Quote:
Originally Posted by notime
"I have very good news for Afghans," said Karzai, who said that his country become one of the richest countries in the world....
The USGS has been working several years on studies to include the presence of gold, oil, gas, copper and iron ore. The results of the study will be published within a few months, said Karzai....
Source:
http://translate.google.com/translat...ml&sl=nl&tl=en
That is a lot of money  |
Eur 721 Billion is (approximately) US $999 Billion --- expected Obama budget announcement is US $3.8 Trillion. So, not really all that much in the 'grand scheme of things.' Afghanistan has a population that is 4% of the United States (at last known 'census' in 1989) and it only has an US $8 Billion external debt (2004). However, it is a country ravaged by war, bordering lawless tribal regions that Pakistan is unwilling to control, and its own greed and corruption are making headlines on a near-daily basis (yeah, that fucking NY apartment). So, ref that 'Eur 721 Billion' --- what the chances of Afghanistan actually getting its shit together (enough) to extract these resources, process them, and actually get the funds back to the country's coffers for the betterment of its population (even if somehow/someway a reasonable amount of peace was established)?