The bottom line is that Alistair Darling, of all people, may have provided Mr Osborne with the wiggle room that he needs to announce a Plan A-plus which leaves his iron credentials intact - at least on paper.
In my opinion, they want Mes Aynak to set a precedent -- to be a model for resource extraction of the one trillion dollars plus of valuable minerals like oil, copper, lithium and iron buried underneath Afghanistan.
It can identify wine snobs who ski, for Patagonia, or gardeners aged 50-plus who might be in the market for one of Vermont Country Stores' cast-iron apple peelers.