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International News
See other International News Articles Title: Poster "Black Jade" put this up on LF
Source:
LF / Ney York Sun
URL Source: http://www.libertyforum.org/showfla ... r=294708614&t=-1#Post294708614
Published: Jun 19, 2006
Author: ELI LAKE / "Black Jade"
Post Date: 2006-06-19 21:59:29 by Jhoffa_
Keywords: None
Views: 913
Comments: 1
Although it's unusual, I'm reposting a posted article with the original posters comments intact, below. "Black Jade" put this up on LF and I found her her commentary interesting because it describes an Iranian/Iraqui/Syran Oil pipeline in the works.
Category: News & Opinion (General) Topic: News & Current Events Synopsis: Bush Administration Blocks Amendment to Stop Halliburton & Other Investments in "Axis of Evil" Iran Source: New York Sun
Published: June 16, 2006 Author: ELI LAKE
For Education and Discussion Only. Not for Commercial Use. WASHINGTON - Faced with legislation that would force America to take a harder line on Iran, Secretary of State Rice worked closely yesterday with a key Senate Democrat to kill an amendment sponsored by the Senate's third-ranking Republican.
That amendment - offered by Senator Santorum, a Republican of Pennsylvania, to legislation authorizing the Pentagon budget - would have codified existing restrictions on American businesses investing in Iran; authorized $100 million for democracy groups in the country, and given the president a 180-day deadline to determine whether foreign companies doing business in Iran should be barred from American capital markets.
The amendment also would have closed a loophole that has allowed offshore subsidiaries of American companies such as Halliburton to secure contracts in the Islamic Republic's oil sector.
But Mr. Santorum's initiative failed yesterday when the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Biden of Delaware, called Ms. Rice at 10:30 a.m. and asked for her opinion on the amendment. Her answer set the administration against one of its most prominent supporters in the Senate.
"I spoke this morning with the secretary of state, who authorized me to say, unequivocally, the administration opposes this amendment," Mr. Biden told the Senate. "It limits their flexibility in doing what we all want: preventing the construction of a nuclear weapon in Iran."
A letter from the State Department's assistant secretary for legislative affairs, Jeffrey Bergner, arrived in Mr. Santorum's office at 11 a.m., saying the senator's amendment "would shift unified international attention away from Iran's nuclear activities and create a rift between the U.S. and our closest international partners."
By yesterday afternoon, Mr. Santorum's amendment on Iran had been defeated by a vote of 54 to 45,with only four Democratic senators - Evan Bayh of Indiana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, and Bill Nelson of Florida - voting for the sanctions and aid to Iranian democrats. Both New York senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, cast votes against the amendment.
The vote rejecting Mr. Santorum's Iran legislation is in step with the new, softer line on Iran coming from the White House. A State Department spokesman yesterday declined to deny news reports that last week the European Union's foreign policy chief did not present - at least in writing - a list of consequences Iran faced if it did not suspend uranium enrichment and rejoin negotiations on its nuclear program.
The vote also appears to signal a new strategy by hawkish Senate Democrats that as them to cleave to President Bush's top diplomat as political cover to take on their GOP colleagues. Mr. Biden, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Schumer have all taken on the left leaning members of their party, who have called for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Mr. Santorum, for his part, said he was not surprised the State Department opposed his bill. "They have opposed it for months," he said. He did, however, express surprise at the coordinated resistance to the amendment he faced on the Senate floor.
"We really thought we had enough votes," he said. "Unless the Democrats have decided the State Department is going to dictate their foreign policy, then this looked like a coordinated effort. There were vast numbers of Republicans who voted for the amendment, but those who were against this were on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with the State Department."
One explanation for the legislative defeat is that the $100 million Mr. Santorum would have authorized for Iranian democrats was taken out of money the Pentagon had requested for fighting the insurgency in Iraq and rebuilding the country. Another is that the amendment did not go through the proper committees in the Senate for mark-up.
Mr. Schumer said in a statement that he supported renewing sanctions against Iran and that he expected the Senate Banking Committee to take up Mr. Santorum's bill in July. "This is not an issue that can be rushed through on no notice and it must be done right," he said.
Senator McCain, a Republican of Arizona, and Senator Smith, a Republican of Oregon - two lawmakers who in the past have always voted for punitive measures against Iran - both cited concerns about procedure as reasons for their opposition to the amendment.
A spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has supported Mr. Santorum's Iran Freedom and Support Act, said he was confident the bill, which has 61 co-sponsors, would eventually become law.
