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[François]

US identifies vast mineral riches in Afghanistan

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.

So far, the biggest mineral deposits discovered are of iron and copper, and the quantities are large enough to make Afghanistan a major world producer of both, United States officials said. Other finds include large deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, rare earth elements and large gold deposits in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan.

Just this month, American geologists working with the Pentagon team have been conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan where they believe there are large deposits of lithium. Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large of those of Bolivia, which now has the world’s largest known lithium reserves.

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 will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.

Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country.

The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced.

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.

oh

my

god

[Mongrel]

Anybody following the McChrystal silliness?

Here's the original article that started the mess, in case you were wondering

[Ziiro]

"The dinner comes with the position, sir," says his chief of staff, Col. Charlie Flynn.

McChrystal turns sharply in his chair.

"Hey, Charlie," he asks, "does this come with the position?"

McChrystal gives him the middle finger.

I like him already.

"Who's he going to dinner with?" I ask one of his aides.

"Some French minister," the aide tells me. "It's fucking gay."

This aide, however?

[Mongrel]

The second paragraph on page 5 pretty much says "You think there's even the ghost of a chance of winning Afghanistan? You probably wanna rethink that guess."

(I didn't just quote it, because you need to read the preceding material).

Hell, the fifth page as a whole is pretty goddamned heartbreaking.

[SCD]

That quote is the root of all that is wrong in the US military, and why I look forward with glee for the cuts that are being made by both Gates and Canada's own chief (the one in the uniform). 

There are too many office jockeys and suits who have never been out on the lines who believe they can interpret the commanders intent and translate that into understandable rules of engagement better than the veterans, which are in a very large supply right now.  Add the diplomatic offices into the works (there is not much love for the un-uniformed crooks working in state these days for the people who've been there again and again and again), and put together a team of the best, most experienced Afghan and black staffers who love the sharp end, and articles like that were going to happen sooner or later. 

That being said, if Obama punts the 4-star, he will lose Afghanistan and the next election.  I will put money on that.

[Brentai]

And if he doesn't he basically acknowledges that he is not Commander-in-Chief.

[SCD]

I believe I have said sometime back that Obama will be a one-term president, which got poo-poo'ed. 

I wish to take my prediction one step further by stating that the first black president will be followed by the first female president.  You heard it here first (not that I'd admire her).

[Royal☭]

What exactly is winning in Afghanistan?

[Mongrel]

For this generation, there is no such thing.

The problem is getting anybody to admit that.

That quote is the root of all that is wrong in the US military, and why I look forward with glee for the cuts that are being made by both Gates and Canada's own chief (the one in the uniform). 

There are too many office jockeys and suits who have never been out on the lines who believe they can interpret the commanders intent and translate that into understandable rules of engagement better than the veterans, which are in a very large supply right now.  Add the diplomatic offices into the works (there is not much love for the un-uniformed crooks working in state these days for the people who've been there again and again and again), and put together a team of the best, most experienced Afghan and black staffers who love the sharp end, and articles like that were going to happen sooner or later. 

That being said, if Obama punts the 4-star, he will lose Afghanistan and the next election.  I will put money on that.

It was more tragic than that even.

When you boil it down, McChrystal is smart enough to realize that killing civilians is going to destroy anything you do faster than you can ever hope to rebuild it. It was probably the single biggest problem they had. But it's all come way WAY too late.

You can see McChrystal's lost the room and can't really convince the rank and file. In the article they say that when McChrystal's there and explains the rules of engagement, the troops get it, with the problems starting after he leaves. But even in the little scene they describe, the soldiers don't accept it. He just seems to be saying "I know it's hard guys, but you gotta have faith." without really explaining it in a way that anybody really believes in it.

I mean, the guy is willing to put his life on the line to be with the men and show that he means what he says, but even that's not cutting it. Nobody's getting anywhere and soldiers are simply getting frustrated to the point where they just want to kill shit - but if you go that route, you're fucked anyway.

They lost the war 3-5 years ago, for a variety of reasons. They haven't stopped the money. They haven't stopped the weapons. And they've only increased enemy recruitment. And now they're all trapped in the hell without end together.

Fuck, I'd give someone massive credit just for openly saying they should just go "Look, we lost. We didn't do this right and now it's gone to hell with no hope of recovery. Sure, it's selfish as fuck, but we're broke, only a minority of people here want us to stay, and none of our allies seem to give a fuck about something that'll probably hurt them before it hurts us, so we're leaving. Now. No 'advisors', no aid funding, nothing. We lost and we're just going. Bye."

That too would be the wrong decision in many ways. It would directly cause the deaths of thousands of vulnerable Afghans and be a huge victory for international terrorism (of course, there is the argument that says international terrorism has already won, just by bleeding so many trillons away), but just once I'd like to see someone stand up and say something like that, just for the sheer balls of it all. At least it might prompt an honest discussion of what to do, as opposed to the usual blithering horseshit.

[Mongrel]

Oh I have to admit that this NBC quote made me giggle.

We also learned from Hastings' story that McChrystal's favorite beverage is Bud Light Lime, so we can only assume the bus was well stocked. The real question is where in Paris would one procure such a wondrous delicacy (and which foul-mouthed staffer's job it was).

Mostly because I tried some Bud Light Lime for the first time ever on Sunday.

It tastes like Sprite.

It tastes exactly like fucking Sprite.

[patito]

I don't really like beer, but if that's the case I would totally drink Bud Light lime.

Also, wait, are they planning to remove McChrystal? He seems to know what he's doing pretty well.

[Mongrel]

I think he's gong to survive by the skin of his teeth, but that O-Dawg is going to tear him a new one before and after kicking him up and down the white house lawn.

To make it clear, McChrystal (or his staff) slags everybody in that article (I mean everybody) EXECEPT Obama (you could argue that he was indirectly slagged, but eh, it's still an 'out'), so this isn't another Douglas MacArthur kinda thing. Just a bunch of fratboys getting REALLY DAMN STOOPID ALL UP IN HERE.


EDIT:

Oh and the version of my big post above is:

McChrystal has been mostly right, but he can't really convince anybody below him. And now with this Rolling Stone article, he'll never convince anyone above him either.

Both problems are kinda his fault and kinda not-his-fault.

[patito]

Oh wait, that article was actually a thing? I thought it was pretty entertaining, I didn't know there was a fuss about it.

[Mongrel]

Oh wait, that article was actually a thing? I thought it was pretty entertaining, I didn't know there was a fuss about it.

Well, they pretty much call the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Biden, a variety of allies, and half the general staff (including both his direct superiors), morons of various capacities.

Yeah there's a fuss.

[Thad]

That being said, if Obama punts the 4-star, he will lose Afghanistan and the next election.  I will put money on that.

And if he doesn't he basically acknowledges that he is not Commander-in-Chief.

The aide gets fired, the general apologizes, and everybody forgets about it by next month.  If the Republicans want to make a big deal out of it come November, Obama can only make it worse by getting rid of McChrystal; "He fired a general who criticized him" is a much better attack ad than "He failed to fire a general who criticized him."

I believe I have said sometime back that Obama will be a one-term president, which got poo-poo'ed. 

I wish to take my prediction one step further by stating that the first black president will be followed by the first female president.  You heard it here first (not that I'd admire her).

So do you think it's going to be the incompetent talking-point machine who quit in the middle of her term, or are you suggesting a cabinet official is going to quit her post to run against the President in the primary?  Because those both sound pretty damn farfetched to me.

I'm pretty frickin' nonplussed with Obama at the moment, but I still see him winning in '012 simply by default.  I've yet to see anything resembling a good contender in the Republican field, and the idea of a Democratic challenge in the primary is a fantasy.

[Mongrel]

I figure the best possible demonstration of what'll happen if the Tea Party-Palin crowd actually gets their claws on the nomination, is the comedy that followed Ron Paul's kid (his name escapes me right now) getting the Republican ticket nomination in whatever state it was. Just repeat that, but on a larger scale.

But that's a discussion for another thread.

