… Everything looks like a resource grab:
Not surprised to see this one surfacing again. The only thing missing is access and transport roads. https://t.co/393lZQy2P6
— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) August 20, 2021
sure china already has a huge oil pipeline running from the caspian sea to xinjiang through the alataw pass which is 15,000 feet lower, but maybe they want a backup just in case gravity suddenly starts going the other way
— frank furtschool (@osamabishounen) August 19, 2021
old enough to remember this same pipeline conspiracy being peddled about the US presence; love a remix https://t.co/ICgoGeaSbP
— csz (@cszabla) August 18, 2021
having said that, china is welcome to get involved with a project that is most definitely not a disaster in the making
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) August 20, 2021
I am no foreign policy expert, but at the current moment, it would not surprise me if China’s ruling party considered itself duty-bound to get involved in Afghanistan’s politics just to prove that they, too, are a modern global empire capable of pouring lives and money down an unwinnable sinkhole…
Poe Larity
Maybe the Taliban could moderate with enough lithium.
Those Exxon Valdez scale oil leaks in the Himalayas should be interesting..
John Revolta
Also about half that pipeline runs through the heart of Northern Alliance (now known as the Panjshir or Second Resistance) territory which might make things interesting……………..
Enhanced Voting Techniques
They really are desperate for a reason to keep China out of Afghanistan.
piratedan
meet the new narrative, same as the old narrative….
makes me wonder where this bar is that they all meet and decide on how they will frame whatever they decide will be the “next” story.
Yutsano
I can’t see China doing anything like this. It’s way too much risk even with the ambitions of the Belt and Road Initiative. I could see them trying to get some resources but the Taliban probably won’t form a stable government any time soon. China won’t make any moves without some guarantee of stability.
trollhattan
Ugh. I remember listening to Amy Goodman interviewing Chomsky on the radio (I was in the East Bay, sue me!) fall 2021 before the invasion and he was going on and on about how we were doing it as a feint “to build a pipeline” from hither to yon and make the Usual Suspects rich-rich-rich, plus extra hegemony. As typical, she just let him yap with no pushback or, I dunno, follow-up questions re. sources and evidence? “There was a guy…”
Don’t even know where to start, but geography and security will do.
prostratedragon
There’s another precedent that most of us probably know: Napoleon’s hairpin march to Moscow. In the map, the width of the path bands indexes the size of Napoleon’s army at that point.
Not Afghanistan, but
1) you wonder how anyone who knew of it would not think twice (Wehrmacht);
2) or consider it an obvious analogy (UK in AG);
3) or repeat the error despite having been on the other side of Napoleon (USSR).
Hence the barely suppressed apoplexy with which many have contended these days, and which Pres. Biden is seeking to calm.
mrmoshpotato
@Poe Larity:
How are they going to get an oil tanker into the mountains? Hire Werner Herzog?
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@trollhattan: The idea that they invaded for a pipeline is unfounded. In fact the US didn’t even want to enter Afghanistan, they were completely focused on using terror attack as a pretext to invade Iraq.
That said, their had always been a pipeline pipe dream.
It only inflamed conspiracy theories by naming a oil pipeline executive as defacto ambassador.
Origuy
China has already been investing in mining in Afghanistan. There’s a movie called Saving Mes Aynak about a 5000-year-old archaeological site that happens to be on top of a huge copper deposit. The archaeologists were trying to get as much from the site as possible before the Chinese investors stripmined the whole area.
HumboldtBlue
I love music.
It keeps me around.
Above all, I love a voice
SixStringFanatic
Robin Williams used to joke that cocaine was “God’s way of telling you you’re making too much money”. Is “getting one’s military stuck in Afghanistan” the nation-state’s version of that?
Tehanu
Maybe they have more sense than we did. Or maybe they’re capable of learning from our horrible example. We certainly haven’t.
Ten Bears
After watching the world’s two leading superpowers in less than fifty years both get their asses kicked by a bunch of cavemen with muzzle-loading rifles, well … while they’re certainly welcome to it I just don’t think “China” is stupid enough to follow those examples.
I’ve been a bit distracted, what with my wife’s failing health, the weather and all so I haven’t been paying as close of attention as I used to, but have they pulled the “throwing incubator babies on the floor” out of their asses yet? Make the world safe for opium?
Do we have to rescue John Rambo … ?
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Alexander the GreatGenghis KhanQueen VictoriaThe Red ArmyBush the LessorWho coulda known?
I don’t even think Nick Saban can beat Afghanistan
opiejeanne
@Ten Bears: Oh no, I hadn’t heard about your wife’s illness. I’m so sorry.
Dan B
@Ten Bears: Sorry to hear about your wife’s health. I’m at a loss for what else to say. Hugs and as much peace as is possible.
Chris T.
Essential, yes. Scarce, not hardly. It’s all over the place.
What it’s not is “highly concentrated” (which, for ore, often means “detectable”) except in large dried-out desert lakes. Alas, we don’t have any of those in Nevada or Utah … oh wait, we do, the entire frickin’ basin desert is dried out lakes.
Mining that lithium needs water. Right now, as I understand it, Bolivia is where that’s going on. Elon Musk, however little love one might have for him, has plans to do this in Nevada.
Geminid
@Tehanu: China probably will become more involved in Afghanistan now that we are gone. But they won’t be sending troops, but instead mining and civil engineers, and diplomats. Some of the latter will be intelligence agents.
One positive aspect of the U.S. leaving Afghanistan is that it’s neighbors are no longer disincentived from helping stabilize the country. Before, to help Afghanistan was to help us. Now, Pakistan has announced a regional summit on Afghanistan that will include Iran, Russia, and China. Last week Russia has conditioned recognition of a new Afghanistan government on it’s inclusion of non-Pashtun elements. Iran may seek protections for the 4 million Hazara, fellow Sh’ites.
These countries cannot do much to stabilize Afghanistan, but they can at least refrain from destabilizing the country. While they won’t be champions of women’s rights or individual rights generally, they can foster economic development through trade. Afghanistan’s per capita yearly GDP is around $750, so it’s people need as much economic development as possible.
lowtechcyclist
@Ten Bears:
But…but don’t they know it’s their turn??
Sending thoughts, prayers, and whatever good vibes I can muster for you and your wife.
J R in WV
It isn’t any surprise to anyone with even a cursory interest in geology and mineralogy ( like me, I collect rocks and minerals ) that there are valuable mineral deposits in Afghanistan. Mountain ranges often have many rare mineral deposits — look at the Rocky mountains where gold, silver, lead, copper and many other minerals have been mined since we stole the region from the native owners.
Additionally, the place is rife with deposits of gemstones, from aquamarine and topaz thru less well know but equally valuable stones like Kunzite and herderite. I have several minerals that were obtained from Afghan miners by really determined mineral dealers willing to pass through war zones to buy new minerals, even in Darkest Africa and war-torn Afghanistan. You should see the photos of mining on a nearly vertical surface of a mountain.
The fighting season is the same time of year as the mining season, from late spring after the snow melts until early fall when things ice back up. High enough that low-land people can barely breath enough O2 to be alert and count the money, after weighing the rough gemstones. Gold is pretty and valuable, but ugly stuff like molybdenum [ melting point at 2896K, 2623C and 4753F — used in high temp applications like rocket motors and crucibles ] and lithium are where the real money is.