Even in the countries abutting Afghanistan and Pakistan that have not yet seen much money from the West, Zaslavsky said, the business climate may be improved by the new presence of American armed forces.
"It brings legitimacy to the regimes," he said. "It changes the perception, perhaps, of foreign investors as well -- it conveys the image of greater stability."
Among big multinationals, the mantra is to stay the course, with a bit of extra care. "We have certainly changed security procedures, but not slowed down any investments," David O'Reilly, chairman and CEO of ChevronTexaco, said in an interview last week.
"You can't be deterred from your ambition by one set of events."
ChevronTexaco has stakes in oil fields in West Africa and Indonesia. Coca-Cola has investments in more than a dozen Muslim countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
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