Natural resources in Afghanistan. Geographic and geologic perspectives on centuries of conflict / Природные ресурсы Афганистана. Географические и геологические аспекты многовековых конфликтов

This book is a product of fascination with the enigmatic but enormously hospitable people of Afghanistan, coupled with the unusual historical circumstances that have led to the special conditions of the modern Afghanistan. Many people and institutions over the years have helped to accrue the necessary knowledge on Afghanistan and motivate the author to keep at it even when the situation was not particularly conducive to continuation. Afghanistan is a difficult place to work, in large part because of threats from polluted water, lurking pathogenic organisms, baksheesh-ridden and crooked bureaucracies, as well as lifethreatening driving on tortured roads, not to mention the great danger from the murderous terrorists who imagine themselves to be some sort of religious freedom fighters. But such difficulties aside, the effort to do this book was well worth it because of the opportunities to show possibly realistic opportunities for things to actually get better for the people who value life, rather than the more death-loving Islamicist dimwits who operate so much in the region. Mankind seems to have many possible paths to failure and Afghanistan has more than most, while it also slyly teases at the possibilities of some success. Great thanks are due to the many people and institutions over the past four decades for the opportunity to work on this fascinating place. <...>