The message is clear. If Washington scales back its support for Pakistan, there is more than one game in town.

Reptiles have placodes too. But in a reptile embryo each placode switches on genes that cause only the skin cells on the back edge of the placode to grow, eventually forming scales.

But then, once the scales tip back to the opposite direction, this will find her closing her fists on her finances because of early bouts of overspending.