Game-changer in Afghanistan??

[-Jrabbit]

Just got this breathless alert from the NY Times...

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Sun, June 13, 2010 -- 9:22 PM ET
-----

U.S. Discovers Nearly $1 Trillion in Afghan Mineral Deposits

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.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/wo...ls.html?emc=na

If true, it would really shuffle the deck.

[Kitschum]

Yes, and now watch as the independent not at all an American puppet Afghan government hands all the development contracts to Chinese, Russian and French companies.

[Al B. Sure!]

[The Mad Monk]

Yes, and now watch as the independent not at all an American puppet Afghan government hands all the development contracts to Chinese, Russian and French companies.

Well...that's one way to prove it isn't a puppet.

[Elok]

I could see this going sooooo many different ways...all I feel comfortable asserting is that Afghanistan isn't going to be able to stay in the twelfth century for much longer. Paging Rufus...

[SlowwHand]

Good. They needed something other than poppy crops to sustain the country.

[Al B. Sure!]

This is the best thing for the Afghan people, the process of democratization, and US military operations.

[DaShi]

Yay! Something else for them to kill each other and us over!

[ShaneWalter]

So how long until we start hearing "we're only in Afghanistan for the Cobalt!"

[SlowwHand]

Read up one.

[Dinner]

Just got this breathless alert from the NY Times...




If true, it would really shuffle the deck.

Start the bidding process and get the mines working.

[Dinner]

Yes, and now watch as the independent not at all an American puppet Afghan government hands all the development contracts to Chinese, Russian and French companies.

Sadly, this has been the pattern. US companies haven't gotten squat out of Afghanistan while the Chinese got their hands on some of the world's largest copper reserves.

[MrFun]

So now Afghan factions can kill one another over minerals.

[BeBMan]

Everyone needs a cause fighting for.

[C0ckney]

you've got to wonder about the timing of this announcement. there's been precious little progress in afghanstan recently, and then, suddenly, 'oh look we've found all these resources'.