"It is an important piece of legislation that we expect will move through the normal committee jurisdiction, and we expect it to be taken up shortly," the spokesman, Josh Block, said.
BlackJade writes: "An AIPAC spokesman in support of the "Iran Freedom and Support Act, said he was confident the bill, which has 61 co-sponsors, would eventually become law"? No, I don't think that it ever will become law. AIPAC has a strong lobby, but there is a more powerful combination of interests opposing this act. Halliburton, Schlumberger, and other US oil and construction firms would oppose this act. Also the US nuclear power industry and Boeing hope to expand their markets into Iran, if Bush can land a new international pact to resolve the Iranian nuclear "crisis."
The Santorum amendment would give "the president a 180-day deadline to determine whether foreign companies doing business in Iran should be barred from American capital markets"? Can you imagine what this would do to the Carlyle Group's numerous "joint ventures" and partnerships? Scads of European, Chinese, Japanese, and other firms have investments in Iran. According to , their website, BP has members of their "Integrated Supply & Trading" office in Iran with BP's "Castrol Iran join venture."
"The amendment also would have closed a loophole that has allowed offshore subsidiaries of American companies such as Halliburton to secure contracts in the Islamic Republic's oil sector"? For years, Halliburton has used their foreign "subsidiaries" to do business with Iran. This is a huge "loophole" to say the least! In February 2005, NewsWeek reported that Halliburton was faced with a grand jury investigation into their Iran contracts.. Halliburton claimed that they were not in violation of US law because "Halliburton Products & Services Limited (which is registered in the Cayman Islands but located in Dubai) operates autonomously without direction from senior management in Houston." If this is true, then there must have been more to this grand jury investigation, than just the use of a foreign subsidiary to make deals with Iran. In December 2004, Halliburton's Cayman subsidiary had made a South Pars natural gas fields contract with Iran. According to a "Halliburton official," this deal was expected to "net the parent firm between $30 million and $35 million over the next several years." But Halliburton CEO David Lesar claimed: “we have decided to exit Iran and will wind down our operations there." But he seemed to keep their options open by adding that Halliburton "would continue 'fulfilling our existing contracts and commitments.'” In September 2005, finally the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) announced that Halliburton had "quietly pulled out" of South Pars "under mounting pressure from Washington." It was really hard for me to believe that Halliburton would just write off this deal in "South Pars, which is believed to be the world’s largest gas field, is shared by Iran and Qatar." Halliburton has zillions of subsidiaries and various third parties to use for these transactions with Iran.
Secretary of State Rice said the amendment "limits their flexibility in doing what we all want: preventing the construction of a nuclear weapon in Iran"? This amendment could certainly limit Halliburton's "flexibility" in negotiating with Iran. Wayne Madsen wrote: [May 26, 2006] "State Department sources report that there are direct negotiations taking place between Iran and the United States. However, the American side is not represented by the U.S. government but by Halliburton. The oil company, with long ties to Dick Cheney, is negotiating with Iran on potential contracts to refurbish Iran's aging oil production infrastructure."
It is certainly possible that Halliburton may actually be representing the US government in these talks with Iran. When US troops were stationed in Hungary, the Pentagon maintained that Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root "was part of the American military and therefore exempt from the tax." The company "did pay the Hungarian government $18 million in taxes," but they were "reimbursed by the US government."
That amendment would "create a rift between the U.S. and our closest international partners"? It would sure create a "rift" between the Bush administration and the US nuclear power industry. Well, the EU also wants their own firms to be part of a consortium to provide Iran with "building light-water nuclear reactors for a peaceful energy program." The EU & US can lure Iran away from a deal exclusively with Russia and "toward the more technologically advanced European nuclear market." It would certainly be a bonanza to many other multinational firms if the US & EU "agreed to back Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization." At last, the Bush administration has dropped the pretense of demanding "that Iran outright give up its uranium enrichment program." Bush didn't seem to think that it was much of a "crisis" when his good friend Tony Blair authorized the sale of Beryllium & other materials for Iran's nuclear program.
There are other US-based or US-affiliated companies in Iran, in addition to Halliburton. According to their website, In 1940, Schlumberger "Moved company headquarters to Houston, Texas." However, there are so many international subsidiaries, "partnerships," and subdivisions, that it is difficult to say exactly where this firm's defacto "headquarters" is today. John Deutch & Jamie S. Gorelick are on Schlumberger's Board of Directors. John Deutch is a former CIA Director. Jamie S. Gorelick was on the 9-11 Commission and also "serves on the Central Intelligence Agency's National Security Advisory Panel as well as the President's Review of Intelligence." Well Services of Iran, Schlumberger Methods has an office in Iran. SYROIL 2006 lists Schlumberger as one of their "sponsors." SYROIL seems to be involved in plans to build that Iran-Syria pipeline, which will pass right through US occupied Iraq. Iraq approves of being centered on Iran-Syria oil pipeline "Iraq welcomes construction of [an] oil pipeline between Iran and Syria via its territory, an Iraqi oil official told the Persian service of IRNA on Tuesday.
The talks to implement such a plan have initially been set forth on the sideline of SYROIL 2006 in Damascus, still ongoing, involving Iranian and Syrian officials. Furthermore, both sides have decided to probe the matter from its practical aspect once Iraq assumes stable social and political atmosphere."
Last year, I posted this article. This pipeline is part of a larger regional plan for Syria, Iran, & US-occupied Iraq. Mediterranean pipeline deal signed with Syria"LONDON, June 23 [2005] (IranMania) - Iran and Syria will construct an oil pipeline which will traverse Iraq and Syria and extend to the Mediterranean coast.
According to IRNA, relevant documents on the project were signed by visiting Iranian Housing and Urban Development Minister Ali Abdolalizadeh and Syria's Economic and Commerce Minister Hamer Hassani Lotfi as the joint heads of the Iran-Syria Economic Commission.
The agreement is part of a package which also includes the establishment of a railroad passing through the three countries as well as creating an East-West Corridor stretching from Central Asia to Europe.
The proposed route will start from Central Asia and extend to the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe via these three countries [Iran, Iran, & Syria]."
Last year, after that "landmark" Iran-Iraq July 2005 energy summit, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh announced that three oil pipelines between Iran and US-occupied Iraq "will be financed and constructed by Iran." The Bush administration has created one diversion after another, hoping that nobody will notice that US troops will be in Iraq defending Iran's pipeline and other infrastructure. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI] "was created by Iran and has strong backing from Teheran," and "is the most powerful force" in US-occupied Iraq. We also aren't suppose to notice that "our 160,000 troops are propping up a pro-Iranian, fanatical power center in Baghdad."
The entire Bush-neocon "axis of evil" was intended to be misleading in the first place. This was designed to create an image of Iran & Saddam's regime in some "axis" against the US. In reality, it was Iran and the US, who were allied together to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Since the late 1990's, the SCIRI & Iran were involved in US covert operations to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Saddam's opponents seek US backing for coup - December 20, 1998"Dr Ahmed Chalabi, head of the Iraqi National Congress which represents the widest assortment of Iraqi opposition elements, has also told Washington he has the support of Iran and Tehran-backed muslim guerilla leaders ready to start an insurgency in three key cities of southern Iraq, Amara, Nasriyah and Basra.
Chalabai visited the Iranian capital late last month to meet senior government officials and Ayatollah Bakr Mohammed, head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Resistance in Iraq (SCIRI).
Popular resistance to Saddam's government has already begun in Amara, and the Thawra section of Baghdad where scores of armed protesters were shot at by Saddam's Republican Guard last Friday night.
The reports of insurrection are backed by the Tehran-supported SCIRI and independent sources in Iran.
American planes have been dropping thousands of Arabic leaflets over southern Iraq, explaining that Operation Desert Fox is directed only against Saddam and not against soldiers and ordinary people......"
"Mr. Biden, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Schumer have all taken on the left leaning members of their party, who have called for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq"? I think that it would be more accurate to say that these 3 leading Democratic senators have worked out an arrangement with the Bush administration to give Bush his "blank check" in Iraq and to favor Halliburton & the US nuclear power industry. Halliburton got some plum deals from the Clinton administration with Camp Bondsteel & the feasibility study for AMBO's Balkan oil pipeline. Bush's CIA director General Michael Hayden was also one of the US officials, who worked with the Clinton Administration's envoy Richard Holbrooke, in overseeing the arms smuggling operations to Bosnia. Bush CIA Nominee Turned Blind Eye As Arms Flowed To Al Qaeda In 1994, 1995. It sure is interesting to see how smoothly Biden seemed to work with the Bush administration on this Iran issue. Biden said that Rumsfeld should resign, but "We can't get rid of the president; he's there for two-and-a-half more years." This sends the message that Bush can literally get away with murder and never face impeachment."
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