U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

[PatekPhilippe]

Whoa dude... Easy there. "With the right leadership in place," you mean YOUR leadership? I mean, we are talking about the same country right? "With the right leadership in place" is a PRETTY BIG IF, don't you think? All I'm saying is that before you people wet your panties at the though of giant strip mines all over Afghanistan you could take a look at the countless of cases in which the "resource curse" has been terrible for countries without the capacity to take advantage of it for themselves and incapable of defending these resources internally or externally.

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

That's kinda like saying you can have whatever you want for breakfast.....as you pass armed men occupying the kitchen door and the kitchen itself. Pay no attention to the muzzles of automatic weapons up your ass held by foreigners.

Ummmmm...right....OK....how about those Celtics?

 

[Epsilon Delta]

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

Yeah, well, FINE. I hope so, you know. I HOPE this breaks the brutal cycle of violence Afghanistan's lived in for centuries. Just saying I'm not very optimistic.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

Yeah, well, FINE. I hope so, you know. I HOPE this breaks the brutal cycle of violence Afghanistan's lived in for centuries. Just saying I'm not very optimistic.

Neither am I at this point...but that's no excuse to trash the discovery, bitch and complain about our policies and say they are fucked now...

 

[Epsilon Delta]

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

Yeah, well, FINE. I hope so, you know. I HOPE this breaks the brutal cycle of violence Afghanistan's lived in for centuries. Just saying I'm not very optimistic.

Neither am I at this point...but that's no excuse to trash the discovery, bitch and complain about our policies and say they are fucked now...

Fair enough and good point... They were already fucked.

 

[geauxtohell]

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

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,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.

This. Changes. Everything.

It certainly could. As I've often said, the problem in Afghanistan is economic (and not military) in nature. We can't leave until the government has some sort of economic infrastructure in place to support it.

Of course, now will enter the conspiracy theorists that claim we went into Astan for the "lithium".

 

[CurveLight]

Oh yes....it's absolutely horrible that another 3rd world country could, with the right leadership in place, become a productive member of the world community in 20 or so years...terrible I say...terrible!!!! You equating Afghanistan's new found wealth to the Congo situation is COMPLETELY without merit and baseless.

Whoa dude... Easy there. "With the right leadership in place," you mean YOUR leadership? I mean, we are talking about the same country right? "With the right leadership in place" is a PRETTY BIG IF, don't you think? All I'm saying is that before you people wet your panties at the though of giant strip mines all over Afghanistan you could take a look at the countless of cases in which the "resource curse" has been terrible for countries without the capacity to take advantage of it for themselves and incapable of defending these resources internally or externally.

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

What did I say...."the right leadership"...I didn't assign any nationality to it...wake the fuck up! It's their country....let them decide what to do with their wealth.

Yeah, well, FINE. I hope so, you know. I HOPE this breaks the brutal cycle of violence Afghanistan's lived in for centuries. Just saying I'm not very optimistic.

This is going to increase the violence and I suspect this info was put out now because the obama admin will need a new talking point to increase Troop levels. Don't be surprised if there is an announcement of 5K to 8K more Troops being sent to Afghanistan.

 

[geauxtohell]

At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.

Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either. “The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No one knows how this will work.”

With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”

The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban insurgency.

I'm no expert, but China and the US, among other countries, fighting for this land and their resources could lead to WW3.

What do you all think? It's going to turn into a battle of who really does/will control this land and all it offers.

This is already going on. China has a copper mine in Afghanistan.

I doubt this will lead to WW3. Conventional war between nuclear powers is a zero sum game. Which is why the cold war remained cold.

However, the coming war with China will be economic in nature as we try and resist then shift of the global economic axis from New York and London to Beijing and New Delhi.

Yet another reason it was so asinine for Bush to finance Iraq through China. We just helped out our biggest rival.

 

[geauxtohell]

At the same time, American officials fear resource-hungry China will try to dominate the development of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which could upset the United States, given its heavy investment in the region. After winning the bid for its Aynak copper mine in Logar Province, China clearly wants more, American officials said.

Another complication is that because Afghanistan has never had much heavy industry before, it has little or no history of environmental protection either. “The big question is, can this be developed in a responsible way, in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible?” Mr. Brinkley said. “No one knows how this will work.”

With virtually no mining industry or infrastructure in place today, it will take decades for Afghanistan to exploit its mineral wealth fully. “This is a country that has no mining culture,” said Jack Medlin, a geologist in the United States Geological Survey’s international affairs program. “They’ve had some small artisanal mines, but now there could be some very, very large mines that will require more than just a gold pan.”

The mineral deposits are scattered throughout the country, including in the southern and eastern regions along the border with Pakistan that have had some of the most intense combat in the American-led war against the Taliban insurgency.

I'm no expert, but China and the US, among other countries, fighting for this land and their resources could lead to WW3.

What do you all think? It's going to turn into a battle of who really does/will control this land and all it offers.

It's nearly $1 trillion. That's nothing. It sounds like politicians are still trying to justify a useless war that get a lot of innocent people killed.

