two dozen brothers. He would not elaborate." ('San Antonio Express-News,' 14 September 1998)
October 29, 1998: Oil monopolies redivide region:.. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan have become "independent." They all border on different
segments of the Caspian Sea. The new governments are not only pro-capitalist
but are the virtual playthings of Amoco, Exxon, Mobil, Texaco
and British Petroleum. These governments have provided huge concessions (property rights) to the biggest oil monopolies. In Soviet times this oil would have been used to meet the energy needs of the [Soviet] people. Now as these same oil companies--learn that oil deposits located under the Caspian Sea may amount to as much as 200 billion barrels worth $4 trillion, they are embarking on a new era of dangerous competition and piracy. [Brian Becker, in Workers World, 29 October 1998]
and British Petroleum. These governments have provided huge concessions (property rights) to the biggest oil monopolies. In Soviet times this oil would have been used to meet the energy needs of the [Soviet] people. Now as these same oil companies--learn that oil deposits located under the Caspian Sea may amount to as much as 200 billion barrels worth $4 trillion, they are embarking on a new era of dangerous competition and piracy. [Brian Becker, in Workers World, 29 October 1998]
October 30, 1998, the Security Council offered an easing of sanctions if Iraq fulfilled
WMD and other outstanding requirements, but Iraq demanded an immediate end to
sanctions and it ceased cooperation with UNSCOM (but not the IAEA).
US
intelligence learns that al-Qaeda is trying to establish a terrorist cell
within the US and are planning to strike a US domestic target. Oct – Nov 1998
[cooperativeresearch.org]
Nov 2, 1998 Chief Counsel to U.S. Senate Majority Leader to Join Akin
Gump Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. announced today
that C. Stevens Seale, Chief Counsel
to the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate Trent Lott, will join the firm
effective November 9 as a partner in the public law and policy practice in
Washington.
November 14, 1998, with the United States about to launch airstrikes, Iraq pledged
cooperation, narrowly averting U.S. air strikes but prompting President Clinton
to openly declare a U.S. policy of regime change (in Iraq).
December 1, 1998: A US intelligence assessment: "[bin Laden] is actively planning
against US targets... Multiple reports indicate [he] is keenly interested in
striking the US on its own soil... al-Qaeda is recruiting operatives for
attacks in the US but has not yet identified potential targets." Later in
the month, a classified document signed by a senior US official states: "The
intelligence community has strong indications that bin Laden intends to conduct
or sponsor attacks inside the US" [cooperativeresearch.org]
December 4, 1998: CIA Director Tenet issues a
"declaration of war" on al-Qaeda, in a memorandum circulated in the
intelligence community. Tenet says, "Each day we all acknowledge that
retaliation is inevitable and that its scope may be far larger than we have
previously experienced... We are at war... I want no resources or people spared
in this effort, either inside CIA or the [larger intelligence] community."
Yet it is later found that few FBI agents had ever heard of the declaration.
There is no shift in budget priorities, either. For example, the number of CIA
personnel assigned to its Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC) stays roughly constant
until 9/11. [cooperativereasearch.org]
December 5, 1998: In the wake of the al-Qaeda US embassy attacks, the US gives up on
putting a pipeline through Afghanistan. Unocal announces it's withdrawing from
the CentGas pipeline consortium, and closing three of its four offices in
Central Asia. A concern that Clinton will lose support among women voters for
upholding the Taliban also plays a role in the cancellation. [New York Times, 12/5/98] FTW Unocal suspended its pipeline project and pulled
all its staff out of Kandahar and Islamabad. The final nail in the coffin came
at the end of 1998, when oil prices halved from $25 to $13 a barrel, rendering
Unocal’s pipeline project uneconomic, at least in the short term. At the same
time, the Clinton administration’s demands for the handover of bin Laden, as
well as action on drug control and human rights, became the basis for a series
of punitive UN sanctions imposed on the Taliban in 1999 [The Taliban the US and
the Resources in Central Asia]
Late 1998 (B): During the investigation of the 1998 embassy bombings, FBI
counter-terrorism expert John O'Neill finds a memo by al-Qaeda leader Mohammed
Atef on a computer. The memo shows bin Laden's (Al Qaieda) interest and
detailed knowledge of US Taliban negotiations over an oil and gas pipeline
through Afghanistan. Atef's analysis suggests that the Taliban are not sincere
in wanting a pipeline, but are dragging out negotiations to keep Western powers
at bay. [Salon, 6/5/02] Al-Qaida monitored U.S.
negotiations with Taliban over oil pipeline A 1998 memo written by al-Qaida military chief
Mohammed Atef raises new questions about whether failed U.S. efforts to reform
Afghanistan's radical regime -- and build the pipeline -- set the stage for
Sept. 11. The memo reveals that Osama bin Laden's group had detailed knowledge
of negotiations that were taking place between Afghanistan's ruling Taliban,
the American government and business leaders over plans for a U.S. oil and gas
pipeline across that Central Asian country. The e-mail memo was found in 1998
on a computer seized by the FBI during its investigation into the 1998 African
embassy bombings, which were sponsored by al-Qaida.
