http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cb194a12-7887-11db-802c-0000779e2340.html
Memo to Tony Blair: Consistently, the only, absolutely only, thing that has brought the West to this part of the planet is oil, and the shipment of oil.
The invasion of Afghanistan was never about a "vision" of anything more than keeping the oil flowing toward the West. The situation for average Afghanis is worse than when we invaded, and Karzai has absolutely no credentials in terms of making things better.
And let's not forget Karzai's 'pedigree': he is a former employee of US-owned UNOCAL, one of the two primairy companies that was bidding for the contract to build an oil pipeline from Uzbekistan through Afghanistan and then to ports in Pakistan.
Memo to Tony Blair: Consistently, the only, absolutely only, thing that has brought the West to this part of the planet is oil, and the shipment of oil.
The invasion of Afghanistan was never about a "vision" of anything more than keeping the oil flowing toward the West. The situation for average Afghanis is worse than when we invaded, and Karzai has absolutely no credentials in terms of making things better.
And let's not forget Karzai's 'pedigree': he is a former employee of US-owned UNOCAL, one of the two primairy companies that was bidding for the contract to build an oil pipeline from Uzbekistan through Afghanistan and then to ports in Pakistan.