The amateurs, running U.S. foreign policy in the second Bush administration have committed a huge blunder in Afghanistan according to a commentary written by Eric Margolis in the L.A. Times last November 28, 2001. While Vladimir Putin was back slapping with George Bush II in Crawford, Texas, Putin had already put into play a new alliance with India and Iran. Putin’s goal was to check India’s arch enemy Pakistan, prevent Pakistan and the U.S. from constructing its Termez-Karachi pipeline across Afghanistan, and force western oil companies seeking to exploit the vast oil reserves in the Caspian basin to deal with Russia and Iran.
Margolis writes’ “...Washington fully expected to implant a pro-American regime in Kabul and open the way for the Pakistani-American pipeline. But, while the Bush administration was busy tearing apart Afghanistan to find Bin Laden, it failed to notice that the Russians were taking over half the country.”
“The Russians achieved this victory through their proxy--the Northern Alliance. Moscow, which has sustained the alliance since 1990, rearmed it after Sept. 11 with new tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters and trucks.”
“To the fury of Washington and Islamabad, in a coup de main the Russians rushed the Northern Alliance into Kabul, in direct contravention of Bush's dictates.”
“The alliance is now Afghanistan's dominant force and styles itself as the new ‘lawful’ government, a claim fully backed by Moscow. The Russians have regained influence over Afghanistan, avenged their defeat by the U.S. in the 1980s war and neatly checkmated the Bush administration. The U.S. ouster of the Taliban regime also means Pakistan has lost its former influence over Afghanistan. Russia has regained control of the best potential pipeline routes. The new Silk Road is destined to become a Russian energy superhighway.”
Clues to future events in Afghanistan can be found by looking closely at some of the top leaders of the Northern Alliance. According to BBC leadership profiles, three men stand out. They are: “General Abdul Rashid Dostum leader of Afghanistan's minority Uzbek community, The leader of the second largest party in the Northern Alliance, General Dostum directed the campaign to recapture Mazar-e-Sharif. In the years of Soviet domination, he transformed himself from a communist union organizer working in northern Afghan gas fields to the leader of the 20,000 strong Uzbek militia fighting on the Soviet side. “
Karim Khalili is the leader of the Hezb-e-Wahdat (Unity Party) which represents the Shia ethnic Hazara minority. Wahdat, according to the BBC, is the main benefactor of Iranian support.
Ismail Khan was the former governor of Herat. His forces captured Chaghcharan, the capital of Afghanistan's Ghor province, and, suspiciously, Herat near the Iranian border the day after Mazar-e-Sharif fell. The nearest Northern Alliance forces were more than 500 miles away in Mazar-e-Sharif.
With Russia and (perhaps) Iran controlling a great deal of Afghanistan because of Bush’s ineptitude, it is no surprise Osama Bin Ladan can’t be found. The national electronic news media, parroting U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon party line, insists Bin Laden is in the Tora Bora mountains, in Pakistan, or dead. However, Could Bin Laden and the Taliban leader Mullah Omar really be in Herat or even Iran? Betcha British intelligence knows.
December 2001
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Friday, December 14, 2001
Ulterior Motives
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican who represents the 14th Texas congressional district has recently written: “Ulterior motives have always played a part in the foreign policy of almost every nation throughout history. Economic gain and geographic expansion, or even just the desires for more political power, too often drive the militarism of all nations. Unfortunately, in recent years, we have not been exempt.”
The Vice President for International Relations for UNOCAL Oil Corporation, John J. Maresca, testified on February 12, 1998 the following before the House Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific: “I appreciate your invitation to speak here today. I believe these hearings are important and timely, and I congratulate you for focusing on Central Asia oil and gas reserves and the role they play in shaping U.S. policy.”
“The Caspian region contains tremendous untapped hydrocarbon reserves, much of them located in the Caspian Sea basin itself. Proven natural gas reserves equal more than 236 trillion cubic feet. The region's total oil reserves may reach more than 60 billion barrels of oil. Some estimates are as high as 200 billion barrels. In 1995, the region was producing only 870,000 barrels per day.”
“One major problem has yet to be resolved: how to get the region's vast energy resources to the markets. (A) project...sponsored by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), a consortium of 11 foreign oil companies including four American companies -- Unocal, Amoco, Exxon and Pennzoil...(want to follow a) ...potential route south...across Iran. However, this option is foreclosed for American companies because of U.S. sanctions legislation. The only other possible route option is across Afghanistan, which has its own unique challenges.”
“The country has been involved in bitter warfare for almost two decades. The territory across which the pipeline would extend is controlled by the Taliban, an Islamic movement that is not recognized as a government by most other nations. From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of our proposed pipeline cannot begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders (read big banks) and our company.”
“In spite of this, a route through Afghanistan appears to be the best option with the fewest technical obstacles. It is the shortest route to the sea and has relatively favorable terrain for a pipeline. The route through Afghanistan is the one that would bring Central Asian oil closest to Asian markets and thus would be the cheapest in terms of transporting the oil. The 1,040-mile-long oil pipeline would begin near the town of Chardzhou, in northern Turkmenistan, and extend southeasterly through Afghanistan to an export terminal that would be constructed on the Pakistan coast on the Arabian Sea. Only about 440 miles of the pipeline would be in Afghanistan.”
In George Bush’s war cabinet we find V.P. Cheney, from Halliburton Oil Industry Corporation; Condolezza Rice who sat on the board of Chevron Oil and has an oil tanker named after her; Donald Rumsfeld former CEO of G.D. Searle and General Instruments, Pentagon contractors; and General Colin Powell author of the cowardly “Powell Doctrine” saying the U.S. should only attack when victory is guaranteed. While the National Electronic News Media sells antiterrorism to the clueless “nobodies, ” the ulterior motive is oil for the “Big Boys.” Surprised? Why?
December 2001
The Vice President for International Relations for UNOCAL Oil Corporation, John J. Maresca, testified on February 12, 1998 the following before the House Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific: “I appreciate your invitation to speak here today. I believe these hearings are important and timely, and I congratulate you for focusing on Central Asia oil and gas reserves and the role they play in shaping U.S. policy.”
“The Caspian region contains tremendous untapped hydrocarbon reserves, much of them located in the Caspian Sea basin itself. Proven natural gas reserves equal more than 236 trillion cubic feet. The region's total oil reserves may reach more than 60 billion barrels of oil. Some estimates are as high as 200 billion barrels. In 1995, the region was producing only 870,000 barrels per day.”
“One major problem has yet to be resolved: how to get the region's vast energy resources to the markets. (A) project...sponsored by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), a consortium of 11 foreign oil companies including four American companies -- Unocal, Amoco, Exxon and Pennzoil...(want to follow a) ...potential route south...across Iran. However, this option is foreclosed for American companies because of U.S. sanctions legislation. The only other possible route option is across Afghanistan, which has its own unique challenges.”
“The country has been involved in bitter warfare for almost two decades. The territory across which the pipeline would extend is controlled by the Taliban, an Islamic movement that is not recognized as a government by most other nations. From the outset, we have made it clear that construction of our proposed pipeline cannot begin until a recognized government is in place that has the confidence of governments, lenders (read big banks) and our company.”
“In spite of this, a route through Afghanistan appears to be the best option with the fewest technical obstacles. It is the shortest route to the sea and has relatively favorable terrain for a pipeline. The route through Afghanistan is the one that would bring Central Asian oil closest to Asian markets and thus would be the cheapest in terms of transporting the oil. The 1,040-mile-long oil pipeline would begin near the town of Chardzhou, in northern Turkmenistan, and extend southeasterly through Afghanistan to an export terminal that would be constructed on the Pakistan coast on the Arabian Sea. Only about 440 miles of the pipeline would be in Afghanistan.”
In George Bush’s war cabinet we find V.P. Cheney, from Halliburton Oil Industry Corporation; Condolezza Rice who sat on the board of Chevron Oil and has an oil tanker named after her; Donald Rumsfeld former CEO of G.D. Searle and General Instruments, Pentagon contractors; and General Colin Powell author of the cowardly “Powell Doctrine” saying the U.S. should only attack when victory is guaranteed. While the National Electronic News Media sells antiterrorism to the clueless “nobodies, ” the ulterior motive is oil for the “Big Boys.” Surprised? Why?
December 2001
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