(Atef's
memo was discovered by FBI counter-terrorism expert John O'Neill, who later
left the bureau in 2001, complaining that U.S. oil interests were hindering his
investigation into al-Qaida. O'Neill, who became security chief at the World
Trade Center, died in the Sept. 11 attack. The seven-page memo was signed
"Abu Hafs," which is the military name of Atef, who was the military
chief of al-Qaida and is believed to have been killed in November 2001 during
U.S. operations in Afghanistan. It shows al-Qaida's keen interest in the
U.S.-Taliban negotiations and raises new questions as to whether the U.S.
military threat to the Taliban in July 2001 could have prompted al-Qaida's
Sept. 11 attack. ) (By Jean-Charles Brisard
- June 5, 2002)
1998 (date needed) Milt Bearden (ex CIA) writes a book: The Black Tulip:
A Novel of War in Afghanistan. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.
pp.1-322. An overview of the Soviet-Afghanistan war, from the perspectives of
the agents in both the CIA and the KGB. Bearden’s theme is to expose the dark
side of being a government spy, showing that everyone is surrounded by
inevitable danger. The Soviet Union is depicted as a corrupt state--trying to
expand--dominance over the Eastern hemisphere. Bearden empasizing that many of
the Russians disagreed with the actions of their government. The Afghans are
mentioned, it in a violent or religious context." Milt Bearden. a thirty-
year veteran of the CIA, masterminded and ran the CIA’s covert operations in
Afghanistan. The novel brings history to life because it is based on actual
events. [Kelly Tran] [Milt Bearden lives in Lyme NH recently gave a talk at the
CFR and has had interviews mysteriously disappear OFF the web]
December 16-19, 1998 U.S. and British 70-hour bombing campaign (Operation
Desert Fox), directed against Iraqi WMD-capable facilities and military and
security targets. While the Security Councel by a vote of 11- 0 (Russia,
France, China, and Malaysia abstained), providing for the suspension of most
sanctions if Iraq "fully cooperates" with a new WMD inspection
body
December 21, 1988: Pan Am 103 bombed over Lockerbie. The fire is being
blamed on an entertainment system wiring problem yet the heat was so intense
that aluminum was melted. Why has an incendiary device not be considered?
Strangely, on board the aircraft was a Saudi prince whose family Osama bin
Laden is attempting to overthrow.
As the 1998-99 LOW PETROLEUM PRICE CRISIS demonstrated, both state and federal governements
need to act to reduce regulatory costs on domestic production" [ IPAA
Americas Oil and Gas Producers – From Cheney Task Force notes]
Oil prices continue to plummet as increased production from Iraq coincides with no
growth in Asian oil demand due to the Asian economic crisis and increases in
world oil inventories following two unusually warm winters. [Chronology of
World Oil Market Events 1970 - 2000.htm] (oil went as low as $9 per barrel)
1999
January 1, 1999 British Petroleum Company and Amoco Corporation complete their $53
billion merger. Chicago-based Amoco is the United States' fifth-largest oil
company with roughly 9,300 gasoline stations. London-based British Petroleum,
the world's third largest oil company, sells its products through a network of
about 17,900 stations. (DJ)
February 4, 1999 Italy's ENI SpA and Russia's RAO Gazprom, the world's largest natural
gas producer, agree to build a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey at a
cost of nearly $3 billion. Each project partner will hold a 50 percent stake in
the project. The proposed pipeline, called the Blue Stream project, is
expensive by industry standards partly because it would run at great depth
under the waters of the Black Sea. (Asian WSJ)
February 5, 1999: ". The U.S. may be forced to acknowledge mistake on cruise
missile attack of factory in Sudan last year. The missile strikes occurred on
the day that Monica Lewinsky gave evidence on her affair with President Bill
Clinton. Saleh Idris, the factiry owner, asked the US to apologize, to unfreeze
his assets and to compensate him for damage to the factory, which he says was a
legitimate pharmaceuticals factory. . Mr Idris retained the Washington law firm
of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer Feld, the
same firm which employs Vernon Jordan, who gave evidence in defence of Mr
Clinton in the Senate impeachment trial. A legal case would be almost
unprecedented, and could have major implications for Mr Clinton and for US
foreign policy...Mr Idris, who is also an adviser to Saudi Arabia's largest bank,
has retained Kroll Associates, the
world's leading firm of private investigators, to examine the evidence [Andrew
Marshall]
February 10, 1999 U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson visits Saudi Arabia to discuss
potential U.S. investment in oil and gas. Richardson says Saudis are interested
in foreign investment in natural gas sector and in the oil refining and
marketing sectors, rather than in the upstream crude oil sector. Richardson's
visit comes several months after a September 1998 meeting between several U.S.
oil companies, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, in
which Abdullah requested proposals from the companies on the development of
Saudi oil reserves. (DJ, WSJ)
February 14, 1999 ".Osama Bin Laden, a suspect in the bombing of two U.S. Embassies
in Africa, has "disappeared" from his base in Afghanistan, a Taliban
militia spokesman said. Other Afghan sources said he left the country. The
Saudi millionaire dropped out of sight two days ago, Mr. Abdul Hai Muttmayan
said yesterday.." [AP] [The Hindu]
February 1999: The decision to include the Al Shifa pharmaceutical facility on the
target list was a last-minute affair and was based on bad intelligence and
science. The intelligence was frightfully bad. US officials said that Al Shifa
was part of the Sudanese military-industrial complex. Chemists who examined
soil, sludge and debris samples from a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant destroyed
in August by U.S. cruise missiles found no traces of chemical weapon compounds.
