Oil & Foreign Policy
(see also Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea & Indonesia)
On the Web: Articles
The Push for War. Anatol Lieven, London Review of Books (10/3/02). Brilliant critique of the world view & militarist foreign policy of the "think tank" intellectuals surrounding the Bush administration.
Exxon-Mobil Sponsored Terrorism? David Corn, Nation (6/14/02). Charges arising from Acheh of human rights violations by forces employed to defend the multinational's interests there.
Administration
Shifts Focus on Colombia Aid, Juan Forero, NY Times (2/6/02). War
on terror lets U.S. admit that military aid to Colombia is about oil
It's
About Oil, Ted Rall, (11/2/01). Unocal has sought oil pipeline through
Afghanistan since 1994. Deal with Taliban cancelled after 1999 bombing. 9/11
provided "perfect excuse" to intervene & install puppet govt.
amenable to plan.
Stuck
in the Gulf: Could Central Asian oil, piped through a rebuilt Afghanistan,
wean the West from the Mideast? Chances are slim, Damien Cave, (10/29/01).
US oil dependency, & why we probably won't work to develop solar energy.
America's pipe dream, George Monbiot, Guardian (10/22/01). War is always about industrial & commercial competition; this one will provide US with an Afghan route for Caspian oil.
The High, Hidden Cost of Saudi Arabian Oil, Neela Banerjee, NY Times (10/21/01). How dependence on Saudi oil may hamper 9/11 investigation & war on terrorism.
Oil Omissions: Bush Sr, Cheney Have Big Stakes in Saudi Status Quo, Laura Flanders,Common Dreams (10/18/01). US interest in Caspian Sea oil; George Bush Sr.'s ties to Saudis.
Fears, Again, of Oil Supplies at Risk, Neela Banerjee, NY Times (10/14/01). US dependency on foreign oil; regional consequences of ties to Middle East.
The Continent of Sleaze, War in a Passive Voice, Vijay Prashad,Counterpunch (10/12/01). US military maneuvers vs. Taliban before 9/11; Robert Oakley, ex- ambassador to Pakistan linked to Saudis, now working for Unocal.
Missing
the Oil Story, Nina Burleigh, Guerrilla News (10/12/01). Brief
look at economics of Afghanistan war.
US
Companies to Invest in Pak Oil, Gas Sectors Frontier Post (10/10/01).
US Ambassador visits Pakistan's Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources
to discuss cooperation on gas & oil.
The
Oil Behind Bush and Son's Campaigns, Ranjit Devraj, (10/6/01). War on
Afghanistan partly about region's oil reserves.
Questionable
Ties: Tracking Bin Laden's Money Flow Leads Back to Midland, Texas
Wayne Madsen, In These Times. Bush's financial dealings with individuals & banks connected to bin Laden & terrorist groups.
War Against the Planet,
Vijay Prashad, Counterpunch (9/15/01). US/British policies in Iraq
& Afghanistan that set stage for 9/11.
Saddam's Last Laugh,
Arjun Makhijani, TomPaine.com (3/9/01). An OPEC switch from $$ to Euro
could devastate US economy.
The Campaign Issue that
Wasn't, Martin A. Lee, San Francisco Bay Guardian (11/13/00)
Halliburton subsidiaries did $23 million in business with Iraq while Dick
Cheney was CEO
Timeline
of Competition between Unocal and Bridas for Afghanistan Pipeline, WorldPress
(n.d.)
House
Testimony by Unocal About Central Asian Oil Pipelines (2/98). Industry
representatives offer details on location of oil in Central Asia & their
plans for it.
On the Web: Specialized Sites
In the Library: Articles
Klare, Michael T. "Oil moves the war machine," Progressive (6/02):18-19.
__________. "Blood for oil: the Bush-Cheney energy strategy," in L. Panitch & C. Leys (eds.) Socialist Register 2004: The New Imperial Challenge (NY: Monthly Review, 2004).
Maechling, Charles. "Pearl harbor: the first energy war," History Today (12/00):41-47.
In the Library: Non-Fiction Books
Bacher, John. Petrotyranny (eds. Shirley Farlinger & Derek Paul; Toronto: Science for Peace/Dundurn, 2000).
Becker, Abraham S. Russia & Caspian Oil: Moscow Loses Control (Santa Monica CA: Rand, 1998).
Dafter, Ray & Ian Davidson. North Sea Oil & Gas & British Foreign Policy (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1980).
Deffeyes, Kenneth S. Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage (Princeton: Princeton U., 2001). Explains probable peak in world production, & inexorable decline beginning before 2010.
Engdahl, William. A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics & the New World Order (London: Pluto, 2004).
Painter, David A. Oil & the American Century: The Political Economy of US Foreign Oil Policy, 1941-1954 (Baltimore, 1986).
Klare, Michael T. Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict (NY: Metropolitan, 2001).
O’Connor, Harvey. The Empire of Oil (NY, 1955). Pioneer study
of oil cartels & their influence on foreign policy.
__________. World Crisis in Oil (London, 1962).
Pelletière, Stephen. America's Oil Wars (Westport CT: Praeger, 2004). Real reason for war in Middle East is to put a lock on its future energy supplies.
In the Library: Fiction
"Saro-Wiwa," by Terry Leonino. Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino, Magpie Give Light, Sliced Bread Records, CD-SB71185.
Film & Video:
"The Oil Factor: Behind the War on Terror" [2004], dir. Audrey Brohy & Gerald Ungerman, 60m.