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I saw an interview a while back with a mineralogist discussing Afghanistans natural resources. The summary: it doesn’t matter what Afghanistan has because the

I saw an interview a while back with a mineralogist discussing Afghanistans natural resources. The summary: it doesn’t matter what Afghanistan has because the political situation is a mess. It’s not about who controls Kabul. It’s the social structure of the entire country.

alephnerd 4y ago
Especially because the lithium deposits are concentrated in Logar province, which other Pakhtuns stereotype as hicks (which is saying something). It's also adjacent to ISKP's and Pakistani Taliban's heartland - Waziristan and Kohat.
- selimthegrim 4y ago
  There are a lot of Pak Army facilities in Kohat and a major road tunnel important for Belt and Road stuff, it’s hardly BFE.
  - alephnerd 4y ago
    Makes sense! Ik there was always a military presence in Kohat Agency since the British era (Battle of Saranghai for example) but was there a significant increase in presence in the leadup to Zarb-e-Azb, or were levels maintained?
    - selimthegrim 4y ago
      Saragarhi?
      - alephnerd 4y ago
        I misspelled Saragarhi. It was a garrison slightly north of Thal. I think it was renamed Fort Gulistan after the 3rd Anglo-Afghan War.
tuyguntn 4y ago
I want to challenge your ideas here. > It’s the social structure of the entire country. Isn't U.S, Soviet Union and Great Britain who ruined this country for a last century to gain geopolitical space in the middle of Asia? It became mess after these countries invaded them, let's see if they can recover from that in upcoming 50 years, if they can, we might see another fast growing economy with their resources
- alephnerd 4y ago
  It was a mess before that as well. Before the Great Game between the Brits and Russians, it was a Great Game between the Sikhs and Durranis [0], and before that between the Mughals and Safavids [1][2] (my Nani traces her heritage to Hindu/Sikh community in Malakand). The local political structure in the region was always clan driven due to the 300 years of near anarchy in the region stretching from Khorasan to Punjab following the collapse of the Safavid and Mughal Empires. [0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan%E2%80%93Sikh_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan%E2%80%93Sikh_Wars [1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Persian_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Persian_Wars (Slight disagreement with the above wiki page - I wouldn't treat Afsharids as Persian) [2] - https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/300-years-ago-afghanistans-george-washington-died/ https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/300-years-ago-afghanistans-g...
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- selimthegrim 4y ago
  Responding to pyuser583’s deleted comment in reply he is probably thinking of the book by Nancy Dupree. Another good read is “Under The Absolute Amir” by Frank Martin (early 20th century and out of print, probably online somewhere)
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
nortonham 4y ago
do you have a link to the interview? sounds interesting
- pyuser583 4y ago
  Can’t seem to find it sorry. He talked about how it was impossible to get the necessary insurance to check for resources. If you can’t get insurance to check, the rest doesn’t matter.

alephnerd 4y ago

Especially because the lithium deposits are concentrated in Logar province, which other Pakhtuns stereotype as hicks (which is saying something). It's also adjacent to ISKP's and Pakistani Taliban's heartland - Waziristan and Kohat.

selimthegrim 4y ago
There are a lot of Pak Army facilities in Kohat and a major road tunnel important for Belt and Road stuff, it’s hardly BFE.
- alephnerd 4y ago
  Makes sense! Ik there was always a military presence in Kohat Agency since the British era (Battle of Saranghai for example) but was there a significant increase in presence in the leadup to Zarb-e-Azb, or were levels maintained?
  - selimthegrim 4y ago
    Saragarhi?
    - alephnerd 4y ago
      I misspelled Saragarhi. It was a garrison slightly north of Thal. I think it was renamed Fort Gulistan after the 3rd Anglo-Afghan War.

tuyguntn 4y ago

I want to challenge your ideas here. > It’s the social structure of the entire country. Isn't U.S, Soviet Union and Great Britain who ruined this country for a last century to gain geopolitical space in the middle of Asia? It became mess after these countries invaded them, let's see if they can recover from that in upcoming 50 years, if they can, we might see another fast growing economy with their resources

alephnerd 4y ago
It was a mess before that as well. Before the Great Game between the Brits and Russians, it was a Great Game between the Sikhs and Durranis [0], and before that between the Mughals and Safavids [1][2] (my Nani traces her heritage to Hindu/Sikh community in Malakand). The local political structure in the region was always clan driven due to the 300 years of near anarchy in the region stretching from Khorasan to Punjab following the collapse of the Safavid and Mughal Empires. [0] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan%E2%80%93Sikh_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan%E2%80%93Sikh_Wars [1] - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Persian_Wars https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal%E2%80%93Persian_Wars (Slight disagreement with the above wiki page - I wouldn't treat Afsharids as Persian) [2] - https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/300-years-ago-afghanistans-george-washington-died/ https://thediplomat.com/2015/10/300-years-ago-afghanistans-g...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
selimthegrim 4y ago
Responding to pyuser583’s deleted comment in reply he is probably thinking of the book by Nancy Dupree. Another good read is “Under The Absolute Amir” by Frank Martin (early 20th century and out of print, probably online somewhere)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

nortonham 4y ago

do you have a link to the interview? sounds interesting

pyuser583 4y ago
Can’t seem to find it sorry. He talked about how it was impossible to get the necessary insurance to check for resources. If you can’t get insurance to check, the rest doesn’t matter.