Invasion Planned After Taliban Balks on Pipeline
Bill Irwin
billi@aloha.net
Fri, 11 Jan 2002 10:59:54 -1000
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For those of you interested in the oil pipeline deal may be interested =
in the story attached below. It seems that the chief negotiator for the =
pipeline has a new job that fits in with his talents - he's now the =
American ambassador in Kabul. The story details his links to Unocal, =
Chevron, Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Rice, Wolfowitz, And the Taliban. =
Now, if he can just work out a deal with the Russians who control =
northern Afghanistan we may be getting a new straw to suck out the black =
gold (our life blood) from central Asia.
Bill
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=3D113662
New US envoy to Kabul lobbied for Taliban oil rights
By Kim Sengupta in Kabul and Andrew Gumbel
10 January 2002
The United States' new special envoy to Kabul once lobbied for the =
Taliban and worked for an American oil company that sought concessions =
for pipelines in Afghanistan.
Zalmay Khalilzad, who was born in Afghanistan, has arrived in Kabul amid =
much publicity. As the representative of the country that put the new =
government in power, he has a highly influential position.
In one of his first press conferences, Mr Khalilzad condemned the =
Taliban as sponsors of terrorism and vowed the US would continue the =
military campaign until they and their allies in Osama bin Laden's =
al-Qa'ida network are eradicated.
But in 1997, as a paid adviser to the oil multinational Unocal, he took =
part in talks with Taliban officials regarding the possibility of =
building highly lucrative gas and oil pipelines. He had drawn up a risk =
analysis report for the project that would have exploited the natural =
reserves of the region, estimated to be the world's second largest after =
the Persian Gulf.
At the same time, he urged the Clinton administration to take a softer =
line on the Taliban. By 1997 some of the regime's worst excesses had =
become public and Mr bin Laden was ensconced in Afghanistan. That year, =
the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, described the Taliban's =
abuses of human rights as "despicable".
But Mr Khalilzad defended them in The Washington Post. "The Taliban do =
not practice the anti-US style of fundamentalism practised by Iran," he =
wrote. "We should ... be willing to offer recognition and humanitarian =
assistance and to promote international economic reconstruction. It is =
time for the United States to re-engage."
Without such "re-engagement", it would not have been possible for Unocal =
to pursue its goal to build a gas pipeline from the landlocked former =
Soviet republic of Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan, with =
a possible extension to India.
Unocal had been involved in a commercial war for the pipeline concession =
with the Argentinian company Bridas. As well as Mr Khalilzad - who had =
been an undersecretary of defence under George Bush Snr and has worked =
as a defence analyst for the Rand Corporation - Unocal hired a string of =
high-profile names with connections to the region to fight its cause, =
including Robert Oakley, the former US ambassador to Pakistan and later =
the US special envoy to Somalia.
American policy towards Afghanistan was increasingly being criticised =
because it seemed to be guided by oil and gas interests. That changed in =
August 1998, when the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed and =
Washington blamed Mr bin Laden for the attacks. Unocal concluded that =
its pipeline was no longer tenable as long as the Taliban were in power.
At that point Mr Khalilzad, too, changed his tune. In a highly =
influential article published in the Winter 2000 edition of The =
Washington Quarterly, an academic journal, he laid out what were to =
become the founding principles of the Bush administration's war in =
Afghanistan.
Engagement with the Taliban was no longer possible, he argued: indeed, =
the sanctuary given to Mr bin Laden posed a grave threat to US interests =
at home and abroad. Opposition to the Taliban should be orchestrated =
through both the Northern Alliance and anti-Taliban Pashtun groups, with =
talks on a successor regime channelled through the former king, Zahir =
Shah, in Rome.
Largely thanks to that article and the success of the war based on its =
premises, Mr Khalilzad has become an influential adviser to President =
Bush. His credibility relies to a large extent on his birth. He was born =
50 years ago in Mazar-i-Sharif and brought up in Kabul as part of =
Afghanistan's Dari-speaking elite, before travelling to Lebanon and then =
to the US in the 1970s to complete his education in political science.
