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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (1924)	1/10/2002 12:09:38 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Respond to of 15516

Here is an interview that discusses O'Neill and the oil connection in Afghanistan: AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN New Book Says Negotiations by U.S. with Taliban for Oil May Have Interfered With Efforts to Get Bin Laden Prior To Sept. 11 Aired January 9, 2002 - 07:34 ET PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: As you heard in our last half-hour, the authors of a new book say secret negotiations by the U.S. with the Taliban for oil may have actually interfered with efforts to get Osama bin Laden. For his reaction, we turn to our own ambassador-in-residence -- I love that flourish of music -- Richard Butler, former chief U.N. weapons inspector, now with the Council on Foreign Relations. That must make you feel very special. RICHARD BUTLER, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Absolutely. ZAHN: All right. Let's talk a little about the most explosive charges in this book. These authors essentially are saying, because of information given to them by an FBI counterterrorism officer that they believe that the prosecution against terrorism in Afghanistan was suspended because of oil interests. Now, this gets very tricky, because this FBI counterterrorism officer left that job, went on to head up security at the World Trade Centers... BUTLER: Right. ZAHN: ... and tragically died on September 11. BUTLER: John O'Neill, right. That's right. It does. Paula, this is a web. You and I can't assess precisely the veracity of what these two French authors have said. But this has got a cast of characters in it that is fascinating. We've got a former CIA officer, Christina Rocca, who is now in the State Department who went to Afghanistan weeks before September 11, and to Pakistan, and talked with the Taliban, a group that we did not recognize, and you now know what we have done to them. You have got Laila Helms (ph), the niece of the former head of the CIA, who was a public relations agent. ZAHN: Hired by the Taliban. BUTLER: Hired by the Taliban. And you've got oil, and this is a fundamental thing. Let us not lose sight of this basic reality. The population of the United States of America represents 5 percent of the population of the world. Yet, we use 40 percent -- 40 percent of the world's oil. So oil is a big issue, and as we were saying yesterday, there is very substantial oil in Central Asia. And to get that out to the sea, the best possible way to do it would be to build a pipeline across Afghanistan. So that's the web, Paula, and I don't think we're being told all of the facts. There are denials, claims that meetings didn't take place, when clearly they did. The most interesting thing those French authors told us today is that they had seen archives. We couldn't quite understand their accent, but I know what that means. That means records of diplomatic conversations that took place. ZAHN: And... BUTLER: And they have seen those things. ZAHN: ... they also went on to say in this book that Laila Helms, this woman that you said was hired by the Taliban... BUTLER: That's right. ZAHN: ... to sort of do PR for them... BUTLER: Right. ZAHN: ... alleges that at one point, the Taliban actually agreed to give up Osama bin Laden. The Taliban agreed to give the U.S. coordinates for his location. BUTLER: Right. ZAHN: Now, this is before 9/11. BUTLER: Right. ZAHN: So that the U.S. could get to him. Now, the State Department denies that offer was ever made. What do you make of that allegation? BUTLER: We need to know more. I mean, I read that with gobbled (ph) eyes. I mean, that's dynamite that we would... ZAHN: If it's true. BUTLER: If it's true. That we were given the coordinates and time in which to make a military strike against bin Laden, you know, a fair amount of time. And it is alleged that we turned it down in preference for what? I mean, is it true or not? We need to know that. Secondly, if we did turn it down, why? For an oil pipeline? Is that what's being said here? That's the web I think is being depicted here. We need to know more about it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) truth. Bush Watch (www.bushwatch.com)

To: Mephisto who wrote (1924)	1/10/2002 12:40:15 PM
From: Patricia Trinchero	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 15516

World: West Asia Taleban in Texas for talks on gas pipeline The 1,300km pipeline will carry gas across Afghanistan's harsh terrain A senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the United States for talks with an international energy company that wants to construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan. A spokesman for the company, Unocal, said the Taleban were expected to spend several days at the company's headquarters in Sugarland, Texas. Unocal says it has agreements both with Turkmenistan to sell its gas and with Pakistan to buy it. The Afghan economy has been devasted by 20 years of civil war But, despite the civil war in Afghanistan, Unocal has been in competition with an Argentinian firm, Bridas, to actually construct the pipeline. Last month, the Argentinian firm, Bridas, announced that it was close to signing a two-billion dollar deal to build the pipeline, which would carry gas 1,300 kilometres from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, across Afghanistan. In May, Taleban-controlled radio in Kabul said a visiting delegation from an Argentinian company had announced that pipeline construction would start "soon". Kabul The radio has reported several visits to Kabul by Unocal and Bridas company officials over the past few months. A BBC regional correspondent says the proposal to build a pipeline across Afghanistan is part of an international scramble to profit from developing the rich energy resources of the Caspian Sea. With the various Afghan factions still at war, the project has looked from the outside distinctly unpromising. Last month the Taleban Minister of Information and Culture, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said the Taleban had held talks with both American and Argentine-led consortia over transit rights but that no final agreement had yet been reached. He said an official team from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan should meet to ensure each country benefited from any deal. However, Unocal clearly believes it is still in with a chance - to the extent that it has already begun training potential staff. It has commissioned the University of Nebraska to teach Afghan men the technical skills needed for pipeline construction. Nearly 140 people were enrolled last month in Kandahar and Unocal also plans to hold training courses for women in administrative skills. Women face working restrictions under Taleban rule Although the Taleban authorities only allow women to work in the health sector, organisers of the training say they haven't so far raised any objections. The BBC regional correspondent says the Afghan economy has been devastated by 20 years of civil war. A deal to go ahead with the pipeline project could give it a desperately-needed boost. But peace must be established first -- and that for the moment still seems a distant prospect. news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk