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

[Rohn Koester]

What's interesting about the NYT's version of the story is that they have to maintain the pose that the war was never about exploiting Afghanistan for its natural resources, like it was all serendipity. Imagine someone trying to write the following paragraph without smirking:



"The Pentagon task force has already started trying to help
the Afghans set up a system to deal with mineral development. International
accounting firms that have expertise in mining contracts have been hired to
consult with the Afghan Ministry of Mines, and technical data is being prepared
to turn over to multinational mining companies and other potential foreign
investors. The Pentagon is helping Afghan officials arrange to start seeking
bids on mineral rights by next fall, officials said."

 
 See, they're already starting to try to help them.

Rohn
From: ls1000 at live.com
To: jencart13 at yahoo.com; peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:32:22 -0500
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: Afghanistan has $1 Trillion in mineral	deposits(DN! Monday, June 14, 2010)








My guess is that the US will steal it over time under 
the guise of some good cause or another or to save Western control in the US's 
national interess and make the world safe for corporate plutocracy.




From: Jenifer Cartwright 
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:01 AM
To: Peace-discuss 
Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fw: Afghanistan has $1 Trillion in mineral 
deposits(DN! Monday, June 14, 2010)



  
  
    
      
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 Deposits
              The 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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