Feb 1999: William C. Patrick III, a scientist who made germ weapons for the
United States and now consults widely on biological defenses, told a group of
American military officers in February 1999 that he taught Dugway personnel the
previous spring how to turn wet anthrax into powders Mr. Patrick told officers
at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, the process was not as refined as the one
used in the heyday of the government's germ warfare program, but it worked.
"We made about a pound of material in little less than a day," he
told the officers. "It's a good product."
Feb 1999: "The one serious drawback companies have faced is getting the
supplies to the right market, the energy-hungry Asian Pacific economies.
Afghanistan---the only country with little oil---is by far the best route to
transport the oil to Asia. Enron, the biggest contributor to the Bush-Cheney
campaign of 2000, conducted the feasibility study for a US$2.5 billion
trans-Caspian gas pipeline which is being built under a joint venture agreement
signed in February 1999 between Turkmenistan, Bechtel and General Electric
Capital Services." www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/drillbits/6_08/1.html
March 16, 1999 According to the U.S. Congressional Record, the "official
meeting" to discuss what had already been predetermined regarding the
government’s nearly half-billion dollar smallpox, anthrax, and West Nile virus
vaccine purchases took place before a joint meeting of the Senate Veterans
Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on
March 16, 1999. The sole American anthrax vaccine maker is British-owned
BioPort Corporation. Dr. Robert C. Myers of BioPort worked with the Battelle
Memorial Institute (CIA contractor for project "Clearvision" under
which the hyper-concentrated anthrax weapon that was later mailed was initially
developed). Dr. Myers testified concerning the urgent need to stockpile both
the anthrax and smallpox vaccines. Given the earlier official assessment of
smallpox’s less than optimal use as a biological weapon, Myer’s precise words
to senators included:
BioPort
manufactures the only FDA-licensed anthrax vaccine in the world. We are also
making and testing vaccine . . . to protect against five different types of
botulism, . . . It is probably next on the threat list behind anthrax and the
rapidly emerging threat of smallpox. . . . Because smallpox is highly
contagious and probably most of the world is now susceptible, it is a potential
biowarfare agent of serious concern. . . . There exist similar challenges to
the further development and manufacture of new vaccines for anthrax, smallpox,
and, for that matter, any other biodefense vaccine. . . . Suppose we have a
smallpox vaccine stockpile and a manufacturing capability. Suppose a terrorist
group has smallpox as a weapon. . . . there should be two or more
geographically separate manufacturing facilities and two or more facilities for
storage of the manufactured vaccine. [Smallpox and Anthrax Frights Planned
Years Before 9-11 Government and Drug Industry Collusion Cited.htm]
March 23, 1999 In an effort to raise oil prices, (which fell sharply late 1997 &
stayed low until early 1999), OPEC and non-OPEC countries agree to cut oil
output by a combined 2.104 million barrels per day, effective April 1, 1999,
for one year. OPEC members have pledged to cut 1.716 million barrels per day,
while several non-OPEC countries have pledged total reductions of 388,000
barrels per day. During 1998, due mainly to low oil prices, OPEC crude oil
export revenues fell 30 percent (to $100 billion) from the previous year. (DJ,
NYT)
March 31, 1999 Arco agrees to be acquired by BP Amoco PLC for $26.6 billion in stock.
If approved, the merger will create the largest oil producer in the United
States and one of the largest energy companies in the world. The deal marks the
fourth largest oil company merger since the onset of low oil prices in late
1997. (DJ), (WSJ)
April 5, 1999 Following the arrival in the Netherlands of two Libyan suspects in the
1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103 that killed 270 people, United Nations
sanctions against Libya are suspended. The sanctions, imposed on March 31,
1992, initially included a ban on the sale of equipment for refining and
transporting oil, but excluded oil production equipment. Sanctions were then
expanded on November 11, 1993, to include a freeze on Libya's overseas assets,
excluding revenue from oil, natural gas, or agricultural products. (DJ)
April 17, 1999 The oil pipeline that runs from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Suspa, Georgia is
officially opened. This is the second pipeline dedicated to exporting Caspian
Sea oil, but the first built since the Soviet Union disbanded in 1991. The
other Caspian Sea oil pipeline, which runs through the Russian breakaway
republic of Chechnya to the Russian port of Novorossisk, is often shut down.
The new pipeline to Georgia has a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day. (DJ)
April 30, 1999, Afghanistan, Pakistan, & Turkmenistan reactivated the
gas pipeline project excluding (Unocal / CentGas) US interests
April 1999 Ken Lay sends letters to executives asking for contributions to the
Bush campaign, including what some call a menacing reference to compensation as
highly paid employees. More than 100 other Enron executives, and many spouses,
will give "hard money" contributions to Bush, much of it during the
campaign's critical early money phase. Some will acknowledge in interviews that
they gave solely because they got Lay's pointed letter. The contributions help
Lay fulfill his commitment as a Bush "Pioneer," the campaign's term
for its top rainmakers. Bush will collect nearly $114,000 in individual and
political action committee contributions from Enron in 1999-2000 ("Hard
Money, Strong Arms And 'Matrix'", http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51802-2002Feb9.html
)
May 4, 1999 - admission last year's missile attack on a factory in Sudan was a
mistake, US has cleared the man who owned the plant of any links to terrorism.
