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| MCpl Winslow Taylor from Bravo Company, 1st battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment is followed by his comrades on a patrol as Afghan children watch them in Panjwai district, southern Afghanistan, June 12, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) |
by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- While Afghanistan's vast mineral wealth could prove a boon to a country long dependent on foreign aid, it could also have unwanted consequences -- from undermining U.S. goals to intensifying internal feuding, experts said.
"Even though on paper this sounds like it might be great for the Afghan economy and people ... it could feed conspiracy theories in the short term," said Malou Innocent, foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
The find could validate many Afghans' belief that Washington's main interest lies in exploiting Afghanistan's resources -- an oft- heard sentiment in the war-torn country, Innocent said.
U.S. Pentagon officials on Monday announced that Afghanistan could become one of the world's leading sources of mineral wealth, as an estimated 1 trillion dollars of untapped mineral deposits have been discovered in the country.
While the existence of the minerals has been known for some time, the Pentagon was the first to put a price tag on it.
The mineral deposits, including gold, cobalt, iron ore, copper, aluminum, silver, molybdenum and lithium -- used in cell phone batteries -- are spread throughout the country, especially in the battle-scarred border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
