Thanks, was sure i had seen a video here, but didn't search back .. A review on the pipeline and, i guess, kinda the latest, too ..
Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline
The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. The abbreviation comes from the first letters of those countries. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue. [...]
The original project started in March 1995 when an inaugural memorandum of understanding between the governments of Turkmenistan and Pakistan for a pipeline project was signed. In August 1996, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) consortium for construction of a pipeline, led by U.S. oil company, Unocal was formed. On 27 October 1997, CentGas was incorporated in formal signing ceremonies in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan by several international oil companies along with the Government of Turkmenistan. In January 1998, the Taliban, selecting CentGas over Argentinian competitor Bridas Corporation, signed an agreement that allowed the proposed project to proceed. In June 1998, Russian Gazprom relinquished its 10% stake in the project. Unocal withdrew from the consortium on 8 December 1998.
The new deal on the pipeline was signed on 27 December 2002 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2005, the Asian Development Bank submitted the final version of a feasibility study designed by British company Penspen. ‘Since the US-led offensive that ousted the Taliban from power,’ reported Forbes in 2005, "the project has been revived and drawn strong US support" as it would allow the Central Asian republics to export energy to Western markets "without relying on Russian routes". Then-US Ambassador to Turkmenistan Ann Jacobsen noted that: "We are seriously looking at the project, and it is quite possible that American companies will join it." Due to increasing instability, the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part was supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under de facto Taliban control.
On 24 April 2008, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan.
Route
The 1,680 kilometres (1,040 mi) pipeline will run from the Dauletabad gas field to Afghanistan. From there TAPI will be constructed alongside the highway running from Herat to Kandahar, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka, near the border between Pakistan and India.
Technical features
The pipeline will be 1,420 millimetres (56 in) in diameter with a working pressure of 100 standard atmospheres (10,000 kPa). The initial capacity will be 27 billion cubic meters (km³) of natural gas per year of which 2 km³ will be provided to Afghanistan and 12.5 km³ to each Pakistan and India. Later the capacity will increase to 33 km³. Six compressor stations would be constructed along the pipeline. The pipeline was expected to be operational by 2014.
The cost of the pipeline is estimated cost at US$7.6 billion. The project is to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.
George H. W. Bush .. January 20, 1989 January 20, 1993 Republican Dan Quayle
1989 - Last Soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as mujahideen push to overthrow Najibullah.
1991 - US and USSR agree to end military aid to both sides.
Mujahideen triumph ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INSERT: Who is Osama Bin Laden?
Following the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the civil war in Afghanistan continued unabated. The Taliban were being supported by the Pakistani Deobandis and their political party the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI). In 1993, JUI entered the government coalition of Prime Minister Benazzir Bhutto. Ties between JUI, the Army and ISI were established. In 1995, with the downfall of the Hezb-I-Islami Hektmatyar government in Kabul, the Taliban not only instated a hardline Islamic government, they also "handed control of training camps in Afghanistan over to JUI factions..." 17
And the JUI with the support of the Saudi Wahhabi movements played a key role in recruiting volunteers to fight in the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.
Jane Defense Weekly confirms in this regard that "half of Taliban manpower and equipment originate[d] in Pakistan under the ISI"
In fact, it would appear that following the Soviet withdrawal both sides in the Afghan civil war continued to receive covert support through Pakistan's ISI.
In other words, backed by Pakistan's military intelligence (ISI) which in turn was controlled by the CIA, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INSERT; HESITATION .. links yes, but control? One other opinion, backed by some fact of CIA .. surprised ..
{2004 07 23} .. The CIA and the ISI Posted by Chris in: Pakistan, Political issues, U.S. foreign policy
I’ve spent almost three years now arguing that Pakistan ought to be a top foreign policy priority for the U.S. Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, had – alas, “has” is really more accurate – extensive ties with the Taliban and militant Islamic groups, including A.Q. The ISI is an extremely powerful and not completely controlled force within Pakistan, which itself has a highly dysfunctional political system. And the country is a nuclear power locked in a multi-generational dispute with a neighbouring nuclear power. If you think Iraq was more dangerous than that explosive combination, or even that it was rational to think that Iraq was more dangerous than that explosive combination, I give up on you. I think it’s also fair to say that the U.S. has not made Pakistan a top foreign policy priority, and rather that it has tended to downplay some of the more serious concerns about the country.