The US has virtually no evidence to support its claim that the missile attack
was a strike against terrorism. Those who investigated the case concluded the
US acted on faulty intelligence and key procedures were overriden by officials
in the White House. The affair is already the subject of congressional inquiries
and may result in the departure of some senior White House officials. (Case
handled by Law Firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld which has strong
connections to Bush and oil interests)
May 12, 1999 The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) begins construction of a 981-mile
pipeline that will carry crude oil from the Caspian Sea to the Russian port of
Novorossisk for export to foreign markets. The pipeline's planned capacity is
about 1.3 million barrels per day, and the CPC is expecting to load the first tanker
in mid-2001. (DJ)
May 25-27, 1999 Conference for biological vaccines at Fort Detrick. Thomas Inglesby
(Hopkins Institute) speaks:
"..the
DOD involvement in ongoing medical research also is important and instrumental
to helping cities prepare for such emergencies... the Fort Detrick institute is
the most important component of ongoing research and development of effective
defenses and treatment.." Fort Detrick about anthrax: "one of the
most treacherous enemies".
(Source:
http://www.af.mil/news/Jun1999/n19990602_991091.html )
May 27, 1999 Exxon and Mobil shareholders approve an $81.2 billion merger, in which
Exxon will issue 1.32 shares for each share of Mobil's approximately 780.2
million shares outstanding. The merger still must receive regulatory approval
from the U.S. government and the European Union. The chairmen of both companies
state that they expect regulatory approvals to be obtained by the end of the
third quarter of 1999. (DJ)
June 1, 1999 Sudan starts pumping oil through its pipeline linking the Heglig oil
field in Western Kordofan province to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The pipeline
has a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day, and was financed by a consortium of
Chinese, Malaysian, Canadian, and Sudanese firms. (DJ)
June 1999: George W. Bush formally
announces his candidacy for president of the United States. [CNN]
June 1999: Enron announces an agreement to build a $140 million power plant in the
Gaza Strip. One of the major financers for the project comes from the Saudi
Binladin Group, a company owned by Osama's family. This is the second attempted
project between these two companies. 90% complete, the construction is halted
because of Palestinian - Israeli violence and then Enron's bankruptcy. [Washington Post, 3/2/02]
Jun 1, 1999 Akin Gump Affiliates with Office in Saudi Arabia Major
international law firm with more than 850 lawyers in 11 cities, today announced
its affiliation with an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, effective June 1, 1999.
Akin Gump will be affiliated in Riyadh with the Law Office of Abdulaziz H.
Fahad. Lawyers in Akin Gump's London, Brussels, Moscow and U.S. offices
experienced in international business transactions will support the affiliate
office. Robert S. Strauss, Akin Gump's founding partner, and Vernon E. Jordan
Jr., a senior partner in the firm, commented, "Given our firm's focus on
globalization and our developing Middle East practice, we determined that our
clients' needs would best be served by establishing a presence in the Middle
East. The affiliation between Akin Gump and the Law Office of Abdulaziz Fahad
will allow us to provide our clients and friends in that region with a complete
range of services. A Riyadh office is an important part of our strategic plan
as we continue to serve our clients' international needs."
Jun 14, 1999 Akin Gump Represents Dynegy Inc. in $7.5 Billion Merger Houston-based
Dynegy Inc., one of the country's leading marketers of energy products and
services, and Illinova Corporation, an electric and gas utility company with
headquarters in Decatur, Illinois, announced plans for a merger. The merger
will create a $7.5 billion full-service energy company, which will be called
Dynegy Inc. and will be headquartered at Dynegy's Houston offices. Both
Illinova, with strategically positioned generating facilities in the Midwest
and a developing national energy services business, and Dynegy, a top natural-gas
and electric marketer and supplier, are leading independent power developers
and producers. The merger marks the next evolution of utility industry
restructurings and convergences between the gas and electric power industries
in the United States.
July 14, 1999 A government informant records a conversation between some illegal arms
dealers and Pakistani ISI agents held within view of the WTC. An ISI agent
points to the WTC and says, "Those towers are coming down." He later
makes other references to an attack on the WTC. The informant passes these
warnings on to Senator Bob Graham and others, but later claims "The
complaints were ordered sanitized by the highest levels of government."
Senator Graham admits being "concerned" about this warning before
9/11, but apparently the warning is not passed on. [cooperativeresearch.org]
It is
later claimed that the special CIA paramilitary teams start entering
Afghanistan in 1997. In 1999, they place listening devices within range of
al-Qaeda's tactical radios. CIA Director Tenet states that by 9/11, "a map
would show that these collection programs and human networks were in place in
such numbers to nearly cover Afghanistan. This array meant that, when the
military campaign to topple the Taliban and destroy al-Qaeda began [in October
2001], we were able to support it with an enormous body of information and a
large stable of assets."
July 4, 1999: With the chances of a pipeline deal with the Taliban looking
increasingly unlikely, the US government finally issues an executive order
prohibiting commercial transactions with the Taliban. [Executive Order, 7/4/99]
CFR -
Council on Foreign Relations: Caspian Sea Library
1999 (Date Needed) Caspian Gas Exports: Stranded
Reserves In A Unique Predicament
Turkmenistan--
leader of potential gas exporters from Caspian region--logical-route through Iran to Turkey or
through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
Pakistan better--shorter -lower costs through Afghanistan. Obtaining--$1-billion
for—project-difficult from commercial sources—Afghanistan-too
great a political risk.--World Bank may be interested—project provide steady
income for Turkmenistan and
Afghanistan--promote international environmental & energy efficiency goals cut coal & oil use in Pakistan and
India. Iran has long-term interest
in--pipeline. Most parties support route,
except US government --trying to keep Iran, isolated
from regional energy. US position--weakening,
Turkmen gas could arrive in Turkey via Iran by 2002. US options--to stop
project: Pressure Russia--open- existing pipelines to third party access.
