-Caveat Lector- from - http://216.157.10.92/moles/post-it/posts/70.html
#1 TAKE ACTION! Stop Bush's Oil War in Colombia Bush's Pipeline Protection Proposal is Corporate Welfare for Oxy This week marked a new phase of the US war in Colombia. No more double speak, no more euphemisms, just good old fashion oil-igarchy straight talk. Why do we give military aid to one of Latin America's most brutal militaries? According to George Bush's new budget proposal $98 million is going to be used to protect US oil companies interests in Colombia, specifically Occidental Petroleum's Canon Limon pipeline. Since they formed the US Colombia Business Partnership in 1996 US energy corporations like Occidental Petroleum, Texas Oil and Enron have been lobbying for US military aid to Colombia. In the last three years they have succeeded in hijacking US foreign policy and winning passage of $1.3 billion in US military aid as part of "Plan Colombia." The American people were told that this aid package was part of the "War on Drugs" and the stated policy was that the US would not get involved in "counter-insurgency". But starting on September 12th we didn't hear so much about the War on Drugs in Colombia we started hearing a lot more about the "War on Terrorism" and the need to protect US oil pipelines from terror attacks. Now Bush's new proposal has affirmed what the U'wa and other indigenous, human rights and environmental groups have been saying about U.S. policy in Colombia all along - US policy in Colombia is being written by oil companies. America is allowing our addiction to fossil fuels to drag us into Colombia's civil war. U.S. military aid will be used to violate human rights, deepen the conflict and support the expansion of environmentally destructive oil projects. Oil companies like Oxy will benefit but a steep price will be paid by communites and fragile ecosystems in Colombia. Oil and violence go hand in hand in Colombia. 1 in 4 soldiers in the Colombian military is protecting oil instillations. US oil companies like Occidental pay $1 war tax per barrel produced and new oil development becomes a magent for the violence of Colombia's 4 decade long civil war. The U'wa have repeatedly mobilized to resist oil development and to speak out against US military aid. Now with Bush making military support for Oxy's operations part of the War on Terrorism we must break the silence about the oil war and stop any more US military aid to Colombia. Here's 2 simple actions you can take to support the people of Colombia in their efforts to bring peace and justice to their country. CALL OR WRITE YOUR SENATORS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY AND URGE NO MORE $$$ FOR VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA! The White House: (202) 456 1414 Capital Switchboard: 202-224-3121. To find your Senators and Representatives, go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov WRITE LETTERS TO YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER AND SAY NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR OIL VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA! Use Amazon Watch's op-ed below as an example of how to educate the public about the Bush administration's real agenda in Colombia. For a thorough breakdown and analysis of US military aid to Colombia, go to www.ciponline.org/colombia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- #2 AMAZON WATCH February 7, 2002 OPINION EDITORIAL Atossa Soltani, Executive Director, Amazon Watch Bush Reveals the Crude Nature of US Colombia Policy by Proposing Military Protection for OXY Plan Will Only Fuel Civil Strife in Colombia President Bush's proposed $98 million for protection of Occidental Petroleum 's (OXY) pipeline reveals the hidden agenda behind the Bush Administration's Colombia policy-namely subsidizing and securing US corporations' access to Colombia's oil reserves. Amazon Watch opposes President Bush' plan to subsidize security costs for a socially irresponsible corporation bent on operating in a war zone. This strategy is a sure recipe for increased abuses against indigenous and local communities that may have legitimate concerns about OXY's operations. Disturbingly, OXY was one of the only US oil companies who last year refused to sign the Clinton Administration's Voluntary Principals on Security and Human Rights, a code of conduct aimed at preventing human rights abuses by private security and police forces hired to protect company installations. In recent years, the company has repeatedly called the military to the Siriri concession to break up peaceful blockades by the U'wa people who have been resisting drilling on their sacred territory. Two indigenous children died during one such attack and others were injured. In June 2001, a Colombian judicial inquiry exposed active collaboration between AirScan, OXY's private security firm guarding the pipeline, and the Colombian military. Eighteen civilians, mostly children, were killed when AirScan helped an air attack on the village of Santo Domingo by providing information gathered during security work for OXY. The plane's infrared equipment was used to pinpoint ground targets. OXY's Colombia operation is not solely a victim of guerrilla sabotage but a principal contributor to the cycle of violence in the region. Oil production is