ZippyDippyDoo
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- Jun 5, 2010
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Pentagon officials hailed today the discovery of vast untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan as unalloyed good news for that country's U.S.-backed fledgling government, struggling with poverty, pervasive corruption and a bloody insurgency.
The officials confirmed a report in The New York Times today that teams of U.S. government geologists and Defense Department officials have discovered massive deposits of iron, gold, cobalt, copper and critical industrial minerals that could be worth as much as $1 trillion.
But as news of the discovery spread, it was unclear whether Afghanistan will benefit or suffer as it anticipates catapulting into the ranks of mineral-wealthy nations. High-stakes squabbling over the spoils could inflame the insurgency and deepen corruption, complicating U.S. efforts to bring the nine-year war with Islamist extremists to a close. Or the discovery could accelerate Afghanistan's development into a more modern, economically independent state.
Source:U.S. Discovers Nearly $1 Trillion in Mineral Reserves in Afghanistan
The officials confirmed a report in The New York Times today that teams of U.S. government geologists and Defense Department officials have discovered massive deposits of iron, gold, cobalt, copper and critical industrial minerals that could be worth as much as $1 trillion.
But as news of the discovery spread, it was unclear whether Afghanistan will benefit or suffer as it anticipates catapulting into the ranks of mineral-wealthy nations. High-stakes squabbling over the spoils could inflame the insurgency and deepen corruption, complicating U.S. efforts to bring the nine-year war with Islamist extremists to a close. Or the discovery could accelerate Afghanistan's development into a more modern, economically independent state.
Source:U.S. Discovers Nearly $1 Trillion in Mineral Reserves in Afghanistan