(Russia) Gazprom-more interested in gas sales to Pakistan & India. Turkmenistan remains key player in region. Azerbaijan-center
of significant investment by world's largest oil companies, which may monetize
gas once oil field developments completed. Azerbaijan's
short route to Turkey- via Georgia, Armenia, or Iran- and potential gas important if
oil companies prioritize gas development.
Caspian gas exporters need concern about time. Window of opportunity to create gas grid not open forever. Mideast gas
producers could do at lower prices, higher margins
and deeper pockets. Iran and Iraq have considerable gas reserves- could sell to Asian or Europe. Both countries eager to develop gas reserves--revenue less
politically sensitive than oil. Iran opening gas fields to foreign investment (with)
Pakistan and India as markets. Iran's cooperation
with Turkmenistan could (stop) if Iran gets the market and capital on its own--
unlikely at the moment, could change in five years. Iraq-huge gas reserves
(120-tcf) & border with Turkey. Plans by
Iraqi State Oil and Gas concern, SOMO, to put
gas fields out to international tender once US sanctions
lifted. Saudi Arabia threat to Caspian
exporters. Saudi Arabia shown no desire to export gas under the rule of oil minister Ali Naimi, could change after
minister retires or replaced. Saudi Arabia consumes only 4-bcf/d gas despite holding 250-tcf of gas reserves. If
Caspian producers do not find a way to
cooperate in the near future, potential Mideast partners
could quickly become formidable competitors.
Ira B.
Joseph James A Baker Institute for Public Policy Paper [CFR - Council on
Foreign Relations: Caspian Sea Library]
Meeting
was attended by:
Robert
Abernethy President, American Standard Development Co.
William
Beeman, Assc. Professor Anthropology, Brown University
Daniel
Berkove Cambridge Energy Research Associates
Douglas Blum
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Providence College
Mathew
Burrows, Visiting Fellow Council on Foreign Relations
Dr.
Jennifer Bremer The Kenan Institute
N.J.
Butler, Group Policy Advisor BP-Amoco
Cassandra
Cavanaugh, Researcher Human Rights Watch
Ariel
Cohen, Sr. Analyst Heritage Foundation (and CFR member)
Nomi
Colton-Max, Sr. Assoc., Global Oil PIRA Energy Group
Leila
Conners Petersen, President Tree Media Group
Bud Coote,
Energy Analyst Central Intelligence Agency
David
Correll The Kenan Institute
James
Dorian International Energy and Resources Economist
Robert
Ebel, Dir., Energy and Nat'l Security, Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS)
Scott
Edwards, Technology Director Tree Media Group
Harold A.
Feiveson, Sr. Research Scientist Princeton University
Rosemarie
Forsythe, Vice-President Mobil Corporation
Robert
Freedman Baltimore Hebrew University
Graham E.
Fuller, Consultant RAND
Leslie
Gelb, President Council on Foreign Relations
Edward
Glab, Sr. Advisor Exxon Venture (CIS), Inc.
Leigh
Gusts,Director of Library & Research Services Council on Foreign Relations
Sheila
Heslin Bell Atlantic CFR Term Member)
Maynard
Holt,Vice President Goldman Sachs
Amy Myers
Jaffe, Energy Analyst James A. Baker Institute, Rice University
Jan
Kalicki Counselor to Commerce Dept & Clinton Admin Ombudsman for Energy
& Commercial Coop. with New Independent States
David
Kellogg,VP Corporate Affairs Council on Foreign Relations
Geoffrey
Kemp, Dir., Regl Strategic Programs The Nixon Center
Michael
Lelyveld, Chief Correspondent The Journal of Commerce
Ray
Leonard, VP, Exploration First International Oil Corporation
Elise
Lewis, Dir Membership & Fellowship Affairs Council on Foreign Relations
John
Lichtblau, Chairman Petroleum Industry Research Foundation
Pamela K.
Low,Regional Liason Officer Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc
Major
Douglas B. McNary Office of the Secretary of Defense
Marie
Antoinette Manca, Deputy Director Weissman Center for Int'l Business, Baruch
College
Robert A.
Manning, Sr. Fellow & Dir., Asia Studies Council on Foreign Relations
Libby May,
Project Director Tree Media Group
Rajan
Menon, Chair, Dept. Intl Relations, & Adj Prof Lehigh University (Dept.
Chair)
Harriman Institute, Columbia University (Adjunct Professor
Harriman Institute, Columbia University (Adjunct Professor
Edward L.
Morse, Publisher and President Energy Intelligence Group
Julia
Nanay, Director The Petroleum Finance Company
Natsuko
Oka, Visiting Scholar The Harriman Institute, Columbia University
Carter
Page, International Affairs Fellow Council on Foreign Relations
Michael
Peters, Senior Vice-president Council on Foreign Relations
Giandomenico
Picco, Chairman GDP Associates, Inc.
Ahmed
Rashid, Correspondent, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia Far Eastern
Economic Review
Anthony
Richter, Dir. Central Eurasia Project Open Society Institute
Christina
Rocca, Legislative Assist., Foreign Policy Senator Sam Brownback
Barnett R.
