Very Suspcious

The report the New York Times of newly discovered mineral deposits in Afghanistan just sounds weird.

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

While it is great for those interested I think I am justly suspicious of this. It sounds very much like the old 'WMD ploy' . I can just see 'protecting the Afghans while they create a mining industry' as very convenient excuse for maintaining a significant military presence there. We should be very alert that this is not used to allow the U.S. to back off its commitment to get the hell out of Dodge ASAP. Those minerals have been there a long time and will be there long after we leave and the Afghans have their civil war. Once all the brouhaha is over the Chinese can come in and get the mining underway.