samsloan
2012-03-30 14:20:03 UTC
Sam Sloan on Foreign Aid
I believe that Ron Paul and most Libertarians want to abolish all USA
Foreign Aid. I am not sure about this however and please correct me if
I am wrong.
I am in favor of some foreign aid. The difference is I make a
distinction between true foreign aid, that actually aids the people,
and foreign invasion, that just kills some people on the pretext of
“foreign aid”.
I have two pet foreign aid projects I will carry out if I am so
fortunate as to be elected president. Both are big projects that only
the USA has the resources to carry out, yet will cost far less than
the billions the USA is using now to fight foreign wars.
The first proposed project is the railroad across Afghanistan. A
little appreciated fact is there is not even one mile of railroad
track inside Afghanistan, almost the only country in the world about
which this is true.
The reason is the old kings and tribal chiefs of Afghanistan were
fearful of modern technology and the threats it would bring to their
rule, so they would not allow a railroad to be built.
The result is all the surrounding countries have built railroads right
to the border with Afghanistan, but never crossing the border. The
Iranians have built a railroad track right to the border of Islam Qala
near Herat. I have been there. The Russians have built a railroad
right to the border of Termez near Mazar-i-Sharif. The British built
railroads to the entry points at Landikotal - Torkham and Chaman near
Kandahar. I have been to most of these places.
It is truly a shame that the Afghans have never allowed a railroad to
be built in their country. If this Afghanistan railroad were built,
then all of these lines would be connected together and goods,
services and people could be transported all the way from Europe to
India and beyond, as there are good rail links connecting all of these
places except for in Afghanistan.
Since our occupation army is already there, we could build this
railroad in a few weeks. We are already spending billions there and
accomplishing nothing. This project would cost peanuts and have
permanent value.
One problem is that all these different existing railroad lines have
different gauges. The Russians use a wider gauge than the British and
the Iranians. Naturally, it is desirable for railroad cars to be able
to run on the same tracks all the way from Western Europe to India and
China. This is a difficult problem but I believe there is a solution.
The second project I want to build is the Tajikistan Road. This is a
new idea, already at the thinking stage. Just thinking about this is
progress because until a few years ago this idea was unthinkable.
The idea is to build a road from the Port of Karachi to Tajikistan.
The Tajiks have already been talking about this and have signed onto
this project. I am not sure if they thought of it or if we thought of
it but in any case the Tajiks like it because it would give them
access to the Indian Ocean.
There are a lot of problems with this project. The first problem is
back in the 1960s the World Bank loaned a billion dollars to Pakistan
to build a road from Karachi to Peshawar. The money wound up in the
Swiss Bank Accounts of the military rulers of that time and thus the
road was never built. We then forgave the debt. So, this time, we
build the road. The Pakistanis cannot be trusted to build their own
road.
A key link of the proposed Tajikistan Road had just been completed, or
nearly completed. This is the Lowari Tunnel connecting Chitral to the
rest of Pakistan. It is the Lowari Tunnel that makes the Tajikistan
Road feasible. Without it, the only way through the Hindu Kush would
be up the Kunar River in Afghanistan, an area of heavy fighting both
now and traditionally, making a road there unfeasible.
To get from Chitral to Tajikistan there are two possible routes. One
is over the Dorah Pass to Badakhshan in Afghanistan. The other is over
the Broghol Pass to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.
Both routes have their adherents. The Dorah Pass route is the shortest
in number of miles. However, the Dorah Pass is 2,000 feet higher than
the Broghol Pass. It is 14,108 feet. This is about as high as the peak
of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United
States.
Perhaps more importantly, the Badakhshan side of the Dorah Pass was
the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Wars in Afghanistan. The
wars were so heavy that entire regions were depopulated. Only now
people are starting to come back and live there. For this reason, I
believe that the Dorah Pass is unsuitable.
Broghol Pass, which I favor, does not have these problems. The road
would be about one hundred miles longer. It would go up the Yarkhun
Valley. There has never been any fighting there. The terrain is
relatively flat. It would not be difficult to build a road there. I
know this because I have been there, by the way.
