(Please don’t let us mess this up!): Afghanistan extends ceasefire with Taliban

Let them sort this out themselves. It’s the only way it will work.

Afghanistan extends ceasefire with Taliban
16 June 2018

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Tears, hugs and selfies as Afghan troops and Taliban mark a truce for Eid

Afghanistan has extended its unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban following an initial truce observed by both sides over the Eid festival period.

President Ashraf Ghani appealed to the militants to follow the government's lead and enter peace talks.

In extraordinary scenes, militants have been embracing security force members and taking selfies with citizens.

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What did President Ghani say?

In a TV address Mr Ghani said the government was ready for "comprehensive negotiations" with the Taliban.

"All those issues and demands that have been put forth we are ready to discuss them at the peace talks," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-44507090

We started this mess. We’ve kept the carnage going. There are things there that out PTB want, like rare earths and a pipeline.

Mining in
Afghanistan
controlled by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, which is headquartered in Kabul with regional offices in other parts of the country. Afghanistan has over 1400 mineral fields,[1][2][3] containing barite, chromite, coal, copper, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, petroleum, precious and semi-precious stones, salt, sulfur, talc, and zinc, among many other minerals.[1][4] Gemstones include high-quality emerald, lapis lazuli, red garnet and ruby. According to a joint study by The Pentagon and the United States Geological Survey, Afghanistan has an estimated US$3 trillion[5] of untapped minerals. There are six lapis mines in Afghanistan, the largest being located in Badakhshan province. There are around 12 copper mines in Afghanistan, including the Aynak copper deposit located in Logar province.[6] 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. This potential includes the construction of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline gas pipeline.[7] The first Afghan oil production began in October 2012.[8] Afghanistan's resources could make it one of the richest mining regions in the world.[9]

1. "Market Prospects" (PDF). Afghanistan Investment Support Agency. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
2. "Minerals in Afghanistan" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
3. Latifi, Ali M. (2013). "Afghan mines among world's most dangerous". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
4. Kuo, Chin S. "The Mineral Industry Of Afghanistan" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
5. "Afghanistan's resources could make it the richest mining region on earth however due to the war lasting over 30 years their mining has failed". The Independent. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-29. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
7. http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/ECONOMY/natural%20resources.htm
8. Nicholson, Brendan (April 4, 2011). "Kabul's eye on Aussie expertise". The Australian.
9. Sengupta, Kim (June 15, 2010). "Afghanistan's resources could make it the richest mining country on earth". The Independent. London

Which brings up the biggest possible hitch in this whole possible peace deal. From the BBC article:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said peace talks would have to include a discussion on the role of "international actors and forces".

"The US stands ready to work with parties to reach a peace agreement and political settlement that brings a permanent end to this war," he said.

I hope that these peace talks come off. But with all that loot on the line, I cannot see the greedy shits who run this country just walking away.

Let’s all hope that I’m wrong.

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janis b's picture

Eid Mubarak means "blessed celebration". This seems like the perfect time for peace, and like you I hope it has a chance.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

@janis b

I just couldn’t resist.

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

janis b's picture

@Amanda Matthews

hope that mellows resistance in order to make things more permeable.

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detroitmechworks's picture

with International forces consists of two questions.

"When Are You Leaving?"

And...

"No, that's all you get to contribute. When are You leaving? Timetable, NOW."

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Bisbonian's picture

@detroitmechworks That would be the only appropriate discussion.

EDIT: With the possible exception of "don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you."

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

snoopydawg's picture

won't be leaving anytime soon.

WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE DYING FOR IN AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban had all but eradicated the opium growers before the US invasion. So why is cheap Afghani heroin flooding into the United States?

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Lots more photos in this article. This is worth a full read.

>Next we would like to hear from Mr. John J. Maresca, vice president of international relations, Unocal Corporation. You may proceed as you wish.

Mr. Maresca. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's nice to see you again. I am John Maresca, vice president for international relations of the Unocal Corporation. Unocal, as you know, is one of the world's leading energy resource and project development companies. I appreciate your invitation to speak here today. I believe these hearings are important and timely. I congratulate you for focusing on Central Asia oil and gas reserves and the role they play in shaping U.S. policy.

I would like to focus today on three issues. First, the need for multiple pipeline routes for Central Asian oil and gas resources. Second, the need for U.S. support for international and regional efforts to achieve balanced and lasting political settlements to the conflicts in the region, including Afghanistan. Third, the need for structured assistance to encourage economic reforms and the development of appropriate investment climates in the region. In this regard, we specifically support repeal or removal of section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.

Mr. Chairman, the Caspian region contains tremendous untapped hydrocarbon reserves. Just to give an idea of the scale, proven natural gas reserves equal more than 236 trillion cubic feet. The region's total oil reserves may well reach more than 60 billion barrels of oil. Some estimates are as high as 200 billion barrels. In 1995, the region was producing only 870,000 barrels per day. By 2010, western companies could increase production to about 4.5 million barrels a day, an increase of more than 500 percent in only 15 years. If this occurs, the region would represent about 5 percent of the world's total oil production.

One major problem has yet to be resolved: how to get the region's vast energy resources to the markets where they are needed. Central Asia is isolated. Their natural resources are land locked, both geographically and politically. Each of the countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia faces difficult political challenges. Some have unsettled wars or latent conflicts. Others have evolving systems where the laws and even the courts are dynamic and changing. In addition, a chief technical obstacle which we in the industry face in transporting oil is the region's existing pipeline infrastructure.

More talk about what countries have oil and existing pipelines that are in this guy's company's way.

The second option is to build a pipeline south from Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed for American companies because of U.S. sanctions legislation. The only other possible route is across Afghanistan, which has of course its own unique challenges. The country has been involved in bitter warfare for almost two decades, and is still divided by civil war. From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders, and our company.

Last October, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline Consortium, called CentGas, in which Unocal holds an interest, was formed to develop a gas pipeline which will link Turkmenistan's vast Dauletabad gas field with markets in Pakistan and possibly India. The proposed 790-mile pipeline will open up new markets for this gas, traveling from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Multan in Pakistan. The proposed extension would move gas on to New Delhi, where it would connect with an existing pipeline. As with the proposed Central Asia oil pipeline, CentGas can not begin construction until an internationally recognized Afghanistan Government is in place.

This article is worth a full read.

US policy on Taliban influenced by oil

The two claim that the US government's main objective in Afghanistan was to consolidate the position of the Taliban regime to obtain access to the oil and gas reserves in Central Asia.

They affirm that until August [2001], the US government saw the Taliban regime "as a source of stability in Central Asia that would enable the construction of an oil pipeline across Central Asia" from the rich oilfields in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, through Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the Indian Ocean. Until now, says the book, "the oil and gas reserves of Central Asia have been controlled by Russia. The Bush government wanted to change all that."

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Lookout's picture

that while in Afghanistan, the number one killer of US citizens 50 and under is opioids?

Thanks for the hopeful news Amanda.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Amanda Matthews's picture

@Lookout

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa