[Travis McGee]

Pakistan had better attempt to join the modern world. If they anger US enough, their lights and water can be turned off with ease, and 100 million people will be too busy trying to stay alive to bother with the outside world.

IOW, these nations packed with insane murder cultists need the West a heck of a lot more than the West needs them. Ditto for Egypt, Saudi, etc.

[caltrop]

Talk about getting it just backwards. Pakistan has nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. I agree we can shut off their infrastructure, not all that big a deal in some parts of Pakistan, but they can drop a nuclear bomb on anything in the region. All they have to do is nuke a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and all shipping in the region will instantly stop. If they do it in the winter, keeping the Northern Hemishpere's cities (that's us) warm is going to be a challenge.