So I was predisposed to look favourably on a recent piece in the Guardian by Michael Meacher arguing that the U.S. was looking the other way when it came to Pakistan’s ties with A.Q. And it isn’t a completely bad piece. But then I ran smack into one of the stupider paragraphs I’ve read in a while:
It has been rumoured that Pearl was especially interested in any role played by the US in training or backing the ISI. Daniel Ellsberg, the former US defence department whistleblower who has accompanied Edmonds in court, has stated: “It seems to me quite plausible that Pakistan was quite involved in this … To say Pakistan is, to me, to say CIA because … it’s hard to say that the ISI knew something that the CIA had no knowledge of.” Ahmed’s close relations with the CIA would seem to confirm this. For years the CIA used the ISI as a conduit to pump billions of dollars into militant Islamist groups in Afghanistan, both before and after the Soviet invasion of 1979.
Oh, it is rumoured, is it? Well then. What more could we need? How about some speculation about the rumours? And in comes Ellsberg with the speculation. Ellsberg may have hidden wisdom behind those ellipses, but his remarks as presented here are nonsense.
I set the following exercise for the reader: Try and think of a major event during the 90s involving Pakistan which caught the CIA completely off guard. Got it? Now ask yourself: Did the CIA look monstrously stupid for failing to know about it beforehand? Did the ISI manage – somehow – to keep the secret from the CIA? What light might that shed on Ellsberg’s claim (as it is presented by the Guardian writer)?
Oy vey. ............. Moving on.............. feel free to peek .. lol http://www.explananda.com/2004/07/23/the-cia-and-the-isi/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ the Taliban Islamic State was largely serving American geopolitical interests. The Golden Crescent drug trade was also being used to finance and equip the Bosnian Muslim Army (starting in the early 1990s) and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In last few months there is evidence that Mujahideen mercenaries are fighting in the ranks of KLA-NLA terrorists in their assaults into Macedonia.
No doubt, this explains why Washington has closed its eyes on the reign of terror imposed by the Taliban including the blatant derogation of women's rights, the closing down of schools for girls, the dismissal of women employees from government offices and the enforcement of "the Sharia laws of punishment".20 The War in Chechnya
With regard to Chechnya, the main rebel leaders Shamil Basayev and Al Khattab were trained and indoctrinated in CIA sponsored camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO109C.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1992 - Resistance closes in on Kabul and Najibullah falls from power. Rival militias vie for influence.
Mujahedin Mujahideen: Feuding warlords were targeted by the Taliban
On This Day 1996: Afghan forces routed as Kabul falls Analysis: Moscow's doomed invasion
Bill Clinton .. January 20, 1993 January 20, 2001 Democratic Al Gore
1993 - Mujahideen factions agree on formation of a government with ethnic Tajik, Burhanuddin Rabbani, proclaimed president.
1994 - Factional contests continue and the Pashtun-dominated Taliban emerge as major challenge to the Rabbani government.
1996 - Taleban seize control of Kabul and introduce hard-line version of Islam, banning women from work, and introducing Islamic punishments, which include stoning to death and amputations. Rabbani flees to join anti-Taliban northern alliance.
Taleban under pressure
1997 - Taliban recognised as legitimate rulers by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Most other countries continue to regard Rabbani as head of state. Taliban now control about two-thirds of country.
1998 - Earthquakes kill thousands of people. US launches missile strikes at suspected bases of militant Osama bin Laden, accused of bombing US embassies in Africa.
1999 - UN imposes an air embargo and financial sanctions to force Afghanistan to hand over Osama bin Laden for trial.
George W. Bush . January 20, 2001 January 20, 2009 Republican Dick Cheney
2001 January - UN imposes further sanctions on Taliban to force them to hand over Osama bin Laden.
One of the giant Buddha statues before being destroyed Taliban destroyed Bamiyan, blew up priceless Buddha statues
2001: Video released of destruction of statues 2003: Regenerating Afghanistan's Buddha region
2001 March - Taliban blow up giant Buddha statues in defiance of international efforts to save them.
2001 April - Mullah Mohammad Rabbani, the second most powerful Taliban leader after the supreme commander Mullah Mohammad Omar, dies of liver cancer.
2001 May - Taliban order religious minorities to wear tags identifying themselves as non-Muslims, and Hindu women to veil themselves like other Afghan women.
2001 September - Eight foreign aid workers on trial in the Supreme Court for promoting Christianity. This follows months of tension between Taliban and aid agencies.
