U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan

[The baron of norsworthy]

List of Bilderberg participants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

always a good read

 

[brianugly]

My history teacher made a prediction that Israel will attack Iran before the end of next year...he used to be military, and he has a doctorate in history. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[0x00]

 

[MineGoesTo11]

Ask the average African how the diamond trade is doing wonders for them.

 

[winexprt]

Excellent take on this obvious propaganda announcement:

The Mineral Miracle? Or a Massive Information Operation?

Were it not for the byline of James Risen, a New York Times reporter currently in a legal battle with the Obama administration over the identity of his sources, a second read of his blockbuster A1 story this morning, U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan, would engender some fairly acute skepticism. For one, a simple Google search identifies any number of previous stories with similar details.

The Bush Administration concluded in 2007 that Afghanistan was potentially sitting on a goldmine of mineral resources and that this fact ought to become a central point of U.S. policy in bolstering the government.

The Soviets knew this in 1985 (snip).

A former senior State Department official said that regular discussions between the U.S. and the Karzai government over how to best exploit the resources for potential future use were ongoing when he was privy to those discussions around 2006.

By 2009, the government had already begun to solicit bids for various mining opportunities.

Jonathan Landay of McClatchy was on to the geopolitical importance of Afghanistan's mineral reserves in 2009, writing that China's thirst for coal might be the key to regional stabilization.

Already, there are accusations that the REAL reason the US is in Afghanistan is because WE want to exploit those mines. (snip)

The general perception about the war here and overseas is that the counterinsurgency strategy has failed to prop up Hamid Karzai's government in critical areas, and is destined to ultimately fail. This is not how the war was supposed to be going, according to the theorists and policy planners in the Pentagon's policy shop.

What better way to remind people about the country's potential bright future -- and by people I mean the Chinese, the Russians, the Pakistanis, and the Americans -- than by publicizing or re-publicizing valid (but already public) information about the region's potential wealth?

The Obama administration and the military know that a page-one, throat-clearing New York Times story will get instant worldwide attention. The story is accurate, but the news is not that new; let's think a bit harder about the context....

The Mineral Miracle? Or a Massive Information Operation? - Politics - The Atlantic

 

[geochem1st]

Excellent take on this obvious propaganda announcement:

Propaganda? The story is accurate. How people interpret what they read, which will be determined by their own political bent, is what will decide if its propaganda or not, only in thier own minds.

 

[winexprt]

Propaganda? The story is accurate. How people interpret what they read, which will be determined by their own political bent, is what will decide if its propaganda or not, only in thier own minds.

Sorry. Maybe I wasn't clear.

I'm not doubting the veracity that there are vast natural resources in Afghanistan. Nor was there any interpretation: I accept it as true.

It's the timing of the release of this information that is suspect, IMO.

And how information (however factual) is selectively released by Governments at a point in time as a tool to influence opinion (PsyOps).

The release now, of information that is OLD NEWS, should certainly raise suspicion.

 

[geochem1st]

Sorry. Maybe I wasn't clear.

I'm not doubting the veracity that there are vast natural resources in Afghanistan. Nor was there any interpretation: I accept it as true.

It's the timing of the release of this information that is suspect, IMO.

And how information (however factual) is selectively released by Governments at a point in time as a tool to influence opinion (PsyOps).

The release now, of information that is OLD NEWS, should certainly raise suspicion.

While attempts to survey the extent of the mineral deposits were made since the former USSR was there, they do not compare to the quality of survey that has recently been made. This would make the news pertinent.

Armed with the old Russian charts, the United States Geological Survey began a series of aerial surveys of Afghanistan’s mineral resources in 2006, using advanced gravity and magnetic measuring equipment attached to an old Navy Orion P-3 aircraft that flew over about 70 percent of the country.

