[Teikiatsu]

Oh the irony. Afganistan (a country that is kept safe by US military) is offering its resources on priority to Japan (another country that is kept safe by US Military.)

And they want to shaft the US out of the deal because of our military?

Fine. Let them maintain the security of the mining sites and the transfers of the minerals all by themselves. Let them see what a big, nasty world they have been protected from. They don't get to cry foul to us when the Soviets or Pakistanis or Iranians or anyone else inevitably starts muscling in on the action.

As an aside, I'd love to see the Afgani poppy fields burned to the ground and that country start dealing responsibly with the rest of the world.

[Psudo]

Teikiatsu: First, there aren't any Soviets anymore. Second, I doubt Afghans are unaware of the big, nasty world out there, or that being a war zone themselves protects them from it much. And finally, if poppy fields are your biggest concern you should be pissed at America; the Taliban's vicious, draconian punishments for opium farming did a better job of suppressing that industry than anything the USA has done in the area. Opium farming is up since we invaded.

[Quantum_Wizard]

Teikiatsu wrote:

Fine. Let them maintain the security of the mining sites and the transfers of the minerals all by themselves. Let them see what a big, nasty world they have been protected from. They don't get to cry foul to us when the Soviets or Pakistanis or Iranians or anyone else inevitably starts muscling in on the action.

I think that the biggest military threats to Afghanistan are not foreign states but rather rebellious forces within the country.