WikiLeaks is not journolism, it's left-wing activism

[Darkwaters]

Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"getting the monster contracts"

The Repugs/neo-cons invaded Iraq for oil, but couldn't get all of it. Even if they failed to getting all or most of the oil on the terms they wanted (but no other country agrees to anymore), the US/UK oilcos and oil industry contractors are doing better there now than the would have been if Saddam had stayed in power and excluded them completely as was the case early 2003.

Part of the neo-con hubris was that Iraq would be a castrated puppet and gratefully allow US/UK oilcos run the entire show. They were proven wrong, like they and Repugs always are.

So then why did we invade Afghanistan?

Garlic naan and mud qalats? Yep, definitely more GOP war mongering to get all the valuable resources in Afghanistan.

[admiralsnackbar]

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

So then why did we invade Afghanistan?

Garlic naan and mud qalats? Yep, definitely more GOP war mongering to get all the valuable resources in Afghanistan.

"The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/wo...4minerals.html

[boutons_deux]

there is no infrastructure (like electricity and water) in the area of those minerals. As with most mining, it takes a lot of water which is then polluted beyond recoverability.

However, in eastern Caspian and on the shore east of the Caspian (Turkmenistan), there's apparently lots of gas and oil, so a pipeline south from there across Afganistan and Pakistan would have the oilcos slobbering.

[admiralsnackbar]

Originally Posted by boutons_deux

there is no infrastructure (like electricity and water) in the area of those minerals. As with most mining, it takes a lot of water which is then polluted beyond recoverability.

No argument here, however water pipelines are cheaper to install and maintain/defend than oil and gas ones are, and forgetting for a moment that batteries are a crucial component of the hybrid (and what will ultimately be electric) cars that will continue gaining market share, cell phones and laptops make the world go around.

In other words, lithium is valuable now, and stands to be strategically invaluable in the near future. I very much doubt mining interests will much care if they poison Afghanistan and its people with toxic runoff... hell, they don't much mind doing it to this country as far as coal is concerned.

[Stringer_Bell]

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

Seriously? Are you that stupid? I'm sure that you believe that the government is responsible for 9/11 and also likely killed JFK too, huh?

Have you ever been to Iraq or Afghanistan? Have you ever met a member of al Qaeda, the Haqqani network or a Talib? Have you ever seen the hate in their eyes and had them (try to) spit in your face?

No?

Then shut the fuck up.

I think what Nbadan was trying to get at is similar to the BBC Documentary "The Power of Nightmares." US officials, rather than call a spade a spade after 9/11 and acknowledge the top to bottom fuck-ups that allowed such a terrible event to occur, found it an opportune time to engage in various strategic military efforts in the Middle East. In doing so, they created more outrage among Muslims and another recruiting tool for the jihadists...sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Any bozo can look at a map and see where Iraq and Afghanistan are located in relation to Iran and understand what the endgame was supposed to be. But it's been a failure and everyone's lost except for contractors and the oil industry.

Also, might wanna wait to tell people to shut the fuck up unless they call you out. I can't stand half the stuff I read on here, but there's a small shred of intelligence in the majority of opinions.

[boutons_deux]

"water pipelines are cheaper to install"

where does piped water come from?

Electricity is really the bigger of the two fatal impediments, and building huge coal or nuclear plants near the minerals won't find financing, esp in such a volatile, strife-torn, unstable area.

[admiralsnackbar]

Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"water pipelines are cheaper to install"

where does get piped water come from?

Electricity is really the bigger of the two fatal impediments, and building huge coal or nuclear plants near the minerals won't find financing, esp in such a volatile, strife-torn, unstable area.

Are you seriously not seeing that if you can pipe oil and gas out of Afghanistan and into central Russia for profit, you can pipe water from central Russia into Afghanistan for profit? For a cut of extraction, Russia would be all over that... and uneducated Afghans would be, too -- if they got a percentage of the water piped in. Shit, Haliburton would be all too happy to build them defective aqueducts and plumbing systems to be a part of the New American Century in energy.

[Winehole23]

Originally Posted by Darkwaters

Clinton destroyed more than a few military careers.

So did GHWB. Maybe the end of the Cold War had more to do with it than anything else.

[boutons_deux]

"pipe oil and gas out of Afghanistan and into central Russia for profit"

why would US military be dying to enable that? What US/UK oilco would do that?

Russian showed BP how badly joint oil ventures work out.

[admiralsnackbar]

Originally Posted by boutons_deux

"pipe oil and gas out of Afghanistan and into central Russia for profit"

why would US military be dying to enable that? What US/UK oilco would do that?

Russian showed BP how badly joint oil ventures work out.

I'm not saying that would be done, I'm saying that has been done.

[Nbadan]

Are the MANPADS being supplied to the taliban to shoot at U.S. planes being supplied by the Pakistan ISS?

...One of the major revelations to come out of the 92,000 previously classified documents recently released by wikileaks is that apparently the Taliban have on several occasions fired at U.S aircraft using surface to air missiles better known as MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems). The media has seized upon this story as yet another government blunder since, after all, wasn't it the U.S. government who originally supplied the Mujahideen with stinger missiles back in the 80's when they were fighting the Soviets? However, a closer examination of the specs on these stingers leads one to a far different and perhaps more dangerous conclusion; that Pakistan has begun to supply the Taliban with their own surface to air missiles to use against U.S. forces...

Huff

[Nbadan]

...this dude from Wikileaks is like the dell dude in the last Diehard movie...

After leaking 92,000 classified US military documents, Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle blowing website, has uploaded a file called “insurance” to the website and elsewhere. The file is 1.4 gigabytes, a thousand times larger than the recently leaked documents.

The file is encrypted under AES256, which is equal to the methods used by the US to encrypt Top Secret material. It is estimated that even the fastest computer would take millions of years to decrypt the file.

It is believed that Assange, who is under intense scrutiny by the US, may have distributed the pass key to supporters, who could release it to the public. However, the talented former hacker would realise that this could place supporters in a difficult position.

=snip=

The contents of the file are unknown. However, the recent release of documents, detailing the coalition’s experiences in Afghanistan, are not part of the 500,000 documents from Iraq, alleged to have been sent to WikLeaks by Bradley Manning, who is currently held in the US. Manning is also accused of passing a video of an incident in Garani in Afghanistan that local authorities say killed 100 civilians, most of them children were killed during a helicopter assault, as well as 260,000 U.S. State Department cables.

Link

[ferg]

Originally Posted by Winehole23

When did liberals ever shrink the US military, btw?

ummm the air force is set to cut down by over 6,000 airmen RIGHT NOW. UNDER THE CURRENT CnC! if you think thats not alot, take this into consideration: alot of the air force is already working 12 hour days, such as my job, security forces. when you factor in being at work an hr before the 1700 start of shift to draw weapons and at least an hr after to turn in, plus fit in time for P.T, thats an easy 18 hour day. so i guess the libs never shrank the military. now is not the time to cut down on the military!

[Winehole23]

Fair enough, but Obama ain't done yet.

Those in or affiliated with the US military may feel different about downsizing defense. I respect that. I also happen to disagree, but perhaps that's for another conversation..

[Wild Cobra]

Originally Posted by Winehole23

Fair enough, but Obama ain't done yet.

True.

He has a ways to go yet before he totally destroys this nation.