Inkwell Institute

International Studies Group

Central Asia Desk

It seems that the country of Afghanistan and its bloody little armed conflict is making its way into the news more and more…..recently we  in the US have passed a milestone, that is 1000 troops have been killed in this war.

Further back there has been a back and forth between Washington and Kabul on who is in charge and there was the humor that was the latest Afghan elections….corruption is rampant and that is just the most obvious of conditions in the war torn country.

Now the US has planned the all important push around Kandahar….looking for the hearts and minds of the locals in their attempt to isolate the Taliban….but this operation is NOT looking as good as it once did…..

The offensive had been slated to begin this month, but, as McChrystal admitted, the US has been unable to win the support either of tribal leaders and power brokers or of the populace in and around Afghanistan’s second largest city. The town of 450,000 in the heart of the Pashtun-dominated south is the birthplace of the Taliban and remains a key stronghold of the anti-occupation insurgency.

One result of the US offensive in Helmand province has been increased Taliban activity in Nimroz, the province to the west of Helmand that borders on Iran and Pakistan. The Army Times reported June 11 that Taliban fighters forced out of Helmand have shifted operations to Nimroz, previously considered the most stable part of southern Afghanistan.

There is the real story……the NATO troops move in…Taliban moves out and starts up again…this game of cat and mouse is NOT going to win any long term success for the occupation.

And now the worse news that can be had….

The previously unknown deposits of iron, copper, cobalt and gold are so huge that it could transform the impoverished nation into one of the world’s important mining centers, the report on the newspaper’s website said. (here)

The mineral wealth, discovered by a team of Pentagon officials and U.S. geologists, is scattered throughout the country including in the south and east along the border with Pakistan, where the Taliban-led insurgency is the most intense.

It is said to be worth about a trillion dollars……yes I said the WORSE news!

Why?

What chance does a country that is still living in the 2nd century have at controlling their new found assets?  What are their chances of avoiding the exploitation that is coming?  What are the chances that the US will stay to help protect US business interests?  What are the chances that any cash will be used to further the fundamentalism?

If you listen closely you can hear the Afghan politicians jerking off in the corner…they are drooling and smiling uncontrollably……if you want proof of my thoughts look at other resource rich countries like Nigeria and Bolivia…the corruption will only get larger and the people well get hungrier…….

My question is why now?

The Russians knew about the mineral deposits in 1985 and the US Pentagon has a report about them from 2003…so why is it reported now?  Personal opinion….it will give the US an excuse for NOT pulling out of Afghanistan totally……we cannot let China or Russia get their hands on all that copper or iron or whatever….and if an American company gets the mining nod then someone has got to protect their interests….Right?

Nothing about this announcement smells kosher!