Afghanistan and the new great game

[Prometheus Bound]

Afghanistan and the new great game
Prized pipeline route could explain West's stubborn interest in poor, remote land
Aug 12, 2009 04:30 AM
John Foster

Why is Afghanistan so important?

A glance at a map and a little knowledge of the region suggest that the real reasons for Western military involvement may be largely hidden.

Afghanistan is adjacent to Middle Eastern countries that are rich in oil and natural gas. And though Afghanistan may have little petroleum itself, it borders both Iran and Turkmenistan, countries with the second and third largest natural gas reserves in the world. (Russia is first.)

................

Rivalry for pipeline routes and energy resources reflects competition for power and control in the region. Pipelines are important today in the same way that railway building was important in the 19th century. They connect trading partners and influence the regional balance of power. Afghanistan is a strategic piece of real estate in the geopolitical struggle for power and dominance in the region.

Since the 1990s, Washington has promoted a natural gas pipeline south through Afghanistan. The route would pass through Kandahar province. In 2007, Richard Boucher, U.S. assistant secretary of state, said: "One of our goals is to stabilize Afghanistan," and to link South and Central Asia "so that energy can flow to the south." Oil and gas have motivated U.S. involvement in the Middle East for decades. Unwittingly or willingly, Canadian forces are supporting American goals.

The proposed pipeline is called TAPI, after the initials of the four participating countries (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India). Eleven high-level planning meetings have been held during the past seven years, with Asian Development Bank sponsorship and multilateral support (including Canada's). Construction is planned to start next year.

More: http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/679670

Edit: Forgot to include author's background:
John Foster is an energy economist and author of "A Pipeline Through A Troubled Land – Afghanistan, Canada, and the New Great Energy Game," published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. It is avaialble online at www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2008/A_Pipeline_Through_a_Troubled_Land.pdf

[babylonsister]

1. I'm sick of this bullshit. Yea, oil. I just don't think so. People really

need to get over the needs of the * admin.

[Prometheus Bound]

2. No, not oil. Natural gas.

[babylonsister]

3. Would this country fold without it?

I don't think so.

[Prometheus Bound]

5. No you have plenty of Canadian gas for a while. It's about power, influence and control.

Does it make sense to let Iran and Russia control almost all of Eurasia's natural gas pipelines and have such potential influence over Europe, China and Japan?

[PDJane]

4. And oil.

From the Caspian Basin, which has both. But they need a way to get it to the see in order to get it to the US. Somewhere, not too long ago, I watched a little presentation by an ex-Pentagon specialist who pointed out where the army bases were; right along the pipeline route. The US was negotiating with the Taliban for that pipeline before the invasion and occupation.

[spindrifter]

6. I can't imagine a pipeline in Afghanistan ever

being completed. Not until the population is literate and all who can work have jobs. Even then, it may not be realistic to think of such a means of transporting oil there.

[babylonsister]

7. Thank you. Me neither. Or transporting oil away from there. nt

[liam_laddie]

14. Spindrifter - a pipeline through Afghanistan WAS planned...

by Unocal in the 1990's or earlier. The route is through Afghanistan, including Kandahar Province, and the Baluchistan region of Pakistan. It was to transport natural gas and petroleum from Turkmenistan and other resource-rich Central Asian countries (post-USSR.) The Afghanis wanted a bigger piece of the trans-shipment fees and balked. This created major headaches for western interests. Both Karzai and Zalmay Khalilzad were involved in these plans and negotiations. In truth, the war IS very closely related to the energy lobby. I believe this was also one of the reasons the Soviets wanted control of the region.

The terminus was to be (will be?) at Gwadar in the very SW corner of Pakistan on the Arabian Sea. Handy for shipping to China or Europe...even the USA. I believe China has already constructed some of the port facilities.

If the costs of the wars we've started to "protect our vital interests"(i.e., oil) were added to the price we pay at the pump, we'd be paying perhaps ten dollars or more a gallon. I think fucking Big Oil should hire their own armed forces to do their dirty work. I'm sure Eric Prince would love to invoice Exxon $100/person-hour for "security services."

I believe our foreign policy (political) appointees are aware of this, but they're in thrall to Big Money and will not listen to the career FSOs and experts, who DO know the score. A fucking tragedy, and Obama's Waterloo, I'm afraid. My two cents...YMMV.

[zoff]

8. And how are they going to protect it?

Oh I know, with private contractors to justify quadrupling the Pentagon's budget.

[Prometheus Bound]

9. Well, to be fair, it wasn't supposed to be this difficult.

You know, a few weeks of shock and awe, and they were supposed to do what they were told.

[PeaceDreamer]

10. Obama's War

is a tragedy.

[Tutankhamun]

11. I'm surprised more people aren't aware of this.

I remember telling people about the American government's desire for a functioning pipeline in Afghanistan when we began the invasion under *. It wasn't a popular topic. People didn't want to believe we had ANY desire for a pipeline; they didn't want to believe there was any reason whatsoever for such a thing.

It makes sense that the Cheney/Bush administration had Bin Laden trapped and didn't capture him. Had they captured Bin Laden, people would have questioned America's further involvement in Afghanistan. With their villain on the loose, Cheney/Bush could buy time to work on their REAL goal of securing that pipeline.

Now that Bin Laden's supposedly in Pakistan, our government has trotted out the old "nation building" rationale for escalating the oil war in Afghanistan.

[PDJane]

12. Bin Laden

was a CIA asset, too. Imagine if he'd been able to tell what he knew?

[Elmore Furth]

13. Never get in a pissing contest with a skunk

Afghanis have won a lot of wars against people who overrated their military. Obama should cut his losses.


"Afghanistan has taught us an invaluable lession...It has been and always will be impossible to solve political problems using force."
Russian General Boris Gromov

[bhikkhu]

15. TAPI has no strategic value to the US

except that it is an alternate route that doesn't cross Iranian borders. Even there its a side issue - we won't get any of the NG that they plan to pipe through, as its too expensive to ship and we don't have the terminals to handle and store it anyway.

Europe might want it as an option away from Gazprom, but let them spend their own billions on the regional military/political mess...