U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan (NYT) and 1,114 U.S. military have lost their life.

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
By JAMES RISEN
New York Times
Published: June 13, 2010

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

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.

An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and Blackberries.

The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said.

While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war.

“There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion.

“This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines.

American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House.

So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact.
Link to complete NYT Article

Grandpa: 1,114 U.S. soldiers have lost their life in the government speak "Operation Enduring Freedom" war and now the U.S. might get their hands on "previously unknown" valuable minerals! Our men and women and being killed and the U.S. government just stumbles on a "stunning" $1 trillion of natural resources! DISGUSTING!!!!

Memorial Day is not about retail sales events, it is about 1+ million soldier deaths

Some very sobering hard core facts regarding the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE:

American War and Military Operations
Casualties: Lists and Statistics
CRS Report for Congress
February 26, 2010

Deaths
    4,435  Revolutionary War
    2,260  War of 1812
  13,283  Mexican War
364,511  Civil War (Union Soldiers)
     2,446  Spanish American War
116,516  WWI
405,399  WWII
   36,574  Korean War
   58,220  Vietnam "Conflict"
        383   Persian Gulf War
            8    Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission
        265   Lebanon Peacekeeping
          19   Grenada
          23    Panama
        383    Desert Shield/Desert Storm
          43    Somalia
            4     Haiti

From icasualties.org

    4,400  Operation Iraqi Freedom
    1,086  Operation Enduring Freedom/Afghanistan 

The numbers and impact on family lineage is heart wrenching. Take a minute and imagine the dads that never made it home to meet their child, the moms that never came back to braid her daughter's hair. Think about those that never came back to embrace their significant other and the family pain of losing one's son or daughter and acknowledging the family tree will never be the same.

Congress is in recess until June 4th; not that anyone notices a difference. Take a minute to remind your representative of THE example of ultimate sacrifice and that their lack of integrity, ineptness and self-centered core is a complete disgrace to those that truly gave to their country.

Do not use the lack of a draft as rationalization for your indifference to those in harms way. It is time to allow dads to meet their kids, for moms to again braid hair and for brothers and sisters to hug and laugh. BRING THEM HOME before another forest of "family trees" are lost.

A war between Israel and Hizbollah that could spread across the Middle East is "imminent", King Abdullah of Jordan has warned the US.

By Alex Spillius in Washington, Richard Spencer and Adrian Blomfield
Published: 7:37PM BST 15 Apr 2010
Telegraph.uk.co

The king, in Washington for President Barack Obama's nuclear summit, gave his warning after Israel claimed that Syria had handed over Scud missiles in its armoury to the Lebanon-based Hizbollah.

His comments, which were made to private meeting of the US Congressional Friends of Jordan caucus were said to be "sobering".

Syria yesterday denied the allegation that it has provided Hizbollah with long-range Scud missiles, which would allowing them to target Israel's cities. The country's foreign ministry said the claims would be used as a pretext by Israel to raise tension prior to a possible attack on Hizbollah.

"For some time now, Israel has been running a campaign claiming that Syria has been supplying Hizbollah with Scud missiles in Lebanon ," a foreign ministry statement released yesterday said.

" Syria strongly denies these allegations which are an attempt by Israel to raise tensions in the region."

However, the statement did not appear to rule out an alternative possibility being raised by defence sources, that Damascus has allowed Hizbollah control of or access to Scud missiles still currently in Syria .

Similar sources say that Syria has trained Hizbollah operatives on advanced anti-aircraft batteries, possibly a more useful tool since Hizbollah – and the Lebanese army - fears the overwhelming air superiority enjoyed by Israeli jets. The Obama administration voiced alarm, though one source said it was still not certain whether the transfer had yet physically taken place.

"We are obviously increasingly concerned about the sophisticated weaponry that is allegedly being transferred," said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman. "We have expressed our concerns to those governments and believe that steps should be taken to reduce any risk and any danger."



Link to complete article

What will the quant robots do? Thsi time, they might actually have to pay attention to something other than their algorithmic equations. If this escalates, the price of oil and gas.....

We are still at war America!

This country is overdue for a re-focus. News of the day is predominantly focused on the babbling, ineffective congressional leaders fighting among themselves as if bipartisan politics was equivalent to having cocktails with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a quant Tehran bistro.

Get your act together congress, you sent our men and women overseas and while you are relishing in the Washington D.C. lifestyle, our military is sucking dirt and fighting for their lives.

While the House of Representatives (50.9% of them) are basking in the glory from their $938 billion health reform bill, let grandpa update you of the following:
4,386 U.S. military personnel died in Iraq-Operation Iraqi Freedom
1,025 U.S. military have died in Afghanistan-Operation Enduring Freedom

18 months have passed and the two primary political parties have yet to agree on financial reform that will make a difference for our next generation. Maybe a month in the foothills of Afghanistan wearing a 70 pound backpack and dodging bullets will influence your priorities. Assuming a safe return, you might consider dodging lobbyists for a month and focus on what is best for children and grandchildren versus your self centered mid-term election.

Hey Congress:
Operation Grandchildren Freedom!!!