[Peace-discuss] Fw: Afghanistan has $1 Trillion in mineral deposits (DN! Monday, June 14, 2010)

[Jenifer Cartwright]

Friends,
This was one of this morning's Democracy Now's headlines. Anybody care to guess what the US will do about this?? --Jenifer
Report: US Discovers $1 Trillion in Afghan Mineral DepositsThe New York Times is reporting the United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, including huge amounts of copper, cobalt, gold and lithium. US officials say the find could alter the Afghan war and make Afghanistan one of the most important mining centers in the world. An internal Pentagon
 memo states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones. The value of mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing economy. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion. American geologists have been studying the potential for mining since at least 2004. The timing of the New York Times article has been questioned by some because it is being published at a time when the Obama administration has little good news to report on Afghanistan. On Saturday the Times reported Afghan President Hamid Karzai had lost faith in the United States and NATO to prevail in Afghanistan. Karzai has reportedly been involved with secret negotiations with the Taliban outside the purview of American and NATO officials. Meanwhile, a new report from the London School of Economics includes new evidence that
 Pakistan’s main spy agency, the ISI, continues to arm and train the Taliban. The report states, "Without a change in Pakistani behavior it will be difficult, if not impossible, for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency." 








      


      
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