Rubin, Dir., Ctr for Preventive Action Council on Foreign Relations
Laurent
Ruseckas, Assoc. Dir., Caspian Research Cambridge Energy Research Associates
Alicia
Siebenaler, Prog Assc, Visiting Fellows Council on Foreign Relations
Peter
Sinnott, Adj. Assist. Prof. And Caspian Project Coordinator Middle East
Institute, Columbia University
S. Rob
Sobhani, President Caspian Energy Consulting
Paige
Sullivan, Fellow Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Pat Davis
Szymczak, President The Oconto Group
Gligor
Tashkovich, VP Government Relations, AMBO LLC
Robert
Thomson, Program Associate Council on Foreign Relations
Bruce
Tickner, Energy Analyst Central Intelligence Agency
Susan
Tillou, Asia Studies Council on Foreign Relations
Tassos
Vlassopoulos, VP Texaco International Petroleum Co.
Vahan
Zanoyan, President and CEO Petroleum Finance Company
July 1999: Thomas Inglesby, Hopkins Institute and top advisior of the Pentagon,
writes his first popular scenario: "Anthrax: A Possible Case History"
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/inglesby.htm
August 9, 1999 The US Dept of Commerce dismisses a petition filed by Save Domestic
Oil, Inc. The petition alleged that Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Iraq
had sold crude oil to the United States at artificially low prices. (DJ, WP,
NYT)
September 3, 1999: The spread of Islamic fundamentalist insurgency north from Afghanistan
threatens the rich oil resources of the Caspian Basin, which multinational
corporations hope to massively exploit in the 21st century. The key contract
was signed between Kazakhstan and Chevron in 1993, granting the company a stake
in all oil development there (RFE Newsline, Sept. 3, 1999).
September 14, 1999 French oil companies Total Fina and Elf Aquitaine agree to merge, after
a lengthy takeover battle, in a deal which will form the world's fourth largest
oil company. The deal will give Elf Aquitaine shareholders 19 shares of Total
Fina for every 13 shares of Elf Aquitaine. According to Total Fina's
management, the merger will result in annual cost savings for the combined firm
of $1.56 billion. (WP, WSJ)
September 2, 1999: Leaders of an Enron subsidiary called Azurix Corp. make Florida
Governor Jeb Bush an extraordinary offer: They will help pay Florida's
multibillion-dollar share of the restoration effort to replumb and revive the
Everglades -- if they can then sell water captured by the project. The water
privatization scheme is not implemented. ("How Enron Sought to Tap the
Everglades",
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42307-2002Feb7.html )
September 28 Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh announces that the National Iranian
Oil Company has discovered a new oilfield, Azadegan, with 26 billion barrels of
crude oil in Khuzestan province. The discovery is the largest new find in Iran
in the last three decades. Zanganeh expects the field to produce between
300,000 and 400,000 barrels per day of crude oil three to four years after
development begins next year. (DJ)
October 4, 1999 The United Nations Security Council agrees to raise the monetary
ceiling on Iraqi oil sales to $8.3 billion from $5.26 billion, guaranteeing the
continuation of Iraqi production until the November 20 end date for the current
six month extension of the "oil-for-food" program. The move is a one
time adjustment, and does not bind the Security Council to continue a higher
ceiling if the program is renewed for another six month term. The increase
reflects the difference between previous monetary ceilings and actual Iraqi
sales during previous phases of the program. (DJ)
Oct 4, 1999 Akin Gump Assists Clear Channel in $23.5 Billion Merger Clear
Channel Communications, Inc. announced its intent to merge with AMFM, Inc. in a
deal that valued AMFM at $23.5 billion. The resultant merger will create the
world's largest out-of-home media entity. The combined value of Clear Channel
and AMFM is approximately $56 billion. After anticipated divestitures required
to gain regulatory approval, the combined company will have operations in 32
countries, including approximately 830 radio stations and more than 425,000
outdoor displays as well as 19 television stations and significant equity
interests in other leading radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising entities.
[Law Firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld]
Oct. 15, 1999 The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the Taliban
(Resolution 1267), demanding that the Taliban "turn over the
terrorist Usama Bin Laden without further delay..."
October 1999: The Department of Defense (DOD) reassigned senior command authority over American forces in Central
Asia from the Pacific Command to the Central Command. Central Asia had once
been viewed as a peripheral concern, a remote edge of the Pacific Command's
main areas of responsibility (China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula). But the
region, which stretches from the Ural Mountains to China's western border, has
now become a major strategic prize, because of the vast reserves of oil and
natural gas thought to lie under and around the Caspian Sea. Since the Central
Command already controls the U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region, its
assumption of control over Central Asia means that this area will now
receive close attention from the people whose primary task is to protect the
flow of oil to the United States and its allies. Michael Klare (Foreign
Affairs May/June 2001 ).
October 20, 1999 Ken Alibek is President of Hadron Advanced Biosystems, a subsidiary of
Alexandria, Va.-based Hadron, Inc. Hadron describes itself as a company
specializing in the development of technical solutions for the intelligence
community. As chief scientist at Hadron, Alibek gave extensive testimony to the
House Armed Services Committee about biological weapons on Oct. 20, 1999 Hadron
did medical biodefense research for the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and the NIH. Hadron
said it was working in the field of non-specific immunity.