The extra hundred miles should not be a big problem in view of the
importance of this road. The Broghol Pass is only 12,460 feet high.
This might seem a lot but the good thing is the egress to the pass is
relatively flat. There is not much danger of avalanche.
One may wonder why it was necessary to build a tunnel under Lowari
Pass which its only 10,230 feet high but not under Broghol Pass which
is 2,230 feet higher. The answer is Lowari Pass is surrounded by high
mountains and an avalanche can strike without warning at any moment.
Every Spring when the snows are melting a few people are killed trying
to cross Lowari Top. Three people were killed by avalanche there just
a few days ago. This is why it was necessary to spend a billion
dollars to build a tunnel under there.
By the way, the Lowari Tunnel was built by the Koreans. The Pakistanis
could not build their own tunnel.
The Broghol Pass is not merely the best way to cross. It is just about
the only way to cross. It is 2000 feet lower than any other mountain
pass in the area and takes you directly in about 12 miles from the
headwaters of the Indus River to the head waters of the Amu-Darya
River and Tajikistan. It is the only good route to cross the Pamir
Knot. When the British discovered this pass late in the 19th Century,
they were fearful that the Russians would use this pass for the
Invasion and conquest of India. There is no other suitable way for an
army to use as an invasion route to cross the Hindu Kush - Himalaya
Mountain Range.
I think you will agree that these two are worthwhile projects, but you
will no doubt be asking why should we bother with these people. Why
not just let them stew in their own juice?
My response is that we are giving billions of dollars to a certain
favored country and, as far as I can tell, we are accomplishing
nothing, zero, over there. What have we accomplished there, besides
making enemies? These two projects I propose will change the
demographics of the world for the better. The Afghanistan Railroad
Project will connect England and France by rail with India and even
points beyond if we can solve the Burma Problem. The Tajikistan Road
will connect not only Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan and the other Central
Asian Countries to the South Sea. These projects should be done and
only the USA has the resources to do them.
Finally and most importantly, not one person will be killed by the USA
in doing these projects, unlike most of the other USA so called
“foreign aid” projects that involve killing lots of people.
Sam Sloan
I believe that Ron Paul and most Libertarians want to abolish all USA
Foreign Aid. I am not sure about this however and please correct me if
I am wrong.
I am in favor of some foreign aid. The difference is I make a
distinction between true foreign aid, that actually aids the people,
and foreign invasion, that just kills some people on the pretext of
“foreign aid”.
I have two pet foreign aid projects I will carry out if I am so
fortunate as to be elected president. Both are big projects that only
the USA has the resources to carry out, yet will cost far less than
the billions the USA is using now to fight foreign wars.
The first proposed project is the railroad across Afghanistan. A
little appreciated fact is there is not even one mile of railroad
track inside Afghanistan, almost the only country in the world about
which this is true.
The reason is the old kings and tribal chiefs of Afghanistan were
fearful of modern technology and the threats it would bring to their
rule, so they would not allow a railroad to be built.
The result is all the surrounding countries have built railroads right
to the border with Afghanistan, but never crossing the border. The
Iranians have built a railroad track right to the border of Islam Qala
near Herat. I have been there. The Russians have built a railroad
right to the border of Termez near Mazar-i-Sharif. The British built
railroads to the entry points at Landikotal - Torkham and Chaman near
Kandahar. I have been to most of these places.
It is truly a shame that the Afghans have never allowed a railroad to
be built in their country. If this Afghanistan railroad were built,
then all of these lines would be connected together and goods,
services and people could be transported all the way from Europe to
India and beyond, as there are good rail links connecting all of these
places except for in Afghanistan.
Since our occupation army is already there, we could build this
railroad in a few weeks. We are already spending billions there and
accomplishing nothing. This project would cost peanuts and have
permanent value.
One problem is that all these different existing railroad lines have
different gauges. The Russians use a wider gauge than the British and
the Iranians. Naturally, it is desirable for railroad cars to be able
to run on the same tracks all the way from Western Europe to India and
China. This is a difficult problem but I believe there is a solution.
The second project I want to build is the Tajikistan Road. This is a
new idea, already at the thinking stage. Just thinking about this is
progress because until a few years ago this idea was unthinkable.
