[The U.S. won't remonstrate against the Saudi government.]
Are we "Drowning Freedom In Oil"? The Muslim world does not hate the West. They quite reasonably hate what the West is doing to their world.
[An Indian Muslim community leader insists,] They hate that you are monopolizing all the nonrenewable resources (oil). And because you want to do that, you need to keep in power all your collaborators. As a consequence, you support feudal elements who are trying to stave off the march of democracy."The Saudi ruling family stays in power not through the support of the progressives, the secularized, U.S.-educated, pro-American elite and middle class.The more I've traveled in the Muslim world since 9/11, the more it has struck me how true this statement is: Nothing has subverted Middle East democracy more than the Arab world's and Iran's dependence on oil, and nothing will restrict America's ability to tell the truth in the Middle East and promote democracy there more than our continued dependence on oil.
Yet, since Sept. 11, the Bush-Cheney team has not lifted a finger to make us, or the Arab-Islamic world, less dependent on oil. Too bad. Because politics in countries dependent on oil becomes totally focused on who controls the oil revenues rather than on how to improve the skills and education of both their men and women, how to build a rule of law and a legitimate state in which people feel some ownership, and how to build an honest economy that is open and attractive to investors.
It stays in power through a bargain with the conservative Wahhabi Muslim religious establishment. The Wahhabi clerics bless the regime and give it legitimacy in the absence of any democratic elections. In return, the regime gives the Wahhabis oil money, which they use to propagate a puritanical version of Islam that is hostile to the West, to women, to modernity and to all non-Muslim faiths.That money also finds its way into the hands of the terrorists with whom we insist we are at war.
And it is our oil addiction that keeps us from ever confronting the Saudis on this. Addicts never tell the truth to their pushers.
this was sent to me today also.
joe
Isn't that STRANGE? (But not very funny)
The Russians got into their Vietnam right after the USA got out of theirs.
The USA supported Bin Laden and the Taliban for years, and viewed them as
freedom fighters against the Russians.
As late as 1998 the US was paying the salary of every single Taliban
official in Afghanistan?
Isn't that strange...
There is more oil and gas in the Caspian Sea area than in Saudi Arabia, but
you need a pipeline through Afghanistan to get the oil out.
UNOCAL, a giant American Oil conglomerate, wanted to build a 1000 mile long
pipeline from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan to the Arabian Sea.
UNOCAL spent $+/- Billion on geological surveys for pipeline construction,
and very nicely courted the Taliban for their support in allowing the
construction to begin.
All of the leading Taliban officials were in Texas negotiating with UNOCAL
in 1998.
1998-1999 the Taliban changed its mind and threw UNOCAL out of the country
and awarded the pipeline project to a company from Argentina.
John Maresca VP of UNOCAL testified before Congress and said no pipeline
until the Taliban was gone and a more friendly government was established.
1999-2000 The Taliban became the most evil people in the world.
Isn't that strange...
Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American
officials in mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go
ahead by the middle of October.
9/11 WIC disaster. Bush goes to war against Afghanistan even though none of
the hijackers came from Afghanistan.
Bush blamed Bin Laden but has never offered any proof saying it's a
"secret".
Taliban offered to negotiate to turn over Bin Laden if the USA showed them
some proof. They refused; they bombed.
We have a new government in Afghanistan. The leader of that government
formerly worked for UNOCAL.
Isn't that strange...
Bush appoints a special envoy to represent the US to deal with that new
government, who formerly was the "chief consultant to UNOCAL".
The Bush family acquired their wealth through oil.
Bush's Secretary of Interior was the President of an oil company before
going to Washington.
George Bush Sr. now works with the "Carlysle Group" specializing in huge oil
investments around the world.
Condoleezza Rice worked for Chevron before going to Washington.
Chevron named one of its newest "supertankers" after Condoleezza.
Dick Cheney worked for the giant oil conglomerate Haliburton before becoming
VP.
Haliburton gave Cheney $34,000,000 as a farewell gift when he left
Haliburton.
Haliburton is in the pipeline construction business.
Isn't that strange...
There is $6 Trillion dollars worth of oil in the Caspian Sea area.
The US government quietly announces Jan 31, 2002 we will support the
construction of the Trans-Afghanistan pipeline
President Musharref (Pakistan), and Karrzai, (Afghanistan -Unocal) announce
agreement to build proposed gas pipeline from Central Asia to Pakistan via
Afghanistan. (Irish Times 02/10/02)
"It's the Oil, Stupid!"
Mr. Joseph Clifford contributed above article to Media Monitors Network
(MMN) from James Town, Rhode Island, USA