Afghanistan Idiot: We Know What's Worth Fighting For

Face it.  Do you or Green Day really care about Afghanistan or its combative tribes?  Iraq, now that had oil worth fighting for. Afghanistan has what?  Plants.

Of course, they should have democracy, burqas by Donna Karen, used voting machines from South Carolina and an American air base.  They should be free to press, process and ship-by-super-tanker all the Poppy Juice Cocktail American can drink, too.  They can make those nice throws and dogs, as well.

But, they are still pretty much Muslims who don't want infidels, largely and recently ambivalent about Muslims, shooting up their mountains, deserts  and thorougfares.  Not just Natoans, but Russians, as they indicated pretty well in the 1980's.

America and its willing allies really ventured into Afghanistan (damn it, not "invaded") to catch one guy, Osama bin Laden and break up his day camp network.  The Taliban were simply so obsessed with Buddha shards and repurposing soccer stadiums that they missed the significance of one particular September in New York and, consequently, had to be shown both the boot and the door.  Which door, unfortunately, led them back to Pakistan's mountains where they settled in next to Osama himself  and where the Paki Intelligence Service just couldn't see them.

But really.  Afghanistan?

Oh, my.  How all that has changed.

Suddenly, under all the craggy hills, velcro-jamming sand, motley goats and prayer rugs Afghanistan is rich.  Trillion dollars in minerals we need rich.

In a country where almost half the population lives on less per day than it cost to buy your Starbuck's latte on that day; where more than a third of $13 Billion in GDP comes from poppy juice and its derivatives.  And that gaudy GDP is about 20% of what the US spends in shooting up the montains, deserts and both thoroughfares there.

The US Geological Survey, under contract with Harmid Karzai (but hopefully not his cleverer brother, Ahmid), found lots of gold, copper, iron ore and other mundane minerals.  Like iron ore is worth an hour of drone fuel.  True, but that's not the sexy stuff.

Sexy?  Afghanistan?  The camel vacation spot where Mullah Monocle made the guys where scraggly beards and the women head-to-toe draperies?

Can you spell Lithium?

No, not as in the med you just refilled. For batteries.  The bass-drum-beating bunny things we're just beginning to need.  For Priuses and their electric cousins;  for storing solar energy where the sun don't shine and wind power when your flag flags.  For our army of iPads and Droids.  For crystal meth manu...  Well, lots of important stuff.

Trying to revolutionize energy without Lithium is like trying to have a beach party without BP.

Ironically, TBO, just tonight, after asking the very same BP for some cash, has called on all Americans--except Dick Cheney--to gear up, seriously this time, for the green energy revolution.  Like it was a big-time war or something.  Our Green Day is upon us (to complete a quasi theme).  And guess what afterthought is suddenly front and center in that Green Day revolution, at least until solar cells can run on moonlight.  That would be long after your Lithium-driven pacemaker quits one last time.

Not a question, this time: Afghanistan.

That's almost like a big-time war already.