[Peace-discuss] Why are we, etc. (another in a series)

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The Obama administration can get away with its puerile excuses for why it's 
killing people at such a great rate in AfPak because the US media know enough 
not to raise the issue.  As Orwell says, there are some things "it wouldn't do 
to say." Here's part of the story -- by no means all -- and naturally it didn't 
appear in the US media.  But it can be found if one looks.  This is from the 
traditionally liberal Toronto Star. --CGE]

	Afghanistan and the new great game
	Prized pipeline route could explain West's
	stubborn interest in poor, remote land
	Aug 12, 2009 04:30 AM
	John Foster

Why is Afghanistan so important?

A glance at a map and a little knowledge of the region suggest that the real 
reasons for Western military involvement may be largely hidden.

Afghanistan is adjacent to Middle Eastern countries that are rich in oil and 
natural gas. And though Afghanistan may have little petroleum itself, it borders 
both Iran and Turkmenistan, countries with the second and third largest natural 
gas reserves in the world. (Russia is first.)

Turkmenistan is the country nobody talks about. Its huge reserves of natural gas 
can only get to market through pipelines. Until 1991, it was part of the Soviet 
Union and its gas flowed only north through Soviet pipelines. Now the Russians 
plan a new pipeline north. The Chinese are building a new pipeline east. The 
U.S. is pushing for "multiple oil and gas export routes." High-level Russian, 
Chinese and American delegations visit Turkmenistan frequently to discuss 
energy. The U.S. even has a special envoy for Eurasian energy diplomacy.

Rivalry for pipeline routes and energy resources reflects competition for power 
and control in the region. Pipelines are important today in the same way that 
railway building was important in the 19th century. They connect trading 
partners and influence the regional balance of power. Afghanistan is a strategic 
piece of real estate in the geopolitical struggle for power and dominance in the 
region.

Since the 1990s, Washington has promoted a natural gas pipeline south through 
Afghanistan. The route would pass through Kandahar province. In 2007, Richard 
Boucher, U.S. assistant secretary of state, said: "One of our goals is to 
stabilize Afghanistan," and to link South and Central Asia "so that energy can 
flow to the south." Oil and gas have motivated U.S. involvement in the Middle 
East for decades. Unwittingly or willingly, Canadian forces are supporting 
American goals.

The proposed pipeline is called TAPI, after the initials of the four 
participating countries (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India). Eleven 
high-level planning meetings have been held during the past seven years, with 
Asian Development Bank sponsorship and multilateral support (including 
Canada's). Construction is planned to start next year.

The pipeline project was documented at three donor conferences on Afghanistan in 
the past three years and is referenced in the 2008 Afghan Development Plan. 
Canada was represented at these conferences at the ministerial level. Thus, our 
leaders must know. Yet they avoid discussion of the planned pipeline through 
Afghanistan.

The 2008 Manley Report, a foundation for extending the Canadian mission to 2011, 
ignored energy issues. It talked about Afghanistan as if it were an island, 
albeit with a porous Pakistani border. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he 
"will withdraw the bulk of the military forces" in 2011. The remaining troops 
will focus mostly on "reconstruction and development." Does that include the 
pipeline?

Pipeline rivalry is slightly more visible in Europe. Ukraine is the main gateway 
for gas from Russia to Europe. The United States has pushed for alternate 
pipelines and encouraged European countries to diversify their sources of 
supply. Recently built pipelines for oil and gas originate in Azerbaijan and 
extend through Georgia to Turkey. They are the jewels in the crown of U.S. 
strategy to bypass Russia and Iran.

The rivalry continues with plans for new gas pipelines to Europe from Russia and 
the Caspian region. The Russians plan South Stream – a pipeline under the Black 
Sea to Bulgaria. The European Union and U.S. are backing a pipeline called 
Nabucco that would supply gas to Europe via Turkey. Nabucco would get some gas 
from Azerbaijan, but that country doesn't have enough. Additional supply could 
come from Turkmenistan, but Russia is blocking a link across the Caspian Sea. 
Iran offers another source, but the U.S. is blocking the use of Iranian gas.

Meanwhile, Iran is planning a pipeline to deliver gas east to Pakistan and 
India. Pakistan has agreed in principle, but India has yet to do so. It's an 
alternative to the long-planned, U.S.-supported pipeline from Turkmenistan 
through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.

A very big game is underway, with geopolitics intruding everywhere. U.S. 
journalist Steven LeVine describes American policy in the region as 
"pipeline-driven." Other countries are pushing for pipeline routes, too. The 
energy game remains largely hidden; the focus is on humanitarian, development 
and national security concerns. In Canada, Afghanistan has been avoided in the 
past two elections.

With the U.S. surge underway and the British ambassador to Washington predicting 
a decades-long commitment, it's reasonable to ask: Why are the U.S. and NATO in 
Afghanistan? Could the motivation be power, a permanent military bridgehead, 
access to energy resources?

Militarizing energy has a high price in dollars, lives and morality. There are 
long-term consequences for everyone. Canadian voters want to know: Why is 
Afghanistan so important?

John Foster is an energy economist and author of "A Pipeline Through A Troubled 
Land – Afghanistan, Canada, and the New Great Energy Game," published by the 
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It is avaialble online at 
www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2008/A_Pipeline_Through_a_Troubled_Land.pdf

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/679670