[Shinra]

Yeah, I'm with Thad on this. I was honestly really worried about Obama's reelection, but there's no electable candidate the opposition could put foward at this point- I'm sure McCain would try again, but I doubt the party would have him and no doubt a "tea party" candidate would come out of the wordwork to run against him in the general election. Beyond that, what do they have left? Sarah Palin may be loved by the roots of the party but moderates and undecideds hate her, not to mention the advertising machine that could point out how she couldn't handle the stress of an executive office in the least populated state in the country. Everyone else is (at best) a joke candidate. Glenn Beck / Joe the Plumber ticket in 2012? Huckabee has talked about running (again) but nobody knows who he is and he has all the charisma and appeal of a wet brown sack of dog shit.

I still think Romney is the most dangerous candidate that the republicans could field, just like he would have been the most dangerous candidate if he'd won the nomination in 2008 - the problem is that the base fucking hates Romney (being a Michigan/Massachusetts Republican) and he does not have a prayer of winning a primary. Republicans are nothing if not irrational, and electability is going to take a backseat to whether or not he's going to kick out the A-rabs and Mexicans, and whether or not he thinks a fetus has a soul. Not to mention he's Mormon.

With the shit that happened in New York earlier this year, I can't really see any result that does not end with "Tea Party" third party splinters off and loses the election for republicans ala Ross Perot or Ralph Nader.
 

[SCD]

Thad:  I'm suggesting the later in a circumstance where she would not have to run in a primary where the incumbent was an opponent.  Again, this may seem far-fetched, but you heard it here first.  And as you say, there are no GOP candidates, because most of them are stereotypes and it's way to early to run an "I like Ike" campaign for a competent ex-serviceman centrist who has experience in creating order and better-than-anarchy governance from a situation which was quite the attempted genocide, which I wouldn't bet on happening on account of the republicans being that lost. 


Matt:  After some deliberate thought, I don't think it's over just yet.  There is a lot that is being left out of the papers of how things are conducted in the absence of cracking skulls, and why.  While this strategy has been successful when it was employed in other recent theaters there was a lot of allied deaths.  The general will have to account for his words and the words of his aides, however.  That, he is responsible for as the captain of his ship.  However I rescind my comments about losing on account of him being punted.  He is not the only player in the US greens in Afghanistan. 

Better yet, someone says it better than I can

This is going to be the case here for a little while longer.  That being said, if the Americans would have just cut off Saudi revenue back in 2001, then the more shadowy crown princes and their mullahs wouldn't be in a position to purchase the Chinese weaponry that rains down mortars and rockets on my buddies. 

Actually, come to think of it, it's still not too late to crack a high-altitude nuclear warhead over the Saudis to ensure that the wahabbi scumbags would be closer to achieving the dream of living like the prophet...  Heck, it would be the greatest gift to the Egyptians as well, considering how close they are to being couped by the Muslim Brotherhood!  No deaths, no radiation (there's already plenty of Alpha, Beta and Gamma up there anyway), and plausible deniability:  America is an ally of the Saudis, and Israel and Saudi military cooperation has never been higher due to the Iranian threat...

[Mongrel]

Alright, well I didn't know the new deployment hadn't even really come online yet. I guess we'll what happens.

But the Graveyard of Empires isn't done with us all yet. Not by a damn sight.

[Thad]

Ron Paul's kid (his name escapes me right now)

There's a very easy mnemonic.

Just repeat that, but on a larger scale.

Well, we kind of already did.  When she was running for VP.

Huckabee has talked about running (again) but nobody knows who he is and he has all the charisma and appeal of a wet brown sack of dog shit.

I'll agree on appeal but not charisma; I think he's a great speaker.  Frankly he might be the ideal Tea Party candidate since, unlike Sarah, he has a brain.

On the other hand, he doesn't hate poor people, so that might work against him.

With the shit that happened in New York earlier this year, I can't really see any result that does not end with "Tea Party" third party splinters off and loses the election for republicans ala Ross Perot or Ralph Nader.

Neither of those things actually happened.

Thad:  I'm suggesting the later in a circumstance where she would not have to run in a primary where the incumbent was an opponent.  Again, this may seem far-fetched, but you heard it here first.

So your theory is that Obama will become so polarizing that he'll step aside...so that Hillary goddamn CLINTON can run?

That's sort of from the "Would it help to confuse it if we run away more?" school of combat tactics, isn't it?