Afghanistan, “War on Terror” and Peak Oil – only corporate investors and undertakers will benefit

Land & People recently reported on the proposed Trans Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP) and the rather obvious fact that the war in Afghanistan has little, or anything to do with the phoney “War on Terror” or bringing democracy to that country, but everything to do with the implications of Peak Oil/Gas. Indeed, as a precursor to building the pipeline it is absolutely essential that provinces, such as Helmand in particular (through which the pipeline will be constructed), are made secure. In other words, British blood to protect multinational corporate oil/gas assets. Clearly we are not alone in holding this opinion. We have already reported on the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan’s claim – that NATO intervention in Afghanistan is partly about securing a strategic region for its natural resources and partly to isolate China and Russia (denying this strategic area to them).

Today we learn that Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan has allegedly specifically denied that NATO’s military mission has anything to do with the proposed massive pipeline project. He is alleged to have stated that the £5 billion pipeline won’t be finished before Canadian troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan in 2011. In a perverse way, of course, he is correct. Canadian forces are currently located in the Kandahar area, to the south east of the British position, and through which the proposed pipeline will also go. As construction work on the pipeline hasn’t even started yet (it can’t due to the security issue), Canadian forces will be long gone before the bulldozers set to work – hence Canada’s military mission has nothing to do with the pipeline!

However, tellingly in our opinion, in June of this year it was reported that the Afghan army and local security forces will be responsible for pipeline security – but only after British, Canadian and American troops have made the area safe for them. Put another way, the cost of securing the proposed pipeline route for the multinational oil/gas corporations and hence their investment in assets, will be paid for in foreign blood, including that of British troops.

To provide some idea as to how large the anticipated revenues are it is further claimed that the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-India-Pakistan pipeline (TAPI) aka “Trans Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP)” could generate as much as £200 million in annual revenue for the Afghan government alone and far more for the pipeline’s multinational corporate investors.

As previously reported by Land & People, an entity calling itself the Asian Development Bank is coordinating the pipeline project. Those involved in this “Bank” include the US, Japanese and British governments. Recently one of the “Banks” directors was reported as saying:

“Nobody is going to start putting pipe in the ground unless they are satisfied that there is some reasonable insurance that the workers for the pipeline are going to be safe.”

Some additional confirmation: it has been reported in the media that if work on constructing the pipeline were to commence now, that both workers and assets would become “a massive target”. Hence the need for British and other “reliable” NATO troops.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This military adventure has nothing to do with the so-called “War on Terror” but everything to do with securing global oil/gas assets and denying them to countries such as Russia and China. In the final analysis the only people to benefit, apart from the undertakers, will be the directors and shareholders of the multinational oil and gas corporations concerned!

The British National Party is correct – bring our troops home – NOW! If corrupt Labour and Tory politicians want to maximise the profitability of the multinational corporations then let them pay for it in their blood and not the blood of working-class British lads from the Clyde, Tyne and Mersey!