His many critics point out that he has been wrong as often as he has =
been right - going back to the 1980s when, as a state department =
official in the Reagan administration, he argued vociferously in favour =
of providing surface-to-air missiles and other sophisticated weaponry to =
the very mujahedin groups that later gave birth to the Taliban.
"If he was in private business rather than government, he would have =
been sacked long ago," Anatol Lieven, an analyst with the Carnegie =
Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said.
Such criticisms, and the possible conflict of interest arising from Mr =
Khalilzad's former role in Unocal, perhaps explains why he was appointed =
to the National Security Council, a position that did not require =
confirmation hearings in the Senate.
Even now, his oil contacts are bound to raise suspicions about both his =
priorities and those of the Bush administration. At the NSC, Mr =
Khalilzad worked for the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, =
who had served on the board of the Chevron Corporation as an expert on =
another central Asian state with major oil reserves, Kazakhstan.
President Bush and Vice-president Dick Cheney have extensive backgrounds =
in the oil business, too, and it will not be lost on any of them that =
central Asia has almost 40 per cent of the world's gas reserves and 6 =
per cent of its oil reserves.
In addition, Mr Khalilzad has links to the most hawkish wing of the =
administration. In the 1980s, he worked on Afghanistan alongside Paul =
Wolfowitz, now the Deputy Secretary of Defence and an ardent advocate of =
military action to depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq - a hardline view that =
has also sometimes been voiced by Mr Khalilzhad.=20
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<DIV><FONT size=3D2>For those of you interested in the oil pipeline deal =
may be=20
interested in the story attached below. It seems that the chief =
negotiator=20
for the pipeline has a new job that fits in with his talents - he's now =
the=20
American ambassador in Kabul. The story details his links to =
Unocal,=20
Chevron, Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Rice, Wolfowitz, And the =
Taliban. =20
Now, if he can just work out a deal with the Russians who control =
northern=20
Afghanistan we may be getting a new straw to suck out the black gold =
(our life=20
blood) from central Asia.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Bill</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=3D=
113662">http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia_china/story.jsp?story=3D=
113662</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>
<H1>New US envoy to Kabul lobbied for Taliban oil rights</H1>
<H3>By Kim Sengupta in Kabul and Andrew Gumbel</H3>
<H4>10 January 2002</H4><!-- LINKS -->
<DIV class=3Dfloatbox></DIV><!-- /LINKS -->
<P>The United States' new special envoy to Kabul once lobbied for the =
Taliban=20
and worked for an American oil company that sought concessions for =
pipelines in=20
Afghanistan.</P>
<P>Zalmay Khalilzad, who was born in Afghanistan, has arrived in Kabul =
amid much=20
publicity. As the representative of the country that put the new =
government in=20
power, he has a highly influential position.</P>
<P>In one of his first press conferences, Mr Khalilzad condemned the =
Taliban as=20
sponsors of terrorism and vowed the US would continue the military =
campaign=20
until they and their allies in Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network are=20
eradicated.</P>
<P>But in 1997, as a paid adviser to the oil multinational Unocal, he =
took part=20
in talks with Taliban officials regarding the possibility of building =
highly=20
lucrative gas and oil pipelines. He had drawn up a risk analysis report =
for the=20
project that would have exploited the natural reserves of the region, =
estimated=20
to be the world's second largest after the Persian Gulf.</P>
<P>At the same time, he urged the Clinton administration to take a =
softer line=20
on the Taliban. By 1997 some of the regime's worst excesses had become =
public=20
and Mr bin Laden was ensconced in Afghanistan. That year, the Secretary =
of=20
State, Madeleine Albright, described the Taliban's abuses of human =
rights as=20
"despicable".</P>
<P>But Mr Khalilzad defended them in The Washington Post. "The Taliban =
do not=20
practice the anti-US style of fundamentalism practised by Iran," he =
wrote. "We=20
