Michael Hughes: U.S. corporations are in secret talks with Afghan officials about exploiting the country’s coal industry in what appears like another ploy by the Trump administration to profit off the war while countering China’s dominance of the mining sector. Ironically, the discussions are occurring just as a watchdog report reveals yet again how the U.S.
William Gallo VOA News February 2, 2018 Afghanistan’s government is in advanced stages of negotiations with several U.S. companies interested in becoming involved with the country’s coal industry, a first step toward wider American investment in Afghanistan’s potentially lucrative industrial mining sector. The negotiations – confirmed to VOA by a senior Afghan diplomat and the
Mining Technology: The US administration is reportedly keen to develop Afghanistan’s extractive sector, having invested nearly $500m already. However, with rampant looting and occupation of mines by the Taliban and other insurgency groups, as well as corruption and stability concerns, some question the country’s readiness for foreign investment, as well the US administrations intentions. Click here
Asia Times: Leaked pitch to Trump administration warns of China’s goal to control key tech resource – In a presentation given to the Trump administration, published in full by Buzzfeed on Thursday, Prince outlined a plan to privatize US military operations in Afghanistan and mine rare-earth elements in the country. In addition, Prince’s Hong Kong-listed company, Frontier
The National Interest: A contractor-led role in Afghanistan would confirm the narrative that America wants perpetual warfare and to rob the country of its riches. The leading American proponent of a resource-driven war in Afghanistan is Blackwater founder Erik Prince. Inspired by the British East India Company, Prince has called for replacing U.S. and coalition forces in
William Gallo VOA News July 29, 2017 What does a president who campaigned on an “America First” foreign policy do with the longest war in U.S. history? That is the dilemma for Donald Trump as the White House conducts a policy review of Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have fought for nearly 16 years. With Trump
Forbes: The point being that there are a lot of rocks in Afghanistan, those rocks contain metals and if the metals were out of the rocks and out of Afghanistan then they’d be valuable. But they’re not out and out, the metals are still in the rocks in Afghanistan and thus aren’t valuable. As we can
Fox News: It has been dubbed Afghanistan’s Green Zone: A pocket of paradise amid the bloody, conflict-ravaged country — both a hidden gem and full of gems. Specifically, they are world-class emeralds seemingly just waiting to be mined. Located some 80 miles along a snaking road northeast of Kabul via Bagram, the Panjshir Valley boasts stark
Media Matters: Prince: “We Should Fight With The East India Company Model And Do It Much Cheaper” The president needs to appoint one person in charge in Afghanistan. We’ve been through 17 commanders in 15 years. That’s not even counting the ambassadors and all the other officials. There’s a trillion dollars of value in the ground. Mining —
VOA News May 12, 2017 China is extending its Belt and Road Initiative to include Afghanistan. The development plan refers to the historic Silk Road between China and the West. It aims to link more than 60 countries from Asia to Europe, through land and maritime trade routes. Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced the plan