October 31, 1999 A Boeing 767 plane with 199 passengers aboard disappeared early today on
a flight from New York to Egypt...Flight 990 took off from Kennedy at 1:19 a.m.
and disappeared from radar at 2 a.m. while flying at 33,000 feet, said Eliot
Brenner, chief spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration... The
EgyptAir plane was on a route similar to the one taken by Swissair Flight 111,
a McDonnell Douglas MD11, which crashed off Nova Scotia on Sept. 2, 1998, killing
all 229 people aboard. Planes on that route fly from Kennedy to Nantucket, then
turn north to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland before heading east across the
Atlantic...
Strangely,
the news media was reporting hours after 990's crash that the plane had previously
landed at Edwards Air Force Base en route between L.A. and New York. This
reportage continued until about 12 noon (EST) on Sunday when the Pentagon and
FAA denounced the story and said the plane did not land at Edwards. [The
Associated Press]
EgyptAir Flight 990 passengers include 30 Egyptian officers who had
received military training in the US. Are there not countries or political
forces who might have an interest in preventing their return to Egypt? One
thing can be said for certain. Those promoting the theory of pilot suicide and
clamoring most insistently for the FBI to take control of the investigation are
among the least interested in a thorough and objective examination of the
evidence. Reuters reported that Egypt’s Defense Ministry had released a
statement that confirmed 33 military officers on board the fatal flight. This
was after they had lifted the ban that stooped the Egyptian media from
confirming foreign reports that military personnel were on the civilian flight.
One security source in Cairo said the group included four Air Force officers,
two brigadier-generals, a colonel and a major. There were also at least two
Army major-generals, one brigadier, four colonels and two lieutenant-colonels.
"Three of the officers went on board the plane without being checked
in," one of the aviation sources said, without explaining why. Reuters
reported that Bill Clinton said he was not aware of any threats against
airlines flying out of the United States. This was after the FBI had also denied
knowledge of any threats. Samir Ragab from The Egyptian Gazette said, "The
US officials are, in the meantime, eager to pay compensatory sums to victims
families and to silence voices of protests, which may approach certain issues
that intelligence deems highly-confidential."
Defense
Department spokesman Ken Bacon distributed information from the US Embassy in
Cairo regarding the activities of the 33 Egyptian military personnel but no
names were given. They were divided into the following groups:
Six at
Boston: Commercial contractor provided network planning and communications
analysis services under private contract.
Seven at
Fort Rucker Alabama: Received and tested two H-3 helicopters from a private
contractor.
Six at
California: Commercial company provided training on high frequency
telecommunications equipment.
Three at
Florida: Trained on telecommunications equipment under commercial contract.
Six
attended a conference on repairs to Chaparral missiles under private contract.
Five that
Bacon said they didn’t have a track on. "We believe that they were here on
personal business. They had visas not sponsored by the Ministry of
Defense", he said.
When
Egyptair 990 was destroyed the U.S. government was holding one of bin Laden's
associates, a former employee of Egyptair, for trial in Manhattan. When TWA 800
was destroyed it had already sentenced one of bin Laden's associates, Sheik
Rahman, and had another associate, Ramsey Yousef, also on trial in Manhattan
.....
Within
hours of the Egyptair 990 crash, as was the case with TWA 800, the U.S.
government was at pains to discourage all discussion about terrorism and to
declare that there were no 'credible' warnings about the Egyptair 990 downing.
Yet one of the warnings that it dismissed following the downing was one of the
warnings that it had acted upon prior to the crash .....
October 31, 1999 A month ago, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert to
airline and airport security personnel after agencies received an unconfirmed
warning that a bomb would "soon be used'' on a flight departing from Los
Angeles or Kennedy airport in New York...in a Sept. 24 "information
circular,'' the FAA said several U.S. agencies received a warning by letter in
August "that a bomb or explosive device with 'spiral expansion' would soon
be used on a flight departing from either Los Angeles airport or New York's JFK
airport.''...the informant "identified himself as Luciano
Porcari..."an individual with this same name hijacked an Iberian Boeing
727 during a flight from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on March 14,
1977,''...
The
circular said he was released on Aug. 12, 1982, and his whereabouts were
unknown. In the warning received by letter "to several U.S. government
agencies,'' the informant "claimed that between 1975 and 1983 eight of the
devices were manufactured, that only three remained and that one was in the
U.S. He also said he had warned various U.S. authorities about the device
before the July 1996 explosion of TWA Flight 800 off Long Island and the September
1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Newfoundland. [The Associated Press]
Much
eyewitness evidence indicates that TWA 800's demise came as the result of a
missile attack. One should not be surprised therefore to learn that flights out
of JFK are frequently diverted by air traffic controllers to avoid
"rockets" .....
November 1, 1999 Newsmax.com
EgyptAir's
Boeing 767 fell from the sky sometime early Sunday morning - at about 2 a.m.
Later Sunday morning, NewsMax.com editor Christopher Ruddy was on United flight
#976, which departed JFK at 9:15 a.m. headed for London. At about 10 a.m.,
Ruddy put on his headset. He clicked through the music channels and tuned in to
transmissions between his United plane and air traffic control in the United
States. "Air traffic control was advising planes to change their flight
paths, giving out new coordinates and altitudes for planes on the flight paths
over the Atlantic," Ruddy recalled the conversation he overheard. "At
one point, a crew member of one of the planes radioed air traffic control to
ask why the change. Air traffic control responded that 'there are rockets being
fired in the area.'" "I heard early that morning before boarding my
plane that there was a missing EgyptAir plane," Ruddy said. "The
conversation I heard on the plane really struck me, as did the controllers' use
of the word 'rockets.'"