The data from those flights was so promising that in 2007, the geologists returned for an even more sophisticated study, using an old British bomber equipped with instruments that offered a three-dimensional profile of mineral deposits below the earth’s surface. It was the most comprehensive geologic survey of Afghanistan ever conducted.

........

But the results gathered dust for two more years, ignored by officials in both the American and Afghan governments. In 2009, a Pentagon task force that had created business development programs in Iraq was transferred to Afghanistan, and came upon the geological data. Until then, no one besides the geologists had bothered to look at the information — and no one had sought to translate the technical data to measure the potential economic value of the mineral deposits.

 

[Tuxedo Kaz]

Hey, Geo, any chance for some investment tips? (I'm only half-joking).

 

[winexprt]

NYT reporter defends Afghan minerals piece, lashes out at critics - Yahoo! News

"Several months ago, Milt started telling me about what they were finding," Risen said. "At the beginning of the year, I said I wanted to do a story on it." At first both Bearden and Brinkley resisted, Risen said, but he eventually wore them down. "Milt convinced Brinkley to talk to me," he said, "and Brinkley convinced other Pentagon officials to go on the record. I think Milt realized that things were going so badly in Afghanistan that people would be willing to talk about this."

Basically proves the release of the story about this vast "discovery" of riches was strategically timed for PsyOp purposes.

 

[geochem1st]

Basically proves the release of the story about this vast "discovery" of riches was strategically timed for PsyOp purposes.

You've been reading too many Tom Clancy novels, PsyOps?. This is the best they could come up with to distract public opinion from the war not doing well, which in itself was common knowledge already?

 

[Lyrica]

i'm not surprised the war isn't going well, but i haven't heard anything about it lately. all i see on the news is "oil spill"

 

[MineGoesTo11]

You've been reading too many Tom Clancy novels, PsyOps?. This is the best they could come up with to distract public opinion from the war not doing well, which in itself was common knowledge already?

Well they don't have Micheal Jackson to cause a diversion anymore.

 

[Strikerfox]

You guys are missing the real reason for the next big war.

WATER!

Global Warming, regardless of human or natural reasons, has lead to an increase in melting of Mountain Glaciers across the world. It may come to a surprise to some but the majority of the world's population rely on mountain glaciers as their source of fresh water. The Majority of the MAJOR world rivers are fed by glaciers. The trouble today is that many major rivers not only serve as lifelines for major populations, but also serve as sources of industry and income for many countries.

These Rivers can cross country lines and eventually as flow goes down its possible for countries to Dam rivers, cutting water supply to another country downstream (Something Turkey wants to do with either the tigris or the euphrates)

Furthermore, too many of these rivers are extremely polluted which is also an issue.

The most Volatile areas would the middle east and Asia (India-Pakistan-China) for control of water. China, depending on its rivers for its industrial capabilities and also for its immense population, would be in direct competition with India for resources from the Himalayas. Then India and Pakistan Share the Indus River, with tensions between them already sky high.... not a pretty picture.

On the other hand, North America has been blessed with Giant Reserves of fresh water, including the Ogallala aquifer under the midwest and vast Lakes in Canada, we do not really see a problem obtaining water to use or drink.

Add in increasing over population, decreasing forest to make way for farmland, increasing desertification of previous fertile lands, and more and more water needed to keep farm land alive... you get the picture.

Without Oil we cannot power our cars... Without water we cannot live.

my 2 cents.

 

[coldsteal2]

as long as we have oceans we have water, it evaporates
it rains it replenishes the earth, its used, it evaporates
it goes into the air, rains repeat.

but yea some areas have to have it piped in so i can
see how it will be a problem some day

 

[geochem1st]

as long as we have oceans we have water, it evaporates
it rains it replenishes the earth, its used, it evaporates
it goes into the air, rains repeat.

but yea some areas have to have it piped in so i can
see how it will be a problem some day

The problem with the cycle you describe is water storage. The ice naturally locks up fresh water, without it most of the freshwater in the form of rain disappears quickly and can not be used.