"The Importance of Regional Projects"-The Chicago Summit and the TAPI Pipeline.

The Western nations after 2014 will maintain a military presence there even if front line soldiers have been withdrawn. Most will be in a security and training role so as to ensure the construction of the TAPI Pipeline, the real geopolitical interest NATO has in being in Afghanistan. It's not about corporate profit only, but about diversifying supply away from Russia and Iran.

Trend Magazine gave some indication as to the real stakes making a complete withdrawal improbable ( TAPI pipeline project to greatly contribute to stability in region 13 April 2012 )

The implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline construction project will make a significant contribution to the stability in the region, expert on energy policy and security, Baku State University (BSU) teacher Bakhtiar Aslanbayli said at the conference "Chicago Summit - new opportunities for Euro-Atlantic Partnership" in Baku today.

Speaking about the contribution of NATO member states and partners in the security and stability in Afghanistan, he emphasized the importance of regional projects.

He added that the intergovernmental agreement in connection with the TAPI pipeline was signed by official representatives of four countries on December 1, 2010.He stressed that in the case of the TAPI implementation, the prospects of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will be zero.

He underscored that the close strengthening of economic and political ties between Central Asia and South Asia will lead to further weakening of Russia's position in the region.

He said that TAPI regional energy project, having geo-economic advantages, can seriously affect Afghanistan's economic development and energy supply, the future format of the Pakistani-Indian relations and the settlement of regional conflicts.

The base document for the TAPI project promotion is the Ashgabat interstate agreement of the member-states about the beginning of the practical implementation of the TAPI project signed in late 2010. The agenda has a key issue of gas pipeline security which will pass through turbulent Afghanistan.

The TAPI Pipeline is never mentioned as the real reason for NATO being in Afghanistan as invading nations to secure natural resources is illegal. Plus the idea is that the war was for moral and humanitarian reasons only. Hence the use of euphemisms such as "security", "Development" and "stability".