Nepal and Cold War 2.0

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/as-criticism-grows-over-landslide  

Situated between India and China, and specifically on the borders of Tibet, it's not hard to see why New Delhi, Beijing, and even Washington are concerned with events in Nepal and who is in charge.

While Western media will not cover these stories, it is not surprising to learn that US actors were playing a role in the September 2025 unrest that led to the fall of Nepal's government. This paved the way for Balen Shah's election in March of 2026.

And what's revealed in connection to Shah? He's deeply connected to NED programmes. The NED or National Endowment for Democracy is notorious in much of the world - a front for US intelligence operations and subversion.

The fact that Western media outlets won't properly cover these stories plays a role in how these same outlets can portray figures like Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Maduro, and others - portraying them as paranoid, reckless, authoritarian, anti-democratic, and aggressive as they clampdown on Western NGO's and the like. The reason for this is that they know all too well that these NGO's and other outlets are fronts and vehicles for the NED and its spectrum of affiliated organisations. They know that the US works to subvert their government and (at times) foment trouble on the streets.

It makes sense that the US would want a friendly regime in Kathmandu. Nepal's location is highly strategic in terms of China, but even in terms of India who under Modi and in response to Trump has shifted away from a close alliance with US interests and geostrategic planning.

It's also noteworthy that such projects are bipartisan - both major US parties are involved and have their 'wings' and operatives. In other words both US parties are actively involved in US imperialism and the subversion of democracy in other nations. While the US may profess to care about liberal values and democracy - especially when they want to criticise authoritarian regimes they don't like, the American political Establishment will cast aside these ideals when it suits them. They will actively work to subvert democracy and otherwise stable institutions if it's in their interest to do so. The American narrative is one big lie. The US regularly meddles in elections all around the world, even as it pretends outrage if other countries so much as fund some Facebook ads. And while the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) purports to promote and support democracy, it's actual intent is to undermine and subvert it. You can't make this stuff up.

The only real difference in terms of the two American parties is that DNC operatives might work among women's rights groups or the homosexual lobby while the GOP will work with business interests and Evangelicals. And for some this is all the difference. But in terms of the larger picture - the whole thing is vile and rotten, a grand exercise in imperialist deceit. In terms of the Church, it is a case of great evil - evil political operatives and morally compromised Christians working to subvert the Church in other countries. Sadly, there are very few American or Western Christians that understand this and why it should profoundly trouble us. For these reasons and others I argue global Evangelicalism risks slipping into apostasy as so many Christians are getting caught up in Right-wing politics, confusing Austrian Economics with Biblical ethics, or in other cases rights and various ideologies (such as feminism) with Kingdom prerogatives. I won't even get into the heresy of Dispensationalism and Christian Zionism and the bloodbaths that it has helped to foment and support. The stage is being set for a ecclesiastical catastrophe. Indeed I think it's already well under way.

The article also suggests the rescue efforts in connection to the devastating floods were not only politicised but geo-politicised, as the Shah government sought to block Chinese aid even while Western media outlets attempted to blame Beijing for the scope of the disaster. There's also some helpful information with regard to the rise of the RSP which now holds the reins of government. It's ascent and pedigree makes for interesting reading.

I think it's also worth pointing out that while the Trump administration and DOGE did away with USAID - which was disliked by the Right and by many critics of humanitarian geopolitics and imperialism, no one has made a move against the NED which has engaged in all the same kinds of subversive behaviour sans the humanitarian angle.

Finally, as expected there are suggestions of hindering China's Belt-and-Road projects (BRI) and yet the August 2026 flood catastrophe threatens to undo American efforts at manipulating and managing Nepalese politics. The Shah government is in trouble and the full political fallout from the disaster is yet to be determined. The growing wave of popular anger is frequently reported in international and specifically Asian news sources - but ignored in the West. The Shah premiership in Nepal represents Western and thus anti-Beijing interests. They've got his back. In the meantime China is preparing its next move. And New Delhi has its own interests at stake. Should the Shah government fall or even stumble, both rival camps (neither of which wants to see the Americans holding sway) will make their move.