Russ Baker from Whowhatwhy.com with a look at what could be the real reason we’re staying in Afghanistan:
When the United States decided to invade Afghanistan to grab Osama bin Laden—and failed, but stayed on like an unwanted guest—could it have known that the Afghans were sitting on some of the world’s greatest reserves of mineral wealth?
We’ve raised this topic before (see here)—where we noted the dubious 2010 claim, published by the New York Times, that “the vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was [recently] discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists.” Other evidence, and logic, point to the fact that everyone but the Western public knew for a long time, and before the 2001 invasion, that Afghanistan was a treasure trove.
So we were interested to see a new piece from the Times that emphasizes those riches without stressing the crucial question: Was the original impetus for the invasion really Osama—or Mammon?
The failure to pose this question is significant because the pretense of a “recent discovery” serves only to justify staying in Afghanistan now that the troops are already there—while ignoring the extent to which imperial-style resource grabs are the real drivers of foreign policy and wars, worldwide.
As long as we continue to dance around that issue, we will remain mired in disaster of both a financial and mortal nature. As long as we fail to tote up who are the principal winners and losers then we fail to understand what is going on.
Some of the least likely candidates for insight are waking up. To quote Alan Greenspan: “I’m saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.” Who will say the same about Afghanistan and its mineral wealth? Once we acknowledge what General Wesley Clark claims (and which the media keeps ignoring)—that he was told the U.S. had plans ready at the time of the 9/11 attacks to invade seven countries (including Iraq and Afghanistan)– then the larger picture begins to come into view.
Of course we’re there to stay. We’re an Imperialiist nation, remember? Why else would the CIA pay the Mujahadeen and Bin Laden to drive out the Soviets back in the 80’s. The country has been faught over for decades. Who the hell wants a cave with nothing in it? Oh, and Obama DID call it the “good war”, didn’t he!
Ted Rall’s Gas War pretty much told the story ten years ago.
That the NYT is staffed with “reporters” so poorly informed that they might have been ignorant of the casus belli and the wealth of literature concerning it speaks either to their poor judgment in hiring or a corporate diktat to tell the story the Pentagon’s and Multinationals’ way.
That most of this mineral wealth is located in the eastern part of the country along the Pakistan border and most of our forces have for 11 years been concentrated in that area is telling. It’s also interesting to note that it’s Chinese mining company’s who are pulling the minerals out of the ground while US troops patrol the area. You don’t suppose that all of that money that Chinese have “loaned” us is really protection money do you? That all the Chinese care about is a yearly kickback we will call an interest payment?
I remember when this mineral wealth story first came out. It was completely ignored by Corporate Media.
Either way, I’m sure it has something to do with money. Even if everyone left today, there would still be all the unexploded ordinance to kill all the little children. Hasn’t it been that way for a long time?
It makes me want to go there and stomp and holler at the top of my lungs: FUCK YOU ALL MOTHERFUCKERS!
And then some.
just me: I love the last comment!