Sometimes you wonder why these so-called experts on international politics state the bleeding obvious. Writing his column last week in The Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens said Pakistan today is facing an “existential threat”. No kidding.

But Stephens is right about one thing, and let me quote him at length: ‘Somalia is a space not even pretending to be a country. The result is destitution, piracy and a sanctuary for Islamic jihadists, but little by way of ideas for how to change things.