funding all sides of the conflict. It has been widely reported that the FARC have long taxed a percentage of the pipeline's revenues destined for the province of Arauca. The rise in the ELN's power in Colombia can also be directly traced to the mid 1980s when millions of dollars in payoffs by OXY's contractors to the group--then a fledgling band of rebels--- helped ensure the Ca�o Limon pipeline met its construction schedule. Revealing the ethically questionable lengths to which OXY goes to operate in Colombia, a company official testified before a Congressional subcommittee in 2000 that employees are "regularly shaken down" by both the FARC and ELN guerrilla groups and are "required to pay a 'war tax' to both or they will not be able to work." While the guerrillas have caused millions in damages to the pipeline, right wing paramilitaries have siphoned at least $5 million by illegally tapping the pipeline. OXY's war zone operation is not politically viable. The pipeline has been a magnet for violence because the Colombian state oil company, Ecopetrol, is the major beneficiary. The pipeline's revenues are the primary source of funding for the Colombian military. Furthermore, since the early 1990's, the Colombian military has charged a per barrel tax to fund its campaign against the guerrillas. Already one in four soldiers are assigned to protecting oil installations. As long as there is civil strife, there will be pipeline bombings. Security experts say the 500-mile above ground pipeline running through remote countryside cannot be effectively secured. Throughout its sixteen-year history, the pipeline has been bombed over 1000 times, spilling more than 2.5 million barrels of crude amounting to more than 10 times the size of Exxon Valdez into the environment and rivers. These spills have not been adequately cleaned up and have despoiled fragile environments. Having depleted its current reserves, OXY is now faced with declining oil production unless it soon finds new oil reserves. The country's largest oil reserve is beneath the land the U'wa people call their sacred territory. Will US military aid be used to impose oil drilling on the U'wa? The Bush administration admits that the pipeline protection program is a change in strategy from fighting a drug war to fighting insurgents. It appears the Administration is driven more by a desire to protect US oil investments than to find solutions to the four-decade long conflict. The US public should consider whether the Administration's proposal is influenced by OXY's contributions of nearly half a million dollars to the GOP. The US's involvement in a war against the guerrillas and in defense of big oil will not bring peace, democracy or sustainable development to Colombia. It will however, place more innocent communities in the crossfire and drag the US deeper into an un-winnable war. Congress should reject this dangerous brand of corporate welfare and instead investigate OXY's role in fueling violence and human rights abuses in Colombia. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- #3 Occidental to get US assistance? Energy Co. could benefit from Bush Colombia aid plan By William Spain, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:46 PM ET Feb. 6, 2002 LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) - If the White House has its way, Occidental Petroleum's Colombian oil operations could be getting some spanking new security courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer. Included in the fiscal year 2003 budget the Bush administration sent to Congress on Monday is just under $100 million to train and arm a special Colombian army brigade to defend a 490-mile pipeline connected to an Occidental-operated field. The pipeline, called the Cano Limon, has been a prime target of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known by the Spanish acronym FARC. Repeated bombings - 170 just last year - frequently leave it inoperable, costing Occidental tens of millions of dollars in lost revenues. Colombia's government gets 85 percent of the profits from the project, with the Los Angeles-based oil company getting the rest. Occidental estimates the revenue loss from guerilla activity last year at $500 million. The Colombian fields comprise about 3 percent of the company's proven reserves of crude oil. Wracked by civil war for nearly 40 years, large parts of Colombia are under the effective control of guerilla groups who raise funds through extortion, kidnapping and narcotics trafficking. Three years ago the government ceded a Switzerland-sized chunk of territory to the FARC as part of a peace process that continues to sputter along today. In the meantime, hundreds of millions in U.S. military aid have poured into the South American nation, mostly earmarked for anti-drug efforts. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman, in Bogota earlier this week, told Reuters that protecting the Cano Limon was part of a commitment to helping Colombia toward a "terror-free democracy." On Tuesday, Washington-based Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on the United States to cease military aid because the Colombian armed forces continue support right-wing paramilitary groups accused of torture, murder and gross violations of human rights. Secretary of State Colin Powell has until the end of the month to certify that Colombia has met human rights conditions for receiving U.S. security assistance. Occidental and other members of the US-Colombia Business partnership have lobbied hard - and spent freely - in pursuit of aid to the Colombian government over the years. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the 2000 election cycle, the company gave hard and soft money totaling about $551,000, with almost 60 percent going to Republican candidates and political action committees. Occidental has already anted up $215,000 in the 2002 cycle, with over 80 percent of that set aside for the GOP. In addition, Texans for Public Justice lists J. Roger Hirl, CEO of Occidental's chemical business, as a George W. Bush "Pioneer" for having raised $100,000 or more for his presidential bid. While the bulk of Occidental's campaign cash has gone to Republicans, the company has also had close ties to Democrats. In 1996, company CEO Ray Irani gave $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee - two days after spending a night at the White House. On Monday, Occidental Petroleum posted a 90 percent decline in fourth-quarter net income, as lower energy prices slapped down earnings at its oil and gas segments. The company posted fourth-quarter net income of $35 million, or 9 cents a share, way off the $349 million and 94 cents in the year-ago period and a penny below the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call. Shares in Occidental closed down 2 cents to $25.59. William Spain is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- #4 U.S. Officials Unveil Colombia Plans The Associated Press Feb 6 2002 3:57AM BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The Bush administration announced plans to help Colombia protect a strategic oil pipeline that has been a frequent target of guerrilla attacks, a dramatic departure from a policy that had previously limited aid to wiping out drug crops. The plan, outlined Tuesday by a U.S. delegation to Bogota, calls for $98 million to train and equip a Colombian army brigade to protect the 480-mile Cano-Limon oil pipeline, which ferries oil to the Caribbean coast for Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum and other companies. "We are committed to help Colombians create a Colombia that is a peaceful, prosperous, drug-free and terror-free democracy,'' said Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, who led the delegation. By arming and training Colombian soldiers, the United States would be taking a significant leap into the country's 38-year civil war, which pits two rebel groups and an outlawed right-wing paramilitary against the government. About 3,500 people die every year in the conflict, which has choked the economic potential of this resource-rich South American country. Rebel sabotage of U.S. and Colombian oil operations prevented the production of more than 24 million barrels of crude last year, according to state oil company Ecopetrol. Colombia is the 10th-biggest supplier of oil to the United States. U.S. military aid to Colombia has been limited mostly to attempts to destroy cocaine- and heroin-producing crops, which finance the rebels and their paramilitary foes. On Monday, President Bush proposed $731 million in counter-narcotics aid for the Andean region in his 2003 budget. But the plan to protect the pipeline could face opposition in Congress. The $1.3 billion Plan Colombia package passed in 2000 limited military aid to fighting drugs. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., said lawmakers should scrutinize any attempt to expand military assistance. "This was not what was debated in Congress when Plan Colombia was passed. We are getting deeper into this conflict," said Wellstone, who opposed the previous Colombian aid proposals. Members of the U.S. delegation that met with Colombian President Andres Pastrana on Tuesday said much of the $98 million would pay for aircraft, although there are no specifics yet. A State Department official said the proposal is "entirely consistent with existing policy." The Bush administration may also argue that the United States needs to assure a reliable flow of oil from Colombia, closer to U.S. shores than the volatile Middle East, U.S. officials said. Also Tuesday, Colombia proposed a six-month cease-fire to the country's main rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. There was no immediate response from the 16,000-strong group, which agreed last month to set cease-fire terms by April 7, narrowly averting a collapse of Colombia's three-year-old peace process. If the FARC agreed to the cease-fire, government troops and police would continue operations against the smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, and the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The government also called on the rebels to release all of their hostages, suspend kidnappings and extortion and halt attacks on the nation's infrastructure - including oil facilities. In addition to pipeline protection, the United States is preparing to assist Colombia in combatting kidnapping, Grossman said. Most of the 3,000 yearly abductions in Colombia are carried out by rebels for ransom. APO/Colombia-US/ Copyright � 2002 Reuters Limited. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
