The Switzerland of Asia

	



The central comittee of Metaphysics Anonymous, meeting in 
special session, has decided to propose the first long range
plan for Afganistan since it has joined the international
community.

The proposed pipelines from Uzbekistan to the ocean have been
well documented elsewhere. The other parts of the long term
plan involve roads, commerce, telecommunications, tourism,
and agriculture.

The cost of development will be small at first, because it 
entails mainly negotiation and planning. The cost of the pipeline 
can will be paid for in expected oil delivery. The labor for roads
and transportation will provide jobs to the inhabitants. The
infrastructure necessary for all the proposed systems will be
synergetic.

The strategic location of Afghanistan was historicallly important.
Buckminster Fuller has pointed out that the trans-Siberia railroad
bypassed the old Kyber Pass trade route to the north, and subsequent 
air and sea routes bypassed it to the south. There are considerations
that will eventually make it an important region again, both in 
the economic and political integration of the entire Central Asian
region.

It is allmost equidistant from Tokyo and London by air. It can
act as an interface between Iran and Pakistan, between China and
neighboring cuntries, between Shiite and Sunni dominated regions,
and between landlocked countries and seaports.

The telecommunications industry wil eventually need to route fiber
optic cables throught Afghanistan, and the air routes between 
several countries crosses Afghanistan air space.

Eventually, irrigation will create millions of acres of productive
farmland. Snow covered peaks can be developed for tourism, and
a multicultural interface can develop between China, Pakistan,
Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kashmir.

Historicacally, the Kyber Pass and the Silk Route was the interface 
between Persia, India, China, and Europe. The impetus for 
the voyages of Columbus and later explorers was the fall of
Byzantium and Constantinople. This resulted in an alternative
route to trade with east Asia and subsequent colonialization.

The Trans-Siberain railroad resulted in a re-organization of 
the European powers, WWI, and the Soviet revolution. It also
madethe Kyber Pass less important to Europe. 

The population and resources of the area suggest that the 
development of commerce and social interchange will prove
to be important in the future.
  
A study of global systems theory offers a more objective model
than the previous political, religious, nationalistic, and 
cold war scenarios.

For more detail:
The 'Journal of World-Systems Research'
  http://csf.colorado.edu/jwsr/

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page