stays in power for decades. One only has to look at the Democrats in the US House to see the impact of such an event.

I’ve been reading about this new “Silk Highway” for several months now and I was more than skeptical on what I believed were the real motives behind the largest business transaction in the history of trade. Monumental in size, no blood and slow moving based on behind the door agreements, just the recipe for Western news media to be clueless and worse, not interested. Then I came upon a great article posted in The Economist. http://www.economist.com/news/china/21701505-chinas-foreign-policy-could-reshape-good-part-world-economy-our-bulldozers-our-rules

OBOR? It sounds like a character from the Lord of the Rings! “The OBOR! They march on Mundburg! The forces of Mordor have returned”! Here is the most frightening thing about this “OBOR”. What it is and why it’s here is right out in the open. The Dragon is spreading its Wings, but like Vampire, it must first dazzle it’s victims before it can feast on them. Traveling from country to country, virtually tossing Billions of dollars out to all who will hold out their hands, like manna from Heaven.  This concept of the new Silk Road plays to all of those who dream of better days to come and all can come true by simply signing a few, “unofficial” agreements! You know………………..like taking a loan from the God Father!

DREAMS:

I cannot begin to count how many times I’ve addressed the issue of old Empires dreaming of revised glory. The Ottomans. The Russians. The Persians. The Arabs. And now, that same dream seems to have entered the mind of the Dragon! As I state that, what was the theme of The Donald’s campaign? Ah yes….another dream of the old days! Fitting the Dragon picks the symbolism of the Silk Highway as it plots its new Empire! The Silk Highway. The age when the rest of the world discovered the richness and wonders of the Dragon’s Kingdom. For all of those who dream of recapturing their past glory, one reality rings true. Cost! In today world, paying for such a dream is a bill all the other dreamers mentioned above simply cannot afford.  All but one. The Dragon! With Trillions of dollars banked away and influence over the world’s most powerful lending institutions, only the Dragon seems to have its dream within reach. Yet, the road to such a vision is not made of silk or gold. The road to such a new Empire is full of dangers. The allure of the Dragon’s wealth is powerful, powerful enough to dazzle most of those who are called upon. But, one group stands in the roadway, perhaps even defiantly! For you see the dreams of the Dragon call for the destruction of the dreams of others. There is no Ottoman Empire. There is no Russian Empire. There is no Persian Empire and there is no “ Make America Great Again” if the Dragon’s dream is to come true. All must be made subservient. All must agree to the plan placed on the table in front of them. “Your dream is not possible, but in our dream, you have a comfortable place in the new world. A place where your people will be happy and provided for. If you do not agree, then you will be left out in the cold and your people will turn on you”! Maybe not word for word that will come from the Dragon’s mouth, but the inflection will be there.  As the Arabs say, “the words between the words”. One dream is all the Dragon has room for. One dream is all they will tolerate. There will be no partners of equal, but there will be enough crumbs to feed those who live outside the wall.

NO CHOICES:

No turning back. No choices. No lesser than options can be gambled on.  The Dragon has over 1.5 BILLION people in its Lair.  Time and time again, I’ve addressed the daunting task at the feet of the Dragon. How do you keep 1.5 BILLION people happy, content? How do you rule a land where one man drives a Ferrari and 900 MILLION others cannot afford to take a bus? If distribution of wealth is truly the balance for a peaceful society, then how impossible of a task does the Dragon have? What level of planning would it take to envision a country where that many people remain loyal to the leadership? What will it take to have peace in the new Empire? Governments survive on promises of grandeur, of better times ahead. Keeping the people believing in the dream is the most important challenge to any nation.  Leaders can beat them into submission, but that is only a temporary answer. Governments can promise the moon, but then they better produce prize or have a reason the people accept the prize could not be reached. In the end and far too often, governments find blame outside their control and then work hard to convince the people it was not their fault.

The Dragon must convince its people this new Silk Road will bring them prosperity and equality. So desperate is the Dragon to sell this message to the people that hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars are going to be sent painting the message. If the rest of the world doesn’t follow the dream of the Dragon and the lair begins to lose the dream, just how desperate will the Dragon become?

Who stands in the way of this dream? Who decides not to travel on the new Silk Highway? Will the crumbs be enough? If not, who is ready to fight the forces of Mordor and the OBOR?