How will Afghanistan's newly discovered $trillion dollar mineral deposits effect its war and government?
U.S. geologists state that Afghanistan is sitting on a “stunning gold mine” of newly discovered mineral deposits, including gold and lithium(lithium is used in batteries for laptop and blackberry phones). how will these deposits now effect the war, the government and the people? will Afghanistan now prosper? or, will the Taliban increase its fighting to keep its hold on the Afghan people and government?
Sorce: New York Times
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The only thing I’m certain of here is that this is not a new discovery.
If the mines could be exploited, the war would end as people squabble over the wealth.
1) The War—I don’t think calling it a war is accurate, but USA’s troops will likely never leave Afghanistan voluntarily. As far as the fate of the fighting there, that depends on Taliban’s reaction to the discovery.
2) The Government—Mining/exporting gold and lithium would be a great substitute for the current opiate growth/production. This may, however, be too modern of an industry for the Taliban to tolerate.
3) The people—The establishment of gold and lithium industries in Afghanistan could result in a modernization of Afghanistan and its citizens. This could be beneficial, in that it may cause a modernization of rights also (women’s, in particular).
Overall, I think it all depends upon the Taliban.
you mean the minerals that were known to be there since 1985? If they haven’t done much with it in the last 25 years, I don’t see why they would suddenly start now.
Nigeria is in the same situation.
Gold, rare woods and oil. Plenty of it. But, because of the political unrest. It is not easy to access. Corruption and the population being so poor is preventing that wealth from flowing.
I believe that, as some of the answers say, this is not a new discovery. I expect, besides protecting pipelines and oil assets, it is one of the reasons that Afghanistan was originally invaded.
My position is that we got our revenge on the Al Qada, showed their leaders how to form a government and militia, and gave them enough information to provide for the rights of their people. It is up to the current Afghanistan government to follow through and to its citizens to form whatever type of government they want. Our obligation is finished and we should begin bringing the troops home today and have the entire operation completed in a month or two.
It is up the the Afghanistan people to form their own government and decide the century in which they choose to live. It is none of our business if they want a democracy, kingdom, tribal councils, or Sharia law. Our only obligation is to protect OUR country and that has been fulfilled. The only military obligation is to reserve the right to blow up terrorist training facilities if they are rebuilt.
@arpinum, great find. I’ve also heard this is advance damage control on whatever may come out of the latest Wikileaks release (of the State Department e-mails), but either way, it is refreshing to see a respected media source call BS on this nonstory.
You know, when I really think about it, I don’t give a damn about Afghanistan. We freed them from the Russians and the Taliban. We showed them how to set up a real government and are repaid with bombs and rhetoric. I think we should leave the country to it’s own resources and offer scholarships to its women.
I think educated, world-wise women would do far more to curb the macho tribal leaders than thousands of drone attacks.
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