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General David Petraeus is now the official U.S. commander of Afghanistan, succeeding Stanley McChrystal who was dismissed after his criticism of the Afghan war strategy became public in June in an article in Rolling Stone. The change in command coincided with one of the deadliest periods in the war, with 11 NATO soldiers killed in the first six days of July. President Obama praised General Petraeus and Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eickenberry on Monday, reiterating his confidence in their leadership abilities. Last week Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee chairman made inflammatory remarks about the war in Afghanistan, drawing both praise and criticism from his own party. He said Afghanistan is a “war of Obama’s choosing” and said US efforts there will fail. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported on June 13th that Afghanistan may contain mineral deposits worth approximately $1 Trillion. Although The Times announced the finds as “previously unknown deposits,” the U.S. Geological Survey has had this information posted on its website since 2007. The timing of the story is questionable, coming soon after the acknowledged failure of the Marja campaign, and a postponement of the much-hyped July Kandahar offensive to September. The announcement of the mineral finds also gives war supporters such as Republicans and neoconservatives something to coalesce around in order to force President Obama to renege on his pledge to withdraw from Afghanistan in July 2011. Petraeus, who has been touted by Republicans as a possible presidential candidate in 2012, called the mineral finds “hugely significant.” Afghanistan’s mineral wealth consists of gold, copper, iron, cobalt, and the rare earth metal lithium which is used in lightweight batteries to power hybrid vehicles, computer batteries, and PDAs such as the Blackberry.

GUEST: Pratap Chatterjee, investigative journalist, Senior Editor at Corpwatch, author of Halliburton’s Army.”