It's nothing on the global scale. It's hugely significant in Afghanistan where (when I left) 46 afghanis were exchanging for 1 dollar.

Now if Pakistan wants to be helpful (doubtful), they will open up a duty free route to the port in Lahore for Afghani goods to be shipped. If that doesn't work, we can try and negotiate passage to the Caspian Sea.

 

[CurveLight]

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

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,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys.

While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.

This. Changes. Everything.

It certainly could. As I've often said, the problem in Afghanistan is economic (and not military) in nature. We can't leave until the government has some sort of economic infrastructure in place to support it.

Of course, now will enter the conspiracy theorists that claim we went into Astan for the "lithium".

Those CTers are more respectable than the CTers who claim we went because of 9E. Anyone who thinks we went there for anything other than strategic military placement and control of resources has never really studied the issue.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Yeah, well, FINE. I hope so, you know. I HOPE this breaks the brutal cycle of violence Afghanistan's lived in for centuries. Just saying I'm not very optimistic.

Neither am I at this point...but that's no excuse to trash the discovery, bitch and complain about our policies and say they are fucked now...

Fair enough and good point... They were already fucked.

Thanks...I'll give you that...

 

[geauxtohell]

Those CTers are more respectable than the CTers who claim we went because of 9E. Anyone who thinks we went there for anything other than strategic military placement and control of resources has never really studied the issue.

Well, it obviously wasn't the minerals since we just found them.

So let me guess: the oil pipeline?

We won't see a cent out of that deal. Lame.

Chalk me up to one of those people that "has never really studied the issue" though I've read more books and spent a year of my life in Afghanistan.

We went in when the Taliban refused to give up Al Queda. After three thousands Americans were killed by Al Queda, we were entirely justified to go in and, in fact, if Bush wouldn't have gone in, I suspect the American people would have demanded it.

I'll never dispute that going into Iraq was a diversion and I might even buy that there was a conspiracy afoot to get us there.

However, Afghanistan? No way.

 

[geauxtohell]

I really fail to see how anyone can construe this to be a bad development.

 

[JimH52]

So with the new found wealth, we show the Government how to cash in, sign contracts, and make money off the minerals. Once they are propped up and self sufficient, bring our troops back home!

 

[PatekPhilippe]

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com





This. Changes. Everything.

It certainly could. As I've often said, the problem in Afghanistan is economic (and not military) in nature. We can't leave until the government has some sort of economic infrastructure in place to support it.

Of course, now will enter the conspiracy theorists that claim we went into Astan for the "lithium".

Those CTers are more respectable than the CTers who claim we went because of 9E. Anyone who thinks we went there for anything other than strategic military placement and control of resources has never really studied the issue.

Wow...a thousands posts of crap.....and then this!!!!

 

[geauxtohell]

So with the new found wealth, we show the Government how to cash in, sign contracts, and make money off the minerals. Once they are propped up and self sufficient, bring our troops back home!

That's been the basic plan since '04. However, the country had no resources to make money off of.

So we are still there.

 

[geauxtohell]

It certainly could. As I've often said, the problem in Afghanistan is economic (and not military) in nature. We can't leave until the government has some sort of economic infrastructure in place to support it.

Of course, now will enter the conspiracy theorists that claim we went into Astan for the "lithium".

Those CTers are more respectable than the CTers who claim we went because of 9E. Anyone who thinks we went there for anything other than strategic military placement and control of resources has never really studied the issue.

Wow...a thousands posts of crap.....and then this!!!!

I might buy "strategic military placement" but "control of resources"?

Until this article: what fucking resources?

 

[PatekPhilippe]

So with the new found wealth, we show the Government how to cash in, sign contracts, and make money off the minerals. Once they are propped up and self sufficient, bring our troops back home!

We need to bring our troops home long before we invest that much blood. Let them sort out their own future after we achieve our stated goals by Obama. It's his show now.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Those CTers are more respectable than the CTers who claim we went because of 9E. Anyone who thinks we went there for anything other than strategic military placement and control of resources has never really studied the issue.

Wow...a thousands posts of crap.....and then this!!!!

I might buy "strategic military placement" but "control of resources"?

Until this article: what fucking resources?

The Russians found this stuff years ago, records in Afghanistan were not destroyed during the Taliban government being deposed....the size and scope of the find was just verified by our own geologists

 

[Mr Natural]

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

How about we use that $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits to fundamentally alter the US economy by paying down our national debt.

And if the Afghanis don't like it, fuck 'em. We rid them of the Taliban what more do they want?

 

[geauxtohell]

Wow...a thousands posts of crap.....and then this!!!!

I might buy "strategic military placement" but "control of resources"?

Until this article: what fucking resources?

The Russians found this stuff years ago, records in Afghanistan were not destroyed during the Taliban government being deposed....the size and scope of the find was just verified by our own geologists

It's no secret that Afghanistan has minerals. Like I said, China has had a contract to mine copper there for at least a year.

Chinese firm wins Afghan copper mining deal with $3bn bid - Times Online

Since we are talking about minerals, the size and scope of the minerals in the country is basically the most important factor.