cooran wrote:Individual wrote:I feel like the U.S. was justified in invading Afghanistan -- which doesn't have any significant oil, by the way -- because they were harboring Bin Laden, refused to give him up, and were a major base for terrorism. We destroyed their bases and made them flee.
However, we certainly failed in foreign policy. Soldiers in Afghanistan no longer serve any purpose other than to simply legitimize the Karzai regime and Bin Laden moved to Pakistan. Much of American violence only acts as a rallying cry for radical Muslims.
It doesn't seem like an easy solution is in sight, because neither good diplomacy nor war would address the problem.
Hello individual,
It's
all about controllling resources ........
''As the war in Afghanistan unfolds, there is frantic diplomatic activity to ensure that any post-Taliban government will be both democratic and pro-West. Hidden in this explosive geo-political equation is the sensitive issue of securing control and export of the region's vast oil and gas reserves. The Soviets estimated Afghanistan's proven and probable natural gas reserves at 5 trillion cubic feet - enough for the United Kingdom's requirement for two years - but this remains largely untapped because of the country's civil war and poor pipeline infrastructure.
More importantly, according to the U.S. government, "Afghanistan's significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographical position as a potential transit route for oil and natural gas exports from central Asia to the Arabian Sea."
To the north of Afghanistan lies the Caspian and central Asian region, one of the world's last great frontiers for the oil industry due to its tremendous untapped reserves. The U.S. government believes that total oil reserves could be 270 billion barrels. Total gas reserves could be 576 trillion cubic feet.''
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/specia ... h162.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
with metta
Chris
This is a conspiracy theory. You can argue that any point on the planet earth is a strategic position as a potential transit route for oil.
I could talk a lot about this... For instance, why aren't we going to war with Russia over the north pole?
Also, oil is scarce. It seems obvious to a lot of people that we will eventually transition away from it, to a different energy source.
Thirdly, America is a market economy, not a feudalist monarchy which establishes colonies, where the local resources are exploited to send back to the homeland. The American government has
invested a lot in the Afghani and Iraqi economies, in order to promote stability. And if American companies ever do gain access to natural resources of Afghanistan or Iraq, it will only be through local law, respect for the property rights of the citizens, and open competition.
Here's one example on that last point:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37577656/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Chinese firms largely benefited from oil contracts -- Chinese firms which did not fund the war or have any part in it.
But perhaps it's more devious? Bush is no longer in office and we're still in Afghanistan and Iraq. Who is running this plan? Some kind of secret "New World Order" behind the scenes? Are Bush, Obama, and these Chinese oil companies all part of some kind of Illuminati?
And also, if maintaining our supply of oil was so important, why did the U.S. government allow so much of it to flow into the Gulf, with the BP scandal? You mean to tell me they will spend money to invade countries to procure oil, but they won't spend money to close a leak?
