[cloudmountain]

Actually there’s a lot of mineral wealth in the mountains there. For example Afghanistan supplied the ancient world with Lapis Lazuli semiprecious gems from Sumerian times to Roman. Lots of other stuff too. Not saying we should stay just there is considerable mineral wealth there.

If this were true enough to mine and make money the country wouldn't be so poor. They ARE poor and totally engaged in continual warfare. Go read some history of Afghanistan...the land of he afghanis...

They seemed to have been at war forever. That was one place that Americans COULD NOT travel to. Too dangerous.

[Reily]

It is true !
Both ancient history, modern history (UK colonial office surveys, what surveys the older Afghan governments could cobble together, Soviet surveys & recently (last 10 years) a USGS survey all confirm. Recent Chinese surveys (which I know the least about!) again confirm.

You have to have a stable society to take advantage of it.
If you can’t take advantage of it, it doesn’t matter if you have it.

Again not advocating we stay!