should ... be willing to offer recognition and humanitarian assistance =
and to=20
promote international economic reconstruction. It is time for the United =
States=20
to re-engage."</P>
<P>Without such "re-engagement", it would not have been possible for =
Unocal to=20
pursue its goal to build a gas pipeline from the landlocked former =
Soviet=20
republic of Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan, with a =
possible=20
extension to India.</P>
<P>Unocal had been involved in a commercial war for the pipeline =
concession with=20
the Argentinian company Bridas. As well as Mr Khalilzad – who had =
been an=20
undersecretary of defence under George Bush Snr and has worked as a =
defence=20
analyst for the Rand Corporation – Unocal hired a string of =
high-profile names=20
with connections to the region to fight its cause, including Robert =
Oakley, the=20
former US ambassador to Pakistan and later the US special envoy to =
Somalia.</P>
<P>American policy towards Afghanistan was increasingly being criticised =
because=20
it seemed to be guided by oil and gas interests. That changed in August =
1998,=20
when the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed and Washington =
blamed Mr=20
bin Laden for the attacks. Unocal concluded that its pipeline was no =
longer=20
tenable as long as the Taliban were in power.</P>
<P>At that point Mr Khalilzad, too, changed his tune. In a highly =
influential=20
article published in the Winter 2000 edition of The Washington =
Quarterly, an=20
academic journal, he laid out what were to become the founding =
principles of the=20
Bush administration's war in Afghanistan.</P>
<P>Engagement with the Taliban was no longer possible, he argued: =
indeed, the=20
sanctuary given to Mr bin Laden posed a grave threat to US interests at =
home and=20
abroad. Opposition to the Taliban should be orchestrated through both =
the=20
Northern Alliance and anti-Taliban Pashtun groups, with talks on a =
successor=20
regime channelled through the former king, Zahir Shah, in Rome.</P>
<P>Largely thanks to that article and the success of the war based on =
its=20
premises, Mr Khalilzad has become an influential adviser to President =
Bush. His=20
credibility relies to a large extent on his birth. He was born 50 years =
ago in=20
Mazar-i-Sharif and brought up in Kabul as part of Afghanistan's =
Dari-speaking=20
elite, before travelling to Lebanon and then to the US in the 1970s to =
complete=20
his education in political science.</P>
<P>His many critics point out that he has been wrong as often as he has =
been=20
right – going back to the 1980s when, as a state department =
official in the=20
Reagan administration, he argued vociferously in favour of providing=20
surface-to-air missiles and other sophisticated weaponry to the very =
mujahedin=20
groups that later gave birth to the Taliban.</P>
<P>"If he was in private business rather than government, he would have =
been=20
sacked long ago," Anatol Lieven, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment =
for=20
International Peace in Washington, said.</P>
<P>Such criticisms, and the possible conflict of interest arising from =
Mr=20
Khalilzad's former role in Unocal, perhaps explains why he was appointed =
to the=20
National Security Council, a position that did not require confirmation =
hearings=20
in the Senate.</P>
<P>Even now, his oil contacts are bound to raise suspicions about both =
his=20
priorities and those of the Bush administration. At the NSC, Mr =
Khalilzad worked=20
for the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, who had served on =
the board=20
of the Chevron Corporation as an expert on another central Asian state =
with=20
major oil reserves, Kazakhstan.</P>
<P>President Bush and Vice-president Dick Cheney have extensive =
backgrounds in=20
the oil business, too, and it will not be lost on any of them that =
central Asia=20
has almost 40 per cent of the world's gas reserves and 6 per cent of its =
oil=20
reserves.</P>
<P>In addition, Mr Khalilzad has links to the most hawkish wing of the=20
administration. In the 1980s, he worked on Afghanistan alongside Paul =
Wolfowitz,=20
now the Deputy Secretary of Defence and an ardent advocate of military =
action to=20
depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq – a hardline view that has also =
sometimes been=20
voiced by Mr Khalilzhad. </P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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