Air
traffic controllers are diverting airplanes out of JFK airport and talking
about "rockets" because there have been numerous missile attacks on
aircraft departing the New York metropolitan airports. For example on March 17,
1997, subsequent to the TWA 800 downing, a missile was observed by Northwest
Airlines 775, US Air 1937, Delta 2517 and Northwest Airlines 361. Northwest
Airlines Flight 775 was traveling from Newark to Minneapolis and Flight 361
from Laguardia to Minneapolis. Both flights departed at 6:55 PM and reported
the missile about 15 Minutes into their flights. Note the height that the
missile reached according to the pilot of NWA 775:
NWA 775:
Air Center it looks like we see ah - this is Northwest 775 - on a southerly
heading - a missile or something. Do you know anything about that?
Controller:
Northwest 775 - you see a what?
NWA 775:
It appears to be a missile on the south of our course here - straight south of
us - off our left - it's climbing and heading south.
Controller:
Due south of your position, heading south?
NWA 775:
Yea, and climbing rapidly.
Controller:
Going through about what altitude now?
NWA 775:
Oh man, it's like over 30,000 and on its way up. It was a rocket or a missile
and I don't know - it's out of sight now.
Controller:
You think it was a rocket or a missile?
NWA 775:
Affirmative. It was extremely bright. Anybody else in the area I'm sure would
have seen it.
November 8, 1999 WorldTribune.com
Egypt wants us to pursue link with TWA 800 A
confidant of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak angered the American officials
with repeated suggestions that the United States was behind the crash of
EgyptAir Flight 990, in which 217 people, including the 33 Egyptian military
officers, were killed. .... Ragab's said in an editorial in both Al Gomhuriya,
and its sister paper the Egyptian Gazette, that Washington was trying to cover
up U.S. military responsibility for the deadly accident. "Insinuations of
possible cover-up by U.S. authorities, potential intelligence secrets,
deliberate delays and obfuscation in the investigation ..... are insulting,
" The reason for Mubarak's suspicion of "potential intelligence
secrets" may be understood by remembering that in a Manhattan jail cell
sits a Special Forces sergeant with a very strange relationship to the U.S.
government, to Osama bin Laden, and to those who bombed the World Trade
Center...Ali Mohamed The records say he is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, English
and French, and worked for 18 months as a security adviser to Egyptair after
leaving the Egyptian army...The Boston Globe reported that Mohamed had been
admitted to the United States under a special visa program controlled by the
CIA's clandestine service... Hence, when Egyptair 990 was destroyed the U.S.
government was holding one of bin Laden's associates, a former employee of Egyptair,
for trial in Manhattan. When TWA 800 was destroyed it had already sentenced one
of bin Laden's associates, Sheik Rahman, and had another associate, Ramsey
Yousef, also on trial in Manhattan .....
Within
hours of the Egyptair 990 crash, as was the case with TWA 800, the U.S.
government was at pains to discourage all discussion about terrorism and to
declare that there were no 'credible' warnings about the Egyptair 990 downing.
Yet one of the warnings that it dismissed following the downing was one of the
warnings that it had acted upon prior to the crash .....
November 11, 1999 KANSAS CITY -- Missouri Pilots Report Missile Near Their Aircraft
NUFORC reports that on November 11, 1999, interesting report from the FAA
Kansas City Center of two executive jets in the vicinity of Farmington, MO,
that reported an object that "looked like a missile" pass in
proximity to their aircraft. The incident occurred at approximately 8:00 AM.
(CST). I have no reason to believe it is related to the alleged Bermuda incident,
but I mention it because of the apparent similarity between the objects
reported in both cases. Peter Davenport, Director NUFORC
http://www.UFOcenter.com
November 14, 1999 ABCnews.com
ABCNEWS’
aviation analyst John Nance said that, based on the data known so far, the
rapid rate of the plane’s dive raised questions about what might have been
going on in the cockpit in the moments before the crash. ..... "The
problem now is that when you look at this dive — and as I say, it’s something
that no airline pilot, no rational airline pilot, would do voluntarily —
something either had to scare these pilots half to death to get them to put
that aircraft into that condition, or something else was going on that was not
voluntary," he told ABCNEWS’ This Week today. Barry Trotter, a former
senior investigator with the NTSB and commercial airline pilot, said that while
a pilot might turn off an engine if there was a fire, it would be highly
improbable for both engines to be on fire at the same time. "The question
is why they initiated the descent from the very beginning," said Trotter.
Egyptair 990 would not represent the first time airline pilots have had to
"duck" because of high speed objects approaching their aircraft. In
August 1997 two Swissair pilots had to "duck" at 23,000 feet over
Long Island ......
November 14, 1999 Associated Press
Cockpit
voice recordings from EgyptAir Flight 990 show the pilot and co-pilot talking
"like pals'' before something goes wrong and both men desperately try to
fix a problem that soon caused the plane to crash into the Atlantic, a source
close to the investigation said Sunday. "Something happens. Alarms go off.
Both work to try to fix it,'' the source said. "There is some kind of
problem that they're dealing with. It gets progressively worse. And the tape
stops.'' The recorder was found to be in good condition and it provided about
31 1/2 minutes of data. The tape provides no evidence of an intruder in the
cockpit or of any fighting among the crew, the source said. It was reviewