U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

norm

uh oh

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world ... nted=print

blackredyellow

Great... the never-ending war there just got longer...

yoke

This could be a good thing. Get some industry started up and have the farmers work in mines and not poppy fields.

polaris_x

which US mining company will be given those rights? ... will it turn out like everywhere else these multi-national mining companies operate?

pjfan021

for a second, i thought this would help eliminate the poppy fields as the #1 cash crop...but i have a feeling this shit is going to become an even bigger fight for money and power in that country. shit just got a lot more fucked up

Jason P

This could be the golden ticket to getting our troops out of the country.

wolfamongwolves

Why, how incredibly convenient. And curious that this was discovered but “gathered dust” (or was sat on) for 2 years.

So… the nasty ol’ Taliban will no doubt fight harder to keep it, so I suppose it wouldn’t be "safe" for the US to leave anytime soon… better stay in there to make sure that it’s the Afghan people who get the benefits, right? (some hope!) And no doubt they’ll need some good wholesome American philanthropy to get that infrastructure up and running, yessir.

Why am I suddenly reminded of this?

blackredyellow

Jason P wrote:

This could be the golden ticket to getting our troops out of the country.

I see the opposite... If there is one thing that our government will fight for more than "freedom and democracy", it's natural resources.

Jason P

blackredyellow wrote:

Jason P wrote:

This could be the golden ticket to getting our troops out of the country.

I see the opposite... If there is one thing that our government will fight for more than "freedom and democracy", it's natural resources.

But at the same time, we will not leave until the Afghans can sustain a working government on their own. Without any trade and increased GDP the Taliban and regional warlords will reign supreme. They have the poppy field's income and apparently it is pretty good as evidenced by the resistance they are putting up. And yes, the U.S. as well as all other industrialized countries will invest in this to get a piece of the profits. The Afghans probably do not have the technology to set up a significant operation. And I don't think the region will become a tourist beacon at any point in the near future.

he still stands

This is the definition of arrogance. Can you imagine if another country wanted to help themselves to the natural resources in the U.S.?

Jason P

he still stands wrote:

This is the definition of arrogance. Can you imagine if another country wanted to help themselves to the natural resources in the U.S.?

CHINA!

wolfamongwolves

Jason P wrote:

blackredyellow wrote:

Jason P wrote:

This could be the golden ticket to getting our troops out of the country.

I see the opposite... If there is one thing that our government will fight for more than "freedom and democracy", it's natural resources.

But at the same time, we will not leave until the Afghans can sustain a working government on their own. Without any trade and increased GDP the Taliban and regional warlords will reign supreme. They have the poppy field's income and apparently it is pretty good as evidenced by the resistance they are putting up. And yes, the U.S. as well as all other industrialized countries will invest in this to get a piece of the profits. The Afghans probably do not have the technology to set up a significant operation. And I don't think the region will become a tourist beacon at any point in the near future.

But now you* have an incentive not to rush towards any sustainable government in Afghanistan. The soldiers (and their families) might want to get out, but you can be damn sure the US government's not going to be in such a hurry.


And by you, I don't mean you, Jason! I just mean the US

redrock

Jason P wrote:

blackredyellow wrote:

Jason P wrote:

This could be the golden ticket to getting our troops out of the country.

I see the opposite... If there is one thing that our government will fight for more than "freedom and democracy", it's natural resources.

But at the same time, we will not leave until the Afghans can sustain a working government on their own..

You mean a government that pleases the US?

The problem is that one cannot dissociate Afghanistan with it's neighbours such as Pakistan and India. All interlinked.

That whole region is a hotbed. The US are in there for the wrong reasons (any reason is wrong anyway) and will never be able to leave if they wait for a stabilised country because it's not going to happen.

Jason P

wolfamongwolves wrote:

But now you* have an incentive not to rush towards any sustainable government in Afghanistan. The soldiers (and their families) might want to get out, but you can be damn sure the US government's not going to be in such a hurry.


And by you, I don't mean you, Jason! I just mean the US

No worries. Truth be told, I think it will be a long time before all troops are pulled out. The geographical significance is to important to our other interests (i.e. Iran).

But I'm hopeful that this may be a viable industry for this country that has a current average GDP of under $500 per person.

redrock

Jason P wrote:

The geographical significance is to important to our other interests (i.e. Iran)..

You hit the nail on the head.

pjfan021

man...i just love how almost $1 trillion is just discovered randomly. This is such a clusterfuck of an operation, i reeeeealllly hope that this doesn't drag out. If this fucker backs out on his withdrawl timetable shit will hit the fan.

Drowned Out

Jason P wrote:

But at the same time, we will not leave until the Afghans can sustain a working government on their own. Without any trade and increased GDP the Taliban and regional warlords will reign supreme. They have the poppy field's income and apparently it is pretty good as evidenced by the resistance they are putting up. And yes, the U.S. as well as all other industrialized countries will invest in this to get a piece of the profits. The Afghans probably do not have the technology to set up a significant operation. And I don't think the region will become a tourist beacon at any point in the near future.

Define "working government". Right. You can't. Either can Obama, Harper, or anyone else. The mission is intentionally vague.
Bob Rae:

We have an obligation to see this thing through. The door is open to serious discussion in Canada — and between Canada and NATO — about what the future looks like.”

the Globe and Mail’s Jeffrey Simpson asked the obvious question:

Just what is this “thing” that must be seen through? A military defeat of the Taliban and its allies? A peaceful, democratic Afghanistan? A regional settlement? A demonstrably rising standard of living? A diminution of the poppy trade?

I'm sure the Afghanis are more than capable of getting their resources out of the ground. They obviously have an asset or two to leverage the financing with. But with a puppet government in place, you can bet that the projects will be funded by Western-owned banks, the majority of the work will be performed by Western multi-nationals, and the profits syphoned away from the region and the people (read: the rightful owners) who need it most.

Jason P wrote:

CHINA!

:?: huh? How exactly does China BUYING Western resources/companies/bonds etc etc relate to NATO propping up a government and occupying said country to 'help them protect their resources'?


Here are a couple of comments from an article I was just reading in regards to the TAPI pipeline project...same shit, different exploitable resources:

Peter MacKay - Canadian Minister of Defense:

, observed that Canadian troops were “not there specifically to protect a pipeline across Afghanistan....If the Taliban were attacking certain places in the country or certain projects, then yes we will play a role.”.

:roll:

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - then NATO Secretary General:

“Protecting pipelines is first and foremost a national responsibility. And it should stay like that. NATO is not in the business of protecting pipelines. But when there's a crisis, or if a certain nation asks for assistance, NATO could, I think, be instrumental in protecting pipelines on land.”

:roll:

These comments suggest that NATO troops could be called upon to assist Afghanistan in protecting the pipeline. Since pipelines last 50 years or more, this could auger a very long commitment in Afghanistan.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=18329

he still stands

we've all been fooled. Apparently that story was propaganda issued by the US government to get support for the war. Cause if there is trillions of dollars of minerals there it is okay to kill the brown and/or yellow people. But this is an OLD story. Karzai was quoted in 2007 saying that he thought the value was more like 3 Trillion USD. This is not a "STUNNING" find... it has been known since at least the 1970s that these resources exist.

I find this disturbing that the government would get this story printed...

but I think its freaking awesome that information travels so damn fast now that in the same day it was printed it was found to be a lie... or just erroneous... and definitely propaganda.

Cosmo

I bet there's unobtainium over there, too.

Jason P

Cosmo wrote:

I bet there's unobtainium over there, too.

Good! I think that is what they use to make the ink for my Canon printer. I figured for the longest time that they used extracted gold but the prices would be lower if that was the case. Maybe an increase in unobtainium will help bring the prices on ink down.