Oil Slick, Darfur & Oil Background to Tensions Throughout the World

My goodness, if any Canadian military are sent to Darfur, they might slip on an oil slick . . . or on individuals there to find the oil . . . or those who have to be bribed so they may obtain it. Does this first article put a different complexion on the reasons for the killings and the refugees in the Darfur region?

Darfur may not be about religion nor race. . . but rather, about power, oil and money.



Sudan says oil discovered in impoverished Darfur UPI, April 16, 2005

Sudan said Saturday initial oil drilling operations in the troubled Darfur region indicate there is abundant oil in the area.

Latest News on the Crisis in Sudan

As the disaster in Sudan unfolds, American Progress provides weekly updates of critical news coverage so you can track developments.

Related: a post from the last week, While the Janjaweed Throw Deadly Spears, Paul Martin Throws a Ditherer's Desperate $$$ & Diplomatic Support to the African Union in Darfur


Energizing new wars -- The thirst for energy By Michael T Klare, May 18, 2005.

Michael T Klare is a professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College and the author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Oil (Metropolitan Books & Amazon.com)

From Washington to New Delhi, Caracas to Moscow and Beijing, national leaders and corporate executives are stepping up their efforts to gain control over major sources of oil and natural gas as the global struggle for energy intensifies. Never has the competitive pursuit of untapped oil and gas reserves been so acute, and never has so much money as well as diplomatic and military muscle been deployed in the contest to win control over major foreign stockpiles of energy.

[. . . . ] With the officials of numerous governments coming under mounting pressure to satisfy the needs of their individual countries - at whatever cost - the battle for energy can only become more inflamed in the years ahead.

This struggle is being driven by one great inescapable fact: the global supply of energy is not growing fast enough to keep up with skyrocketing demand, especially from the United States and the developing nations of Asia. [. . . . ]

By 2025, global oil consumption is projected to rise 57%, [. . . . ]

Frenzied search

[. . . . ] Japan to initiate natural gas production in a disputed area of the East China Sea helped to spark massive anti-Japanese protests in China on April 16, [. . . . ]

During her first visit to India as secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice called on New Delhi to back away from a plan to import natural gas by pipeline from Iran, claiming that any such endeavor would frustrate US efforts to isolate the hardline clerical regime in Tehran . . . . But the Indians let it be known that their desire for additional energy supplies trumped Washington's ideological opposition to the Iranian regime. [. . . . ]

. . . Rice flew to Moscow and pressured President Vladimir Putin to [. . . . ]

On April 25, President George W Bush met with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia [. . . . ]

"Obviously, with states like China, India and others coming on line, [. . . . ]

Insatiable demand[. . . . ] dynamic new economies in East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America. [. . . . ]

Questionable supply
Accommodating the growing Chinese and Indian demand [. . . . ]

. . . the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, [. . . . ] . . . New York Times, business analyst Jeff Gerth reported . . .

[. . . . ] alarmed by Gerth's report. [. . . . ]

Intensifying struggle
[. . . . ] Whether in India, Russia, or Latin America, [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] Warning that China has outperformed India in the pursuit of new oil and gas reserves, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared [. . . . ]

Japanese leaders, too, have stressed the need for [. . . . ] But after Prime Minister Koizumi flew to Moscow and offered billions of dollars in additional aid and technology to Russia, President Putin indicated a preference for the Nakhodka route, which will, of course, facilitate oil deliveries to Japan. This has not deterred Chinese leaders from seeking a reversal of this decision, claiming that the "strategic partnership" between Moscow and Beijing outweighs the purely mercantile interests of Japan.

[. . . . ] Tensions are sure to rise, moreover, if Japan actually commences drilling in waters claimed by China. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] In the Caspian Sea, for example, Iran seeks . . . Azerbaijan, an ally of the US. [. . . . ]

Territorial disputes of this sort with significant energy dimensions can be found in the Red Sea, the South China Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Bakassi Peninsula (a narrow stretch of land claimed by both Nigeria and Cameroon) among other regions. In each of these areas, opposing claimants have employed military force on occasion to assert their control or to drive off the forces of a challenger. None of these incidents has led to a full-scale conflict, but lives have been lost and the risk of renewed fighting persists. As the global struggle for energy intensifies, therefore, the danger of escalation will grow. [. . . . ]

If that does not send you to read the whole, nothing will. Note that I have included a source to buy the the book.




Saddam's Business Partners -- How the Oil-for-Food scandal happened and why it matters. From the May 30, 2005 issue, by Stephen F. Hayes, 05/30/2005, Volume 010, Issue 35, via Newsbeat1.

WHEN UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL Kofi Annan quipped several years ago that he could "do business" with Saddam Hussein, he meant it figuratively. In light of the substantive charges coming out of the ever-expanding Oil-for-Food scandal, the throwaway line seems revealing or at least ironic.

"I think we have to take him literally," says Republican senator Norm Coleman, who is leading one of eight investigations into the corruption and mismanagement of the U.N.'s largest-ever humanitarian relief effort.

[. . . . ] Iraqis were dying because Saddam Hussein was killing them.

[. . . . ] When Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, Hussein Kamel, defected to Jordan on August 8, 1995, he effectively ended any hope for the total lifting of sanctions. Kamel, the nephew of Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as "Chemical Ali," was a senior regime official with responsibility for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. He revealed the elaborate schemes Hussein had put in place to hide his programs from U.N. inspectors. The Iraqi regime, not knowing what Kamel had disclosed to U.N. officials, was forced to admit a far greater level of WMD production and sophistication than had been known. The French and Russians, who had offered praise for the regime's alleged cooperation, were silenced. The drive to end sanctions was finished, or rather stalled.

[. . . . ] Officials at the highest levels of the Iraqi regime--including Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan, Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, and Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rashid--chose the recipients.

The U.N. did not see any of this until the traditional oil companies contracted with Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization, known as SOMO. (One notable exception to this U.N. ignorance appears to have been Benon Sevan, the administrator of Oil-for-Food, who knew about the illegal allocations because he personally was receiving some. More on that later.) The Iraqis, however, kept scrupulous records of each step in their bribery scheme.

[. . . . ] Two other men under investigation by the Coleman-Levin committee, however, were close advisers to the two chief opponents of the Iraq war--Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin.

[. . . . ] In early June, the Coleman-Levin committee will make available a similar report on the Iraqi regime's funding of terrorist entities. . . . the Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK), a terrorist group . . . . . Samir Vincent . . . .

[. . . . ] Many news articles have pointed out that Park is a longtime friend of former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and a business associate of Maurice Strong, . . .

So has Kojo Annan, Kofi Annan's son. . . .

[. . . . ] Here's a guy who has lied to investigators--probable cause to believe he has committed a crime--and Kofi was going to pay his legal fees until we raised the issue!"

In recent weeks, the Volcker committee itself has come under scrutiny after two of its top investigators, former FBI agent Robert Parton and his deputy, Miranda Duncan, quit the probe.

[. . . . ] Is it any wonder that Coleman wants to investigate whether Kofi Annan was--quite literally--doing business with Saddam Hussein?

There is much more -- worth reading so do link.

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