# Afghan rare earth minerals > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "Afghan rare earth minerals," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/afghan-rare-earth-minerals/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *John Kiriakou's argument, made days after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, that the country with real leverage in Afghanistan was China — which holds an exclusive contract to mine rare earth metals valued in a Defense Department report at one trillion dollars, and therefore has a stake in a stable long-term Afghan government even a Taliban one.* - **Holder of the contract per Kiriakou:** China, exclusively - **Valuation cited:** One trillion dollars, from a Department of Defense report - **Kiriakou's inference:** China has a vested interest in a stable long-term Afghan government, Taliban or not - **His policy recommendation:** Work very closely with the Chinese to ensure people's safety inside Afghanistan - **Stated in:** August 17, 2021 — days after the fall of Kabul Asked in the days after the fall of Kabul what the United States should do, John Kiriakou gave three recommendations, and put the least expected of them last and highest. ## The three recommendations First, he said, the United States owes it to the people who worked with it over the last twenty years to get them and their families out — to ensure the safety of the people to whom safety was promised. Second, lines of communication with the Taliban have to be kept open; the United States had been negotiating with them for a number of years, mostly in Doha, and those talks need to continue even without immediate diplomatic relations, so that messages can at least be exchanged. [1] [2] Third, and in his own judgement most important, the United States needs to work very very closely with the Chinese. [3] ## Why China The reasoning is economic. The Taliban and the Chinese, Kiriakou said, have excellent relations, and the Chinese hold an exclusive contract to mine rare earth metals in Afghanistan — a contract with a value that, he says, is known from a Department of Defense report to be one trillion dollars. [3] From that he draws the conclusion: the Chinese therefore have a vested interest in a stable, long-term government in Afghanistan, even if that means a government headed by the Taliban. And so if any country has any authority in Afghanistan right now, it is the Chinese — and the United States needs to engage with them to ensure the safety of people inside the country. [3] [4] ## The diplomatic corollary Asked whether the United States should keep a consulate in Kabul, Kiriakou said it would be very high risk but potentially high reward. The embassy had been abandoned, the last people were being taken out and the documents and equipment destroyed; but while the massive compound was not needed, he thought there should be some sort of diplomatic presence — a building with a desk, and that is all. [5] His reading of the Taliban's own calculations in that period is set out in [the Taliban truck escort origin](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/taliban-truck-escort-origin), where he argues that a movement which has been both in power and out of power knows that being in power is nicer. [6] ## See also - [The Taliban truck escort origin](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/taliban-truck-escort-origin) - [China as economic threat](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/china-economic-threat) - [Djibouti](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/china-djibouti-base) - [Afghan heroin policy](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/afghan-heroin-policy) - [The Kite Runner rescue mission](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/kite-runner-rescue-mission) - [U.S. diplomatic vacancies](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/us-diplomatic-vacancies) ## Sources 1. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 25:24. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1524s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ 2. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 25:54. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1554s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ 3. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 26:25. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1585s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ 4. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 26:57. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1617s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ 5. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 27:28. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1648s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ 6. John Pinna & Kiriakou on Afghanistan (2021-08-17), at 22:17. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYVznzuvhgA&t=1337s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2021-08-17-crossing-faiths-john-pinna-kiriakou-on-afghanistan/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/afghan-rare-earth-minerals/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt