My soldier had confirmation last week that he would indeed be deploying to Afghanistan next year. Bear in mind that we are supposedly going through a ‘drawdown’ in Afghanistan through 2014. But then again, we’ve now signed an agreement with Afghanistan to help them ‘police’ things for ten years (at least) after that.
When will we figure it out?
Did you know that one of the largest deposits of lithium in the world is supposedly in Afghanistan? From Wiki:
In June 2010, the New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. “Pentagon officials said that their initial analysis at one location in Ghazni Province showed the potential for lithium deposits as large of those of Bolivia, which now has the world’s largest known lithium reserves.” These estimates are “based principally on old data, which was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-1989″ and “Stephen Peters, the head of the USGS’s Afghanistan Minerals Project, said that he was unaware of USGS involvement in any new surveying for minerals in Afghanistan in the past two years. ‘We are not aware of any discoveries of lithium,’ he said.” Nice attempt at a cover, but I’m not buying it any more.
Why would we confirm this as the truth? It would present — dare I say it – economic justification for being in Afghanistan, because nothing else makes sense. The Afghans honestly could give a rat’s ass about our spreading ‘democracy’ through their geography. They appreciate money, or at least their politicians do because it’s highly unlikely that the regular folks there will ever see a dime from whatever large corporation moves in under cover and security of the US military to mine the stuff that powers every electronic device we are becoming dependent upon in the US, but the Afghan politicians will become rich because one thing we are exceptionally good at as a nation is spreading conspicuous consumption and love of money.
Lithium ion batteries. Is that a justification for risking the lives of our children and loved ones?
Here’s something else to warm your heart so you can sleep at night:
“The US department of defence estimated earlier t
his year that Afghanistan’s mineral resources could top $1 trillion, but experts say the fragile security situation could delay seeing the benefits of this wealth for years. The untapped mineral resources include iron ore, copper, lithium, oil, gas and gems, which Afghanistan hopes to develop in the near future despite rising insecurity in recent years - the bloodiest period since US-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001.” link here
I’m having a really hard time feeling all warm and fuzzy about any of this these days. Excuse me if I don’t swallow the pablum we’re being spoon fed by any group, manipulated and polarized news media, organized body politic, etc.
If it were their children’s lives on the line, would the game be the same? What is the cost of a human life compared to a cell phone battery?
To replace the battery in my phone right now would cost about $20 through Amazon.
Is that really all my son’s life is worth?
The post The Price of a Cell Phone Battery appeared first on The Daily Hurricane.