Interview with Jeff Steinberg
Press TV
"On June 13, the United States announced the discovery of nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, which can help the impoverished nation become one of the richest in the world.
Jeff Steinberg, an Investigative Journalist from Washington, believes that the US is using the newly discovered Afghan wealth to cover up its failures in the 9-year war against the country.
He also says that the only way to protect Afghanistan's vast resources is the withdrawal of foreign forces combined with the effective cooperation of all neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, certain reports maintain that the announced quantity is only a conservative estimate as the actual value of the deposits is much larger.
What follows is the transcript of Press TV's interview with Jeff Steinberg about Afghanistan's vast mineral riches:
Press TV: What is your take on this new development of finding new natural resources in Afghanistan?
Jeff Steinberg: It is actually not a new development at all. A year ago, I was briefed by Pentagon officials about the fact that it existed and China received a $ 4.4 billion contract to take over a major copper mining project in Afghanistan for which the US is providing security. It was the biggest foreign investment in the history of Afghanistan and it goes back to about two years.
The fact that people in the Pentagon have decided that now it is the time to make this matter public is that there are two kinds of contradictory approaches to this issue.
Point number one is that certain people obviously would like to give an idea that there may be sources there that the US can grab as a way of covering for the costs of war and loss of lives.
There are other people who have come to the conclusion that the war is unwinnable and are trying to come up with alternative ways to leave behind something that is more stable than a country which relies exclusively on opium production for achieving peace....."
Press TV
"On June 13, the United States announced the discovery of nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, which can help the impoverished nation become one of the richest in the world.
Jeff Steinberg, an Investigative Journalist from Washington, believes that the US is using the newly discovered Afghan wealth to cover up its failures in the 9-year war against the country.
He also says that the only way to protect Afghanistan's vast resources is the withdrawal of foreign forces combined with the effective cooperation of all neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, certain reports maintain that the announced quantity is only a conservative estimate as the actual value of the deposits is much larger.
What follows is the transcript of Press TV's interview with Jeff Steinberg about Afghanistan's vast mineral riches:
Press TV: What is your take on this new development of finding new natural resources in Afghanistan?
Jeff Steinberg: It is actually not a new development at all. A year ago, I was briefed by Pentagon officials about the fact that it existed and China received a $ 4.4 billion contract to take over a major copper mining project in Afghanistan for which the US is providing security. It was the biggest foreign investment in the history of Afghanistan and it goes back to about two years.
The fact that people in the Pentagon have decided that now it is the time to make this matter public is that there are two kinds of contradictory approaches to this issue.
Point number one is that certain people obviously would like to give an idea that there may be sources there that the US can grab as a way of covering for the costs of war and loss of lives.
There are other people who have come to the conclusion that the war is unwinnable and are trying to come up with alternative ways to leave behind something that is more stable than a country which relies exclusively on opium production for achieving peace....."
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