US scatters bases to control Eurasia (US Imperialism and OIL)

[Say_What]

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The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia.

Reports also make it clear that the decision to set up new US military bases was made during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Kabul last December. Subsequently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted the Pentagon diktat. Not that Karzai had a choice: US intelligence is of the view that he will not be able to hold on to his throne beyond June unless the US Army can speed up training of a large number of Afghan army recruits and protect Kabul. Even today, the inner core of Karzai's security is run by the US State Department with personnel provided by private US contractors.

Admittedly, Afghanistan is far from stable, even after four years of US presence. Still, the establishment of a rash of bases would seem to be overkill. Indeed, according to observers, the base expansion could be part of a US global military plan calling for small but flexible bases that make it easy to ferry supplies and can be used in due time as a springboard to assert a presence far beyond Afghanistan.

...Other recent developments cohere with a US Air Force strategy to expand its operational scope across Afghanistan and the Caspian Sea region - with its vital oil reserves and natural resources: Central Asia, all of Iran, the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the northern Arabian Sea up to Yemen's Socotra Islands. This may also provide the US a commanding position in relation to Pakistan, India and the western fringes of China.

http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/GC30Ag01.html

[VegasWolf]

1. Good. We'll be broke like England after failed Imperialism. n/t

[Say_What]

2. and the USSR after Afghanistan, but

I think that might be the psychology behind all this. Meanwhile, Russia, China, India and others watch as the USSA goes down the tubes.

:hurts:

[Dover]

3. Russia concerned about US interests in Caspian

21-02-05 The United States has included the Caspian in its area of interest, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy, head of the working group on the Caspian Sea, Aleksandr Golovin, told a roundtable on establishing a collective security system in the Caspian held in Moscow.
Expressing Russia’s stance on the Caspian legal status, Golovin stated that only Caspian states have exclusive rights to the sea and its resources.

"Issues on delimitation of the seabed emerged during the talks of the working group on determination of the Caspian legal status.”
“The oil and gas fields discovered in the Caspian Sea represent great natural resources and Russia can’t remain indifferent to them," said Golovin.

A representative of the Russian Federal Security Service Vyacheslav Skvortsov said that naval bases of non-Caspian states should not be stationed on the sea. The United States, which is assisting Azerbaijan and Georgia in building the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, hopes for certain security, he said.
The roundtable was attended by representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, parliament members and political analysts.

http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/frame_ntc_news.htm

Recent article:

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: Bets Are Placed

The US government has 'welcomed' Tbilisi's decision to approve construction of the Georgian section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and has promised that the project 'will bring long-awaited investment into Georgia as well as increase the self-sufficiency and independence of countries in the Caspian Basin.'

Tbilisi is claiming that this 'project of the century' will guarantee the stability and security of Georgia. Political scientists in Azerbaijan, commenting on what would seem to be an economic matter, are saying that the project is, in fact, in Russia's strategic interests.

Moscow has not yet made any comment on the latest news surrounding the oil pipeline. In September, however, news agencies quoted the Russian Foreign Minister, speaking in New York on September 18: 'We are willing to cooperate but we won't accept any attempts to force Russia out of regions where it has long-term interests.' At the same time Igor Ivanov once more described construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as 'unprofitable'.
It is not yet clear what was meant by Russia refusing to 'accept' being forced out of the Southern Caucasus. Perhaps Mr Ivanov himself knows. However, the fact remains that Russia is not participating in the project.

Mr Ivanov's comments in September were made in reference to the ceremony held to mark the start of the pipeline's construction, attended by the presidents of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. At that time Eduard Shevardnadze was telling everyone that the start of the project had become a real cause of tension between Russia and Georgia. Geidar Aliev acted somewhat differently - immediately after the ceremony he came to Moscow on an official visit and signed a document on the demarcation of Russian-Azerbaijani oil interests in the Caspian Basin.

Azerbaijani commentators insist that Mr Aliev's conduct is proof that Baku-Moscow cooperation is steadily growing, in contrast to the conflict between Russia and Georgia. These same sources also commented on the 'resourcefulness' of LUKoil managers who, having refused to offer any large-scale investment, will still be able to use the pipeline on 'an almost equal basis with investors.' Azerbaijani analysts admitted that the owners of the pipeline 'will be forced to offer a lot of discounts.' If this is the case and there is a lack of investment, then perhaps Mr Ivanov was not joking when he said the project would turn out to be unprofitable.

The US and Great Britain openly lobbied the project from the very beginning. At the last moment, when Mr Shevardnadze suddenly decided to start listening to Georgian environmentalists, they fell on him angrily. For a week British Petroleum representatives and the Georgian International Oil Company held serious 'discussions' with the Georgian government. Finally Tbilisi gave its authorization for the pipeline to be built through the famous Borzhomi Gorge.
The last to give in was Georgian Minister for the Environment Nino Chkhobadze, who until late at night on December 1 refused to approve a government decree giving the necessary authorization to the pipeline owners to begin construction. However, after talking with President Shevardnadze she agreed to sign the document.

..cont'd

http://www.rosbaltnews.com/2003/02/22/60703.html

[Say_What]

4. and this: Russia to guarantee oil export to China

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Russia to guarantee oil export to China

Russia is willing to further expand oil export to China if there has oil surplus after meeting the needs of Taishet-Nakhodka pipeline, the Russian President's assistant Igor Shuvalov told press on March 29.

Russia will firstly extend its oil pipeline to Skovorodino, a border city with China, from where Russian oil will be transmitted to China, but to get the oil China needs to build a pipeline to Skovorodino by itself. If there is still oil left upon oil export to China, as Russia promised, remaining oil will be transferred to Nakhodka, said Shuvalov.

http://english.people.com.cn/200503/30/eng20050330_178782.html

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Also, an opinion piece that was interesting regarding China:

...To me it looks like China's strategy is more farsighted and coherent. We've spent $300 billion to invade Iraq, have tried to overthrow the Chavez government in Venezuela and now threaten Iran. China has quietly entered into long-term contracts with many of these countries. It has invested about $15 billion in foreign oil fields and expects to invest 10 times more over the next decade.

China has begun to negotiate directly with our largest long time oil suppliers to lock up future supplies. Canada is currently our largest supplier. Virtually all Canadian oil pipelines go south to satisfy the energy needs of a thirsty U.S. Midwest. That will soon change. Chinese and Canadian companies are negotiating to build a pipeline from northern Alberta west to British Columbia. Murray Smith, Alberta's former energy minister candidly observed, "The China outlet would change our dynamic."

In December, China signed a deal with Venezuela and neighboring Colombia to construct a pipeline linking Venezuelan oil fields to ports along Colombia's Pacific coast. This will allow China to bypass the U.S.-dominated Panama Canal.

China is protecting its energy interests with a string of military bases and diplomatic ties from the Middle East to southern China. Recently, it signed a 25-year oil and gas deal with Iran. Currently, about 80 percent of China's oil imports pass through the Straits of Malacca. China views that Southeast Asia sea corridor as under U.S. Navy control. It is investigating the construction of a canal across the Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand that would allow it to bypass the straits.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5311910.html



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