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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (895)	9/23/2001 2:48:38 AM
From: tekboy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

valid to some extent--all one has to do is look at Cheney's energy plan for confirmation of how oil industry ideology and interest can shape this administration's policy--but I really think all that is a sideshow for the current crisis. Why? Because 1. Caspian Basin energy reserves, while large, are small compared to those in the Persian Gulf, and the whole region hasn't gotten much attention prior to this... 2. We're no longer in an era in which control of the land is necessary for control of the resources there, or an era in which the interests of governments can simply be identified with interests of corporations (or there wouldn't be any sanctions against Libya, Iran, etc.)... 3. It's not clear what policies would support what kinds of interests anyway, since the whole question of getting Caspian energy reserves out of the ground and onto world markets is incredibly complex (not to mention deadly boring)... 4. The emotional and political impact of the attack and the terrorist threat is clearly far and away the dominant prism through which this event is being viewed. If anyone really is interested in Caspian energy (I certainly am not), I heartily recommend the article I linked in my previous post. tb@yawn.com

To: JohnM who wrote (895)	9/23/2001 10:23:50 AM
From: SirRealist	Respond to of 281500

The obvious. The oil industry ties of the present Bush administration means, at a very minimum, that many members are at least sympathetic to it. They know, I would guess, in some rather gritty detail, the oil reserves in this area, the previous difficulties US companies have had getting it out Wouldn't it be easier to declare it a National Wilderness Area, label the Taliban 'granola-gulping tree-huggers' and gain universal support to lay a pipeline through Afghanistan by bringing in the IFP (International Fashion Police) to do battle?