The real reason why we're still in Afghanistan...

and never will leave completely unless we undergo a paradigm shift in economics.

https://campbellmgold.co.uk/archive_blowing_in_the_wind/afghanistan_mineral_riches.pdf  [Article by James Risen.]

Almost fifteen years ago, the USGS and the Pentagon discovered the probability is extremely high that Afghanistan is awash in mineral riches totaling about one trillion dollars.  Not only common minerals such as iron and copper are buried there, but those crucial to modern day industry (e.g., lithium) as well.

The world is at a point where mineral resources - especially rare earth minerals - are more and more difficult to access.  Afghanistan has never been mined to any significant degree.  Done in 2007, the USGS used highly sophisticated aerial survey equipment in a study which shows the country is ripe for extremely productive mining.

World leaders who are not pursuing sustainability are prone to believe that when it comes to critical natural resources, it's a "dog-eat-dog" world.  Sometimes such thinking results in long-term planning involving resource wars, or financial wars, or best case - diplomacy.  For decades, we've had all the above on planet Earth.

One way or another, the richer countries are going to get access to needed natural resources.  That's especially true when the country is on an unsustainable path, which currently is the case in the USA and many other well-off nations.

Sustainability is one of the keys to a peaceful future.  Ecological economics is the best path forward.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Sustainability re: transport industry, decarbonization, lithium, magnesium, energy, & a decent living, Plus commentary on world efforts

 2020 research - Two important views---

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X20300961

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512

At least read the Abstracts and Conclusions.

Commentary on world efforts---

Public officials, researchers, the business community, & others in the EU (in general) - especially in Germany, Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Austria, & Portugal (mea culpa if I left out a country) - AND in other parts of the world are working hard to develop & implement sustainable policies geared toward saving organized human existence on this planet.  Kudos to all of them.

With some significant exceptions, the USA is light-years behind in those efforts.  As we all know, that's especially true for the last four years or so, particularly in the national government.  The current Administration is working hard to reverse gains made in the sustainability arena.  That, along with other egregious actions, has made the USA an object of pity - as well as a laughingstock - in the eyes of most of the world.  On top of all that, our "Leader" has some chance of getting re-elected shortly.  It's truly mind-boggling.  His chances of re-election should be extremely close to zero... or ZERO.  Thanks to Edward Bernays style molding of the public mind plus a huge dose of ignorance, those chances are higher.  It's all very Orwellian.  Life is full of paradoxes, eh?

The human dilemma we face consists of a socio-ecological-economic catastrophe which already has started, coupled with an ongoing belief by too many in the practices of unlimited growth, overconsumption, and overexploitation of resources.  In far too many ways, we've become too anthropocentric, as opposed to ecocentric.  Fortunately, that's beginning to change.  Keep in mind, though -

TICK-TOCK.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well