Right now I am trying to call into a Pentagon conference call about the Afghanistan mineral wealth “discovery.” The Afghan government apparently is talking about getting bids going within six months. Accelerating bidding on mineral wealth: exactly what you want to see in a corruption-plagued country. What could go wrong?

One quick thought while I try to patch into this call. If Karzai really is seeking alternatives for retaining his hold on power beyond the U.S., a great way to, uh, invest the international community is with the promise of lucrative cut-rate deals on mineral wealth. What, you infidels think you can get deals like this from the Taliban?

Update: Unable to call in owing to technical difficulties. Thanks to DOD public affairs for sending out a non-working number in an advisory I received 12 minutes before the briefing! Looks like the actual building press corps will be bringing all of us whatever news emerges from today’s brief.