[ZenGum]

Just noting pretty much complete agreement. I'd expand that the lack of "infrastructure to run a country" includes regular things like roads and communications, but also social infrastructure like established systems of government, a tradition of an honest civil service, enough people with the right abilities in the right positions and crucially, a widespread social habit of having and obeying a central government.

These things are not impossible, but these are generation-type timescales. I doubt anyone wants to hang around for that long.

So, um, yeah, obviously we should mumblemumblemumblemumblemumble.