U.S. INTERESTS IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS - FEBRUARY 12, 1998 COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - U.S. HOUSE http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=149495&article=10389 [SNIP] Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Rohrabacher, I certainly do agree with you with respect to the contributions and plight of the Afghan people, and also the importance of what we have to do with respect to the Central Asian republics. I hope that the hearing today helps contribute to what you and I will have to pursue with our colleagues. [SNIP] GO HERE FOR THE FULL STORY: http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa48119.000/hfa48119_0f.htm THIS TELLS IT ALL, NOW WHAT? Donna K wrote: > > Excuse me Sir, but your slip is showing���.. > > Article written by Mr. E. Avatar a freelance reporter. > > October 12, 2001 > > > > On October 12, 2001 Friday evening, nightly broadcast of the KPBS news program > called: "The Jim Lehrer�s News Hour" Vice President Dick Cheney gave a fairly > long sit down interview to Jim Lehrer, in the office of the Vice President. > > A significant part of the interview focused on the fact that Mr. Cheney has > been at an "undisclosed, secured facility" and has not appeared in public > together with the President for several days, if not for weeks. > > In fact he was absent for sometimes from the news. > > The nation who looked for the experience and management skills of Mr. Cheney > to support a somewhat inexperienced President in foreign policy issues was > getting anxious to see Mr. Cheney absent in these days of tension filed hours. > > Mr. Cheney explained that due to security considerations they have agreed to > be at different locations and never travel together since the Presidential > campaign was over, but never the less they are constantly in touch via secured > high quality, video conferencing numerous times daily. > > During the interview Jim Lehrer commented to the Vice President about the > fact, that only a few hours after the 11th of September attack was launched > against the World Trade Center and targeting the Pentagon, a number of > Government Officials who were contacted from the news station were already > saying: "Yes we know exactly who is responsible, we know who is behind these > terrorist attacks. We are certain that it�s Osama Bin Laden and his > international terrorist network that�s resp onsib le for these attacks." > > Lehrer�s question to the Vice President was coined "Well, Mr. Vice President > if we knew that Osama Bin Laden have posed such threat to us that mere hours > after the attack everybody knew who was responsible, how come we didn�t do > anythin g about preventing it from happening, or trying to stop him from > carrying out these attacks against us? > > Cheney� response was: "Well if you recall, right after the US Embassy bombings > the Clinton administration made an attempt to launch a missile attack on Bin > Laden�s terrorist training camp inside Afghanistan, but failed to get Bin > Laden" . > > Here Lehrer did not pursue the subject but simply continued the interview to > focus on how the administration functioned and how the Vice President remains > involved while living in an undisclosed location. And how come that each > Governme nt Agency is intensifying the fear, wile issuing assurances, but > meanwhile supplying the foreign Embassies with antibiotics and the US Congress > with gas masks. > > Later, during the same interview Jim Lehrer asked the Vice President to > explain how the actual decision making process worked within the > administration and how the President would be directly involved in the > decision making process and in the daily supervision of a military actions. > > The Vice President, Mr. Cheney assured Jim Lehrer that the President was > intimately involved with issuing orders and signing off on the different > phases of the military response launched against the Taliban and Afghanistan. > > "Almost immediately at the very beginning, starting from the 12th of September > certain preparations and orders of deployments were authorized personally by > the President, to start mobilizing the forces and start deployment into > position around Afghanistan". Cheney went on explaining. > > It takes times to move forces and military assets into position half a world > away. > > A military deployment also requires the support of a coordinated diplomatic > effort, and that takes time. > > It is up to the President to instruct his cabinet and to dispatch Colin Powell > and Rumsfeld to visit certain regions, world leaders and have a coordinated > diplomatic effort undertaken along with the military ones. > > Jim Lehrer in my opinion has missed two of the most obvious questions that�s > still awaiting answers. > > How could everybody in the administration know that it was Osama Bin Laden who > was responsible, only minutes or even hours after the attack? > > The second very obvious but worrisome question that awaits a proper response > derives from Mr. Cheney�s statement when saying that the > > President as early as on the 12th of September has already authorized and > issued orders to Cabinet Members to take the necessary steps to get the > military forces and logistics mobilized against Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, > against Afgh anistan. > > On September 20, the FBI said that it had doubts about the real identities of > some of the hijackers, on the passenger list. > > On the same day President George Bush said, "We know exactly who these people > are and which governments are supporting them." It sounds as though the > President known something that even the FBI who was in charge of the > investigation did n't know. > > In his September 20 address to the US Congress, President Bush > > said "The enemies of America are the enemies of freedom". "Americans are > asking, 'Why do they hate us?' The President continued. "They hate our > freedoms -our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote > and assemble a nd disagree with each other." > > The American people were being asked by the President, to make two giant leaps > of faith here. First, to assume that The Enemy of America is who the US > government says it is, even though it has no substantial evidence to support > that cla im. And second, to assume that The Enemy's motives are what the US > government says they were, and there's nothing to support that either. > > Only hours after the names of the hijackers were released, two of the names > published prompted two people to walk into American Embassies abroad to > confirm and to verify that they were in fact very much alive. Secondly, that > neither one of them were anywhere near the US on the dates when the hijackers > struck their targets, yet their names age and nationality was plastered all > over in the US press. > > > A few days later when Mr. Bush declared "Those who are not with us, are > against us". This bold statement, in the land of free speech had in fact has > shut drown any debate and challenged any "right to disagree". It muzzled the > rights to question or to scrutinize the Government�s claim or to insist that > Mr. Bush present the "evidence" to the American people. In the midst of > fervent flag waiving and intensified patriotic sentiment and relentless > rhetoric it became not only unpopular but outri ght "Un-American" to ask any > pointed questions from this Administration! > > But in light of these new revelations that the Jim Lehrer interview that was > just aired and exposed, quiet unintentionally I may add, some very disturbing > facts. It is doubly disturbing and very troubling, that military orders were > bein g issued to attack Afghanistan hours after the 9/11 attack at that time, > in the total absence of any evidence. > > And it only intensifies the lingering degrees of persisting suspicions that > the �classified evidence" that had not been produced to date to neither to the > International Intelligence Community, nor to International Leaders nor to the > Ame rican Public is so "highly classified" for the all too obvious reasons. > > Now it becomes a telltale sign, why Secretary Powel�s promise to disclose the > "evidence" was abruptly recanted the next day by President Bush justifying the > withholding by intelligence and national security grounds. > > It is surprising to learn that an ex Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would > be less sensitive to classified information than an ex-Texas air cadet would > be. > > While the Media is transfixed and so fully preoccupied broadcasting the daily > devastating air-strikes, missile launches, and bomb attacks obliterating > Afghanistan, with morbid fascination, no one in the world news media probes or > asks a ny questions. Even the most obvious questions remain conspicuous by > there absence. > > Everyone is deeply touched by the fact, when the president tells us that he > intends to remain involved in reconstructing Afghanistan. > > I could have guessed that much. > > Everybody is convinced that Afghanistan is a devastated, dirt poor stone age > like country. Well that�s true today. > > But I defy anyone to tell me if they have even heard about OIL or NATURAL GAS > in the MEDIA in the context of Afghanistan? > > Could it be that the strategic significance of Afghanistan is perhaps the > estimated 250 billion barrels of oil reserves located in Central Asia? > > Perhaps someone could ask if anyone knows about the following: > > U.S. INTERESTS IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS HEARING > > BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC OF THE COMMITTEE ON > INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS > SECOND SESSION. > > FEBRUARY 12, 1998 > > Next we would like to hear from Mr. John J. Maresca, vice president of > international relations, Unocal Corporation. You may proceed as you wish. > > STATEMENT OF JOHN J. MARESCA, VICE PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, > UNOCAL CORPORATION > > Mr. Maresca. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's nice to see you again. I am John > Maresca, vice president for international relations of the Unocal Corporation. > Unocal, as you know, is one of the world's > > leading energy resource and project development companies. I appreciate your > invitation to speak here today. I believe these hearings are important and > timely. > > I congratulate you for focusing on Central Asia oil and gas reserves and the > role they play in shaping U.S. policy. > > I would like to focus today on three issues. First, the need for multiple > pipeline routes for Central Asian oil and gas resources. > > Second, the need for U.S. support for international and regional efforts to > achieve balanced and lasting political settlements to the conflicts in the > region, including Afghanistan. Third, the need for structured assistance to > encourage economic reforms and the development of appropriate investment > climates in the region. In this regard, we specifically support repeal or > removal of section 907 of the Freedom Support Act. > > Mr. Chairman, the Caspian region contains tremendous untapped hydrocarbon > reserves. Just to give an idea of the scale, proven natural gas reserves equal > more than 236 trillion cubic feet. The region's total oil reserves may well > reach m ore than 60 billion barrels of oil. > > Some estimates are as high as 200 billion barrels. In 1995, the region was > producing only 870,000 barrels per day. By 2010, western companies could > increase production to about 4.5 million barrels a day, an increase of more > than 500 per cent in only 15 years. If this occurs, the region would represent > about 5 percent of the world's total oil production. > > One major problem has yet to be resolved: how to get the region's vast energy > resources to the markets where they are needed. > > Central Asia is isolated. Their natural resources are landlocked, both > geographically and politically. Each of the countries in the Caucasus and > Central Asia faces difficult political challenges. Some have unsettled wars or > latent confl icts. Others have evolving systems where the laws and even the > courts are dynamic and changing. In addition, a chief technical obstacle which > we in the industry face in transporting oil is the region's existing pipeline > infrastructure. > > Because the region's pipelines were constructed during the Moscow-centered > Soviet period, they tend to head north and west toward > > Russia. There are no connections to the south and east. But Russia is > currently unlikely to absorb large new quantities of foreign oil. It's > unlikely to be a significant market for new energy in the next decade. It > lacks the capacity to deliver it to other markets. > > Two major infrastructure projects are seeking to meet the need for additional > export capacity. One, under the aegis of the Caspian > > Pipeline Consortium, plans to build a pipeline west from the northern > > Caspian to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Oil would then go by > tanker through the Bosporus to the Mediterranean and world markets. > > The other project is sponsored by the Azerbaijan International > > Operating Company, a consortium of 11 foreign oil companies, including four > American companies, Unocal, Amoco, Exxon and Pennzoil. This consortium > conceives of two possible routes, one line would angle north and cross the > north Caucasus to Novorossiysk. The other route would cross Georgia to a > shipping terminal on the Black Sea. This second route could be extended west > and south across Turkey to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. > > But even if both pipelines were built, they would not have enough total > capacity to transport all the oil expected to flow from the region in the > future. Nor would they have the capability to move It to the right markets. > Other export p ipelines must be built. > > At Unocal, we believe that the central factor in planning these pipelines > should be the location of the future energy markets that > > are most likely to need these new supplies. Western Europe, Central and > Eastern Europe, and the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union > are all slow growth markets where demand will grow at only a half a percent to > perhaps 1 .2 percent per year during the period 1995 to 2010. > > Asia is a different story all together. It will have a rapidly increasing > energy consumption need. Prior to the recent turbulence in the Asian Pacific > economies, we at Unocal anticipated that this region's demand for oil would > almost do uble by 2010. Although the short-term > > increase in demand will probably not meet these expectations, we stand behind > our long-term estimates. > > I should note that it is in everyone's interest that there be adequate > supplies for Asia's increasing energy requirements. If Asia's energy needs are > not satisfied, they will simply put pressure on all world markets, driving > prices upwa rds everywhere. > > The key question then is how the energy resources of Central Asia can be made > available to nearby Asian markets. There are two > > possible solutions, with several variations. One option is to go east across > China, but this would mean constructing a pipeline of more than 3,000 > kilometers just to reach Central China. In addition, there would have to be a > 2,000-kilom eter connection to reach the main population centers along the > coast. The question then is what will be the cost of transporting oil through > this pipeline, and what would be the netback which the producers would > receive. > > For those who are not familiar with the terminology, the netback is the price > which the producer receives for his oil or gas at the wellhead after all the > transportation costs have been deducted. > > So it's the price he receives for the oil he produces at the wellhead. > > The second option is to build a pipeline south from Central Asia to the Indian > Ocean. One obvious route south would cross Iran, but this is foreclosed for > American companies because of U.S. sanctions legislation. The only other possi > ble route is across Afghanistan , which has of course its own unique > challenges. The country has been involved in bitter warfare for almost two > decades, and is still divided by civil war. From the outset, we have made it > clear tha t con struction of the pipeline we have proposed across Afghanistan > could not begin until a recognized government is in place that has the > confidence of governments, lenders, and our company. > > Mr. Chairman, as you know, we have worked very closely with the University of > Nebraska at Omaha in developing a training program > > for Afghanistan which will be open to both men and women, and which will > operate in both parts of the country, the north and south. > > Unocal foresees a pipeline which would become part of a regional system that > will gather oil from existing pipeline infrastructure in Turkmenistan, > Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The 1,040-mile long oil pipeline would > extend south through Afghanistan to an export terminal that would be > constructed on the Pakistan coast. This 42-inch diameter pipeline will have a > shipping capacity of one million barrels of oil per day. The estimated cost of > the project, which is similar in scope to the trans-Alaska pipeline, is about > $2.5 billion. > > Given the plentiful natural gas supplies of Central Asia, our aim is to link > gas resources with the nearest viable markets. This is basic for the > commercial viability of any gas project. But these projects also face > geopolitical challen ges. Unocal and the Turkish company Koc > > Holding are interested in bringing competitive gas supplies to Turkey. The > proposed Eurasia natural gas pipeline would transport gas from Turkmenistan > directly across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey. Of > course t he demarcation of the Caspian remains an issue. > > Last October, the Central Asia Gas Pipeline Consortium, called CentGas, in > which Unocal holds an interest, was formed to develop > > a gas pipeline which will link Turkmenistan's vast Dauletabad gas field with > markets in Pakistan and possibly India. The proposed 790-mile pipeline will > open up new markets for this gas, traveling from Turkmenistan through > Afghanistan t o Multan in Pakistan. The proposed extension would move gas on > to New Delhi, where it would connect with an existing pipeline. As with the > proposed Central Asia oil pipeline, CentGas can not begin construction until > an internationally recognized Afghani stan Government is in place. > > The Central Asia and Caspian region is blessed with abundant > > oil and gas that can enhance the lives of the region's residents, and > > provide energy for growth in both Europe and Asia. The impact of these > resources on U.S. commercial interests and U.S. foreign policy is also > significant. > > Without peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the region, cross-border oil > and gas pipelines are not likely to be built. We urge the Administration and > the Congress to give strong support to the U.N.-led peace process in > Afghanistan. The U.S. Government should use its influence to help find > solutions to all of the region's conflicts. > > U.S. assistance in developing these new economies will be crucial to business > success. We thus also encourage strong technical assistance programs > throughout the region. Specifically, we urge repeal or removal of section 907 > of the Free dom Support Act. This section unfairly restricts U.S. Government > assistance to the government of Azerbaijan and limits U.S. influence in the > region. > > Developing cost-effective export routes for Central Asian resources is a > formidable task, but not an impossible one. Unocal and other American > companies like it are fully prepared to undertake the job and to make Central > Asia once again into the crossroads it has been in the past. Thank you, Mr. > Chairman. > > [The prepared statement of Mr. Maresca appears in the appendix.] > > Mr. Maresca�s testimony forgets to mention the enormous Afghan natural gas > reserves, and other unexplored resources, such as chromium, rubies, high grade > coal, and numerous others as well as OIL. > > Perhaps it�s due to my overly suspicious and equally inquisitive nature but > when I see an Administration that was heavily supported by the oil industry to > get elected and it�s headed by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Dr. > Con dollezza Rice, all three ex oil company executives, it is difficult for me > to imagine that these people have no knowledge about the value of the enormous > oil and gas reserves located in Central Asia. > =========================================================================== Wartime Responsibility http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html Ashcroft applauds Congress' agreement on USA Act http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