2001 - Ahmad Shah Masood, legendary guerrilla and leader of the main opposition to the Taliban, is killed, apparently by assassins posing as journalists.
2001 October - US, Britain launch air strikes against Afghanistan after Taliban refuse to hand over Osama bin Laden, held responsible for the September 11 attacks on America.
2001 November - Opposition forces seize Mazar-e Sharif and within days march into Kabul and other key cities.
Taleban falls
Afghanistan election poster A poster urges women to vote in the 2004 poll Winner Hamid Karzai was challenged by 15 other candidates More than 10.5 million registered voters Feared militant violence did not materialise
In Depth: Afghanistan's future
2001 5 December - Afghan groups agree deal in Bonn for interim government.
2001 7 December - Taliban finally give up last stronghold of Kandahar, but Mullah Omar remains at large.
2001 22 December - Pashtun royalist Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of a 30-member interim power-sharing government.
2002 January - First contingent of foreign peacekeepers in place.
2002 April - Former king Zahir Shah returns, but says he makes no claim to the throne.
2002 May - UN Security Council extends mandate of International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) until December 2002.
Allied forces continue their military campaign to find remnants of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the south-east.
Poppy field in Badakhshan district, north-east Afghanistan Growers have resisted a drive to eradicate poppy crop
2005: Afghanistan to pursue opium war 2007: Inside an Afghan opium market
2002 June - Loya Jirga, or grand council, elects Hamid Karzai as interim head of state. Karzai picks members of his administration which is to serve until 2004.
2002 July - Vice-President Haji Abdul Qadir is assassinated by gunmen in Kabul.
2002 September - Karzai narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in Kandahar, his home town.
2002 December - President Karzai and Pakistani, Turkmen leaders sign deal to build gas pipeline through Afghanistan, carrying Turkmen gas to Pakistan.
2003 August - Nato takes control of security in Kabul, its first-ever operational commitment outside Europe.
New constitution
2004 January - Grand assembly - or Loya Jirga - adopts new constitution which provides for strong presidency.
Inaugural session of Afghan parliament, December 2005 The first parliament for more than 30 years convened in 2005
Afghan MPs hold landmark session
2004 March - Afghanistan secures $8.2bn (£4.5bn) in aid over three years.
2004 September - Rocket fired at helicopter carrying President Karzai misses its target; it is the most serious attempt on his life since September 2002.
2004 October-November - Presidential elections: Hamid Karzai is declared the winner, with 55% of the vote. He is sworn in, amid tight security, in December.
2005 February - Several hundred people are killed in the harshest winter weather in a decade.
2005 May - Details emerge of alleged prisoner abuse by US forces at detention centres.
New parliament
SUICIDE BOMBINGS Aftermath of suicide bombing in Afghanistan Militants change tactics and follow the lead of Iraqi insurgents 64 suicide attacks January 2005 - August 2006 181 deaths (not including suicide bombers) August 3, 2006 - 21 killed when suicide car bomber rams a Nato convoy in Kandahar June 1, 2005 - Suicide bomber in police uniform kills 20 in a Kandahar mosque
2005 September - First parliamentary and provincial elections in more than 30 years.
2005 December - New parliament holds its inaugural session.
2006 February - International donors meeting in London pledge more than $10bn (£5.7bn) in reconstruction aid over five years.
2006 May - Violent anti-US protests in Kabul, the worst since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, erupt after a US military vehicle crashes and kills several people.
2006 May-June - Scores of people are killed in battles between Taliban fighters and Afghan and coalition forces in the south during an offensive known as Operation Mountain Thrust.
Nato takes over
2006 July onwards - Nato troops take over the leadership of military operations in the south. Fierce fighting ensues as the forces try to extend government control in areas where Taliban influence is strong.
2006 October - Nato assumes responsibility for security across the whole of Afghanistan, taking command in the east from a US-led coalition force.
2007 March - Pakistan says it has arrested Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, the third most senior member of the Taliban's leadership council.
Nato and Afghan forces launch Operation Achilles, said to be their largest offensive to date against the Taliban in the south. There is heavy fighting in Helmand province.
Controversy over Italian deal with Taliban, which secures the release of five rebels in exchange for kidnapped reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. His Afghan driver and translator are beheaded.
2007 May - Taliban's most senior military commander, Mullah Dadullah, is killed during fighting with US, Afghan forces.
Afghan and Pakistani troops clash on the border in the worst violence in decades in a simmering border dispute.
