Why is the US now intent on setting a pro-western puppet regime in Afghanistan, one of the poorest nations on earth? One obvious answer is control of strategic resources - especially oil. Afghanistan might be a site for future exploration. However, far more importantly, the pipeline route favoured by the US to get Central Asian oil to market runs through Afghanistan to the Pakistani port of Karachi.

There have been huge oil finds in the Caspian Sea region and the Central Asian republics, formerly part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan is believed to have the largest untapped oil reserves left in the world. A cutthroat scramble is on to secure control of the black gold of Central Asian oil reserves.

In 1995 Central Asia was still a minor producer. However, western companies have very ambitious plans to expand production 500 fold by 2010; this would mean Central Asia would be producing about 5 percent of the world's oil.

One key problem to overcome is how to get the oil to market. Three economically viable routes for a pipeline have suggested: through Russia to the Black Sea, south through Iran, and south-west through Afghanistan. Key US interests are backing the Afghani route.

The US and Pakistan were hoping the Taliban would install a stable regime in Afghanistan which would allow a pipeline proposal by the US multi-national Unocal to proceed. However work on the pipeline project has been suspended. Unocal officials bluntly described the problem to US Congressional hearings:

"From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders, and our company." (Testimony of John J. Maresca, vice-president of international relations, Unocal Corporation, before Congressional committee Feb 12, 1998.)

Since 1998 the problems have gotten worse. The US desire to replace the Taliban with a regime subservient to western economic interests has intensified. Thus removing the Taliban or its extremists who won't play ball has become a strategic goal of "Operation Enduring Freedom."