December 31, 2002
Unocal Gets Its Pipeline Through Afghanistan
A lot of very confusing things make a lot more sense when seen from the standpoint of what benefits the oil industry.Reposted by Truthout, a report from PakNews.com states that "Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan on Friday signed here a framework agreement for a US $3.2 billion gas pipeline project passing through the three countries."
This was what it was all about. As has been widely reported, the Bush administration was negotiating with the Taliban early in 2001 to work out the deal for the pipeline for Unocal. The administration told the Taliban it could choose between "a carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs." We all know what it was in the end.
Typically, when an article attributes an action to an entire country, such as in the phrase quoted above, or something like "U.S. seeks wider war," it makes it sound like it is representative of the people of the country. But we know from our own experience in the US that that is not at all the case. Even the most extreme of political actions -- war -- is carried out by a relatively small group of men. Usually the population is not well-disposed to it, but in case after case historically, is whipped into a frenzy based on lies. Virtually every major US war of the 20th Century has been entered into under false pretenses. So it is again.
The editor of Truthout explains:
Since September 11th, 2001, there has been intense speculation regarding Bush administration negotiations with the Taliban regarding this very project prior to the attacks. American petroleum giant Unocal very much wanted this project for years, but it was stymied in 1998 after bin Laden blew up two American embassies in Africa, causing the Taliban to be diplomatically isolated. There are a number of reports that describe a reinvigoration of this pipeline plan after Bush took office, and further describe the Bush administration's negotiations with the Taliban including threats of war if the project was not allowed to pass through Afghanistan. Some say these threats, in the name of the pipeline, triggered the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban is gone, Afghan President Harmid Karzai is a former Unocal consultant, and the pipeline deal is finally done. - wrp