A treasure trove of oil, gas coal and other minerals could enrich the battered nation, but mining the reserves could cause economic and environmental disaster, says Cheryl Benard.
Dr. Cheryl Benard is a writer based in Washington, D.C., and the president of The Bamiyan Project, a non-profit organization that supports cultural activists in areas of conflict and post-conflict. From 2001 until 2009, she was the director of the Alternative Strategies Initiative at the RAND Corporation. Her book publications include Civil Democratic Islam, Women in Nation-Building, and the forthcoming Behind the Wire, Detainee Operations in Iraq.
AFTER WITHDRAWAL
A cache of top secret documents show a striking parallel between what the Soviets faced in Afghanistan, and what U.S. lawmakers now debate.