[Peace-discuss] From Ron Smith, Baltimore Sun

[C. G. Estabrook]

...Why are we so heavily invested in Central Asia? We're told it's to prevent 
al-Qaeda from reinfesting Afghanistan and using it for training and staging 
attacks against us, but the real reason ... is the competition for the world's 
energy resources. The Asia Times' Pepe Escobar has written widely on what he 
calls "Pipelineistan," the immense network of oil and gas pipelines that 
"crisscross the potential imperial battlefields of the planet." Afghanistan sits 
at the center of Pipelineistan, and that's the real reason we won't willingly 
abandon it. If you don't believe that, take advantage of Internet search 
technology and learn what's really going on...

[Ron Smith can be heard weekdays, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., on 1090 WBAL-AM and 
WBAL.com. His column appears Fridays in The Baltimore Sun. His e-mail is 
rsmith[at]wbal[dot]com. Source: Baltimore Sun]