Well its your right to call your approach "rigorous, " but it comes across more as intentionally obtuse and argumentative with concepts you disagree with. For one, I was clearly talking security, which while necessary for the economic growth that all in the region have enjoyed to some degree, is not the economy directly. You surely do not believe that the US has not subsidized the security environment that allowed that growth?

I guess one could say the US has empowered the economic growth of the region at the same time we enabled many nations to take major shortcuts on security.