Western Energy Supply Companies like BP, Amoco, Exxon, Unocal and Pennzoil have been involved in major joint ventures in Afghanistan for decades. The BBC broadcasted as early as 1997 plans by these major corporations to construct significant networks of new pipelines to carry oil and gas from the rich hydrocarbon reserves in Azerbaijan West to the Caspian and South to Karachi through Afghanistan.
Back in 1998 it was posited by economists that energy requirements would double by 2010 and that the Azerbaijan reserves would be vital in meeting the new demands coming from consuming economies around the world. It was vital for UK/US oil companies to ensure that a stable pro-West Afghan Government was in place so that pipeline work could be completed with less risk of disruption by the Taliban who are now the ‘insurgents’.
Part of 1998 Statement by Unocal (Now owned by Chevron) to US Congress
“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.”
The solution came in the attack on the Twin Towers, giving the UK and US Governments legitimacy for war under the flag of fighting international terrorism.
The only terrorists on this planet are those who slaughter the innocent under the banner of ‘God is on my side’. Both those who allegedly claimed God blessed their attack on the US and those who commanded the UK/US mission to Iraq, and beyond, under the emblematic banner of God, are equally terrorists of the first order. And both commanding entities don’t know God one little bit.
It is sickly to see the media recycle Government Press Releases that tell us only one side of the story about what is really going on in Afghanistan. My bet is, and I throw this out as a challenge, that the BBC will have to apologise to all the troops and their loved ones when, a short while after the ‘war’ is over, the Taliban resume their civil war and retake Kabul. The BBC will have to explain to the nation why they maintained a war narrative about Terrorism when really it was about OIL, and about a monopoly of it in the region that favours UK and US oil companies. It is ludicrous anyhow to think that the cultural practices of a nation can be switched to secularism, from Islamic History to Liberal Democracy over night, by a small military campaign in the foot hills of Afghanistan.
