Information on the Oil theory behind the Taliban!

Omar,

Interesting statement......Soviet estimates from the late 1970s placed Afghanistan's proven and probable oil and condensate reserves at 95 million barrels. Not much in the way of oil. So what is the meaning of "Oil controversy"?

As to the pipeline, in December 1997, three Taliban ministers went to Texas to hear what Unocal had to offer if they agreed to let a gas pipeline be built from Turkmenistan through Afghan territory to Pakistan. "They are just going to Texas to talk. They are not supposed to sign any agreements on the gas pipeline,'' Mutta Wakil, a Taliban spokesman said from the Taliban headquarters in southern Kandahar. "If any agreements are reached they will be signed in Afghanistan.''

By early 1998 a Unocal led consortium had made a deal with the Taliban to construct an Afghanistan pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. On the question of the Afghanistan route "the most obvious drawback of a proposed pipeline from Turkmenistan, through Afghanistan, to Pakistan and down to the Arabian Sea is that there is still a civil war going on in Afghanistan."

Nevertheless, all factions in the civil war signed agreements supporting the proposed pipeline, according to Bob Todor, executive vice president of Unocal.

The Unocal led Centgas consortium consisted of the following companies.

Unocal Corporation (US), 46.5 percent

Delta Oil Company Limited (Saudi Arabia), 15 percent

The Government of Turkmenistan, 7 percent

Indonesia Petroleum, LTD. (INPEX) (Japan), 6.5 percent

ITOCHU Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. (CIECO) (Japan), 6.5 percent

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (Korea), 5 percent

The Crescent Group (Pakistan), 3.5 percent

The 48-inch diameter pipeline was to extend 790 miles (1,271 kilometers) from the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border, generally follow the Herat-to-Kandahar Road through Afghanistan, cross the Pakistan border in the vicinity of Quetta, and terminate in Multan, Pakistan, where it would tie into an existing pipeline system. Turkmenistan was to construct a pipeline that will link with the CentGas line at the border and stretch approximately 105 miles (169 kilometers) to the Dauletabad Field. A potential 400-mile (644-kilometer) extension from Multan to New Delhi also was under consideration. (source, Hazara.net)

Finally, as to war, Afghanistan has been in a state of war for the past thirty years. There are generations of Afghans who only know of conflict. Afghanistan has fallen victim, often to outsider, the British, the Mongol, even the Macedonians.

The Taliban were very reluctant to share power, and since their ranks were overwhelmingly Pashtun they ruled as overlords the 60% of Afghanistan which is home to other ethnic groups. At the national level, "all senior Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara bureaucrats" were replaced "with Pashtuns, whether qualified or not." Consequently, the ministries "by and large ceased to function." Along with being very strict, the Taliban were averse to debate on doctrine with other Muslims.

As they established their power the Taliban created a new form of Islamic radicalism that spread beyond the borders of Afghanistan, mostly to Pakistan. By 1998–1999 Taliban-style groups in the Pashtun belt, and to an extent in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, "were banning TV and videos ... and forcing people, particularly women to adapt to the Taliban dress code and way of life."

The Taliban ideology was not static. Before its capture of Kabul, members of the Taliban talked about stepping aside once a government of "good Muslims" took power and law and order were restored. The decision making process of the Taliban in Kandahar was modeled on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together with what was believed to be the early Islamic model.

However, as the Taliban's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah Omar without consulting the jirga and without Omar's visiting other parts of the country. He visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in power. Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil explained:

"Decisions are based on the advice of the Amir-ul Momineen. For us consultation is not necessary. We believe that this is in line with the Sharia. We abide by the Amir's view even if he alone takes this view. There will not be a head of state. Instead there will be an Amir al-Mu'minin. Mullah Omar will be the highest authority and the government will not be able to implement any decision to which he does not agree. General elections are incompatible with Sharia and therefore we reject them."

The Taliban government has been described as "a secret society run by Kandaharis ... mysterious, secretive, and dictatorial." They did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:

The Sharia does not allow politics or political parties. That is why we give no salaries to officials or soldiers, just food, clothes, shoes and weapons. We want to live a life like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago and jihad is our right. We want to recreate the time of the Prophet and we are only carrying out what the Afghan people have wanted for the past 14 years.

The main characteristic of the Afghan community then is it resilience to survive. Having been in a state of conflict for centuries, both from without and within, their ability to survive is formidable.