2007 July - Former king Zahir Shah dies.
A group of South Korean Christian charity workers is kidnapped by the Taliban. Two are killed, the rest are freed over the next six weeks.
Opium production soars
FOREIGN FORCES German ISAF soldier near Feyzabad, northern Afghanistan US and Nato ISAF troops face an expanding insurgency Q&A: Isaf troops in Afghanistan 2008: Countering 20-year war US: 70,000 soldiers (34,800 in ISAF) UK: 9,000 soldiers Germany: 4,300 soldiers France: 3,000 soldiers Canada: 2,800 soldiers Italy: 2,800 soldiers (Figures correct as of 2009)
2007 August - Opium production has soared to a record high, the UN reports.
2007 October - Fifteen are put to death in the second confirmed set of executions since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
2007 November - A suicide attack on a parliamentary delegation kills at least 41 in northern town of Baghlan, in the country's worst such attack.
2007 December - Two senior EU and UN envoys are accused by Afghan officials of making contact with the Taleban and expelled from the country.
2008 February - Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, is pulled out of Afghanistan after serving 10 weeks in action in Helmand province.
2008 April - Nato leaders meeting in Bucharest say peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan is their top priority. They pledge a "firm and shared long-term commitment" there.
Relations with Pakistan
2008 June - Taliban engineers massive jail-break from Kandahar prison, freeing at least 350 insurgents.
British Defence Secretary Des Browne announces British troop numbers in Afghanistan to increase by 230 to new high of more than 8,000 by spring 2009.
President Karzai warns that Afghanistan will send troops into Pakistan to fight militants if Islamabad fails to take action against them.
2008 July - Suicide bomb attack on Indian embassy in Kabul kills more than 50. Afghan government accuses Pakistani intelligence of being behind this and other recent miltant attacks. Pakistan denies any involvement.
2008 August - Ten French soldiers killed in an ambush by Taliban fighters.
President Karzai accuses Afghan and US-led coalition forces of killing at least 89 civilians in an air strike in the western province of Herat. He later sacks two senior military commanders over the strike.
Troop numbers boosted
2008 September - President Bush sends an extra 4,500 US troops to Afghanistan, in a move he described as a "quiet surge".
2008 October - Germany extends Afghanistan mission to 2009 and boosts troop numbers in Afghanistan by 1,000, to 4,500.
2008 November - Taliban militants reject an offer of peace talks from President Karzai, saying there can be no negotiations until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
2008 December - President Karzai and new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari agree to form joint strategy to fight militants operating in their border regions.
2009 January - Kyrgyzstan decides to close US air base at Manas that supplies troops and materiel to Afghanistan.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates tells Congress that Afghanistan is new US administration's "greatest test".
2009 February - Up to 20 Nato countries pledge to increase military and other commitments in Afghanistan after USA announces dispatch of 17,000 extra troops.
New US approach
2009 March - President Barack Obama unveils a new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat what he calls an increasingly perilous situation. An extra 4,000 US personnel will train and bolster the Afghan army and police, and there will also be support for civilian development.
2009 ELECTION DISPUTE Election posters of President Hamid Karzai in 2009 President Karzai won a second term in 2009 despite widespread fraud
Q&A: Afghan election
2009 May - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates replaces commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, with Gen Stanley McChrystal, saying the battle against the Taliban needs "new thinking".
US military says a US-Afghan force arrested 60 militants and captured more than 100 tonnes of drugs in Helmand province, in the largest drug seizure since foreign troops arrived in 2001.
2009 July - US army launches major offensive against the Taliban's heartland in southern Helmand province, involving about 4,000 Marines and 650 Afghan soldiers.
Elections
2009 August - Presidential and provincial elections are held, but are marred by widespread Taliban attacks, patchy turnout and claims of serious fraud.
2009 September - Leaked report by the commander of US forces, Gen Stanley McChrystal, says the war against the Taliban could be lost within 12 months unless there are significant increases in troop numbers.
2009 October - Hamid Karzai is declared winner of the August presidential election, after second-placed opponent Abdullah Abdullah pulls out before the second round. Preliminary results had given Mr Karzai 55% of the vote, but so many ballots are found to be fraudulent that a run-off was called.
The British government says it will send 500 more military personnel to Afghanistan.
2009 November - Hamid Karzai is sworn in for a second term as president.
2009 December - US President Barack Obama orders 30,000 more US troops into Afghanistan, bring total US troop numbers to 100,000. He also says the United States will begin withdrawing its forces by 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1162108.stm
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