U.S. to host 'critical minerals' summit, ignoring dirty history of resource extraction
📰 THE STORY: In 2020, the Trump administration convened a 'Critical Minerals Summit' with countries like Australia, Canada, and Greenland, asserting the need to secure supply chains for minerals vital to high-tech industries and national defense, citing reliance on entities like China as a security risk. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The pursuit of 'critical minerals' has
been a consistent driver of imperial interventions from the 19th Century scramble for Africa to the modern era. For example, the 1960 assassination of Patrice Lumumba in Congo was orchestrated with U.S. and Belgian complicity to ensure Western control over vast mineral wealth, including uranium, copper, and cobalt – essential for early nuclear programs and burgeoning electronics. This echoes the
ongoing mineral extraction in Congo, linked to horrific human rights abuses, yet largely ignored by Western media as long as the supply for our phones and EVs flows. Double Standard: When China invests in resource extraction overseas, Western media frames it as 'debt trap diplomacy' or 'neo-colonialism.' Yet, when the U.S. convenes a summit to 'secure' these same resources, it's presented as
prudent national security policy, even when it involves pressuring ostensibly sovereign nations like Greenland. No mention of the ecological devastation or exploitation that often accompanies Western corporate mining interests, only the 'necessity' of the supply. Follow the Money: The drive for critical minerals serves the immense profits of multinational corporations, particularly in the tech,