Pentagon promotes idea of Afghanistan's mineral wealth

Five points stand out in David Sirota's essay below. One, U.S. scientists have confirmed that Afghanistan has vast mineral resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Two, this information has long been known. Three, it is being tauted now as a possible additional justification for keeping U.S. occupation forces in Afghanistan longer than otherwise - indeed, indefinitely. Four, the American people may have warmed up to the idea that foreign wars are worth figthing for valuable resources that the country needs. Five, if the later point is valid, then the Pentagon can count on public support for an increasing number and longer wars in the near future.

Michael T. Klare has written extensively about how the global economy is being increasingly shaped by competition for resources. Goggle his name for a host of his article and check out his two most recent books: Resource Wars: The News Landscape of Global Conflict and Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy.


By David Sirota, AlterNetPosted on June 19, 2010, Printed on June 20, 2010http://www.alternet.org/story/147259/

Excerpts:

Point one: ...."New York Times headline – "U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan" – many probably wondered how this information was being presented as "news" in 2010."

Point two: "After all, humanity has long been aware of the country's vast natural resources.... This 'discovery' in fact is ancient history tracing back to the times of Marco Polo."

Point three: ..."the Pentagon is probably trying to bolster Americans' support for the flagging Afghanistan campaign by "publicizing or re-publicizing valid but already public information about the region's potential wealth."

Point four:... "Remember, the idea that the U.S. invades countries to pilfer natural resources was once written off as an inflammatory insult and/or an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory.... This manufactured construct, though, began eroding as soon as George W. Bush started turning the "war for oil" aspersion into a proud clarion call."

....

"Whereas it was previously considered uncouth for anyone to even suggest that economic hegemony might motivate U.S. military action, our leaders are now boldly selling wars as commendable instruments of such profit-focused imperialism."

Point five: "Importantly, this revised message relies on the new assumption that the public now sees resource conflicts not as detestable – but as worthy and even admirable. And should that assumption prove true, it would mean that this latest exercise in martial propaganda represents more than mere marketing innovation. It would signal a disturbing change in what the population thinks is – and is not – a just reason for war."

David Sirota is the author of the best-selling books Hostile Takeover and The Uprising. He hosts the morning show on AM760 in Colorado and blogs at OpenLeft.com. E-mail him at ds@davidsirota.com or follow him on Twitter @davidsirota.