exactly why are we spending a trillion dollars proping up this guy? Afghan President Hamid Karzai said this week that Japan -- not the U.S. -- takes priority over other nations when it comes to mining his country's vast mineral deposits. Karzai made his proclamation during a five-day visit to Japan. Over that same time period, news reports surfaced that Afghanistan and Pakistan planned to negotiate with U.S.-NATO enemies, the U.N. reported that insurgent violence is surging, and Reuters tried to parse the Pentagon's mixed messages over U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. During an appearance at Japan Institute for International Affairs, Karzai focused on his country's mineral deposits. He Pointed to Japan's status as Afghanistan's second-biggest donor, and reasoned that Japan should enjoy special access to Afghan resources with estimated values that range from $1-3 trillion dollars. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/20/japan-has-priority-on-rig_n_618545.html
The whole question of "minerals" is a lame attempt to make occupation of afghanistan attractive. It is a desperate and stupid thing. No matter how valuable those minerals are(I have my doubts) it would be dangerous to mine them. US occupation of afghanistan is a doomed affair. Whether under Obama or a republican president US will have to withdrraw troops. Nobody is going to tolerate another 10 years there.
+1 Its not doomed in the sense that we are going to lose militarily. Its doomed in that we are not going to be able to turn Afghanistan into a miniature version of the United States complete with 7-eleven on the corner and pizza delivery. Its just not going to happen. That place is seriously operating in the 12th century and the entire culture is incredibly adept at resisting outside influence. Its funny the way they announce the mineral thing like it is new. That area has been known to contain very rich concentrations of gold and silver for a very long time. The lithium is the new part. Its also been long known that it would be impossible to setup mining operations in Afghanistan. Armed resistance in the mountains would be encountered and these guys are not Iraqis. The Afghans actually *like* to fight, its like a hobby for some of the mountain tribes. Not some ragged Talibans, I'm talking about the muhajadeen. The hard-asses up in the hills.