The idea is to build a road from the Port of Karachi to Tajikistan.
The Tajiks have already been talking about this and have signed onto
this project. I am not sure if they thought of it or if we thought of
it but in any case the Tajiks like it because it would give them
access to the Indian Ocean.
There are a lot of problems with this project. The first problem is
back in the 1960s the World Bank loaned a billion dollars to Pakistan
to build a road from Karachi to Peshawar. The money wound up in the
Swiss Bank Accounts of the military rulers of that time and thus the
road was never built. We then forgave the debt. So, this time, we
build the road. The Pakistanis cannot be trusted to build their own
road.
A key link of the proposed Tajikistan Road had just been completed, or
nearly completed. This is the Lowari Tunnel connecting Chitral to the
rest of Pakistan. It is the Lowari Tunnel that makes the Tajikistan
Road feasible. Without it, the only way through the Hindu Kush would
be up the Kunar River in Afghanistan, an area of heavy fighting both
now and traditionally, making a road there unfeasible.
To get from Chitral to Tajikistan there are two possible routes. One
is over the Dorah Pass to Badakhshan in Afghanistan. The other is over
the Broghol Pass to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan.
Both routes have their adherents. The Dorah Pass route is the shortest
in number of miles. However, the Dorah Pass is 2,000 feet higher than
the Broghol Pass. It is 14,108 feet. This is about as high as the peak
of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Continental United
States.
Perhaps more importantly, the Badakhshan side of the Dorah Pass was
the scene of the heaviest fighting in the Wars in Afghanistan. The
wars were so heavy that entire regions were depopulated. Only now
people are starting to come back and live there. For this reason, I
believe that the Dorah Pass is unsuitable.
Broghol Pass, which I favor, does not have these problems. The road
would be about one hundred miles longer. It would go up the Yarkhun
Valley. There has never been any fighting there. The terrain is
relatively flat. It would not be difficult to build a road there. I
know this because I have been there, by the way.
The extra hundred miles should not be a big problem in view of the
importance of this road. The Broghol Pass is only 12,460 feet high.
This might seem a lot but the good thing is the egress to the pass is
relatively flat. There is not much danger of avalanche.
One may wonder why it was necessary to build a tunnel under Lowari
Pass which its only 10,230 feet high but not under Broghol Pass which
is 2,230 feet higher. The answer is Lowari Pass is surrounded by high
mountains and an avalanche can strike without warning at any moment.
Every Spring when the snows are melting a few people are killed trying
to cross Lowari Top. Three people were killed by avalanche there just
a few days ago. This is why it was necessary to spend a billion
dollars to build a tunnel under there.
By the way, the Lowari Tunnel was built by the Koreans. The Pakistanis
could not build their own tunnel.
The Broghol Pass is not merely the best way to cross. It is just about
the only way to cross. It is 2000 feet lower than any other mountain
pass in the area and takes you directly in about 12 miles from the
headwaters of the Indus River to the head waters of the Amu-Darya
River and Tajikistan. It is the only good route to cross the Pamir
Knot. When the British discovered this pass late in the 19th Century,
they were fearful that the Russians would use this pass for the
Invasion and conquest of India. There is no other suitable way for an
army to use as an invasion route to cross the Hindu Kush - Himalaya
Mountain Range.
I think you will agree that these two are worthwhile projects, but you
will no doubt be asking why should we bother with these people. Why
not just let them stew in their own juice?
My response is that we are giving billions of dollars to a certain
favored country and, as far as I can tell, we are accomplishing
nothing, zero, over there. What have we accomplished there, besides
making enemies? These two projects I propose will change the
demographics of the world for the better. The Afghanistan Railroad
Project will connect England and France by rail with India and even
points beyond if we can solve the Burma Problem. The Tajikistan Road
will connect not only Tajikistan but Kyrgyzstan and the other Central
Asian Countries to the South Sea. These projects should be done and
only the USA has the resources to do them.
Finally and most importantly, not one person will be killed by the USA
in doing these projects, unlike most of the other USA so called
“foreign aid” projects that involve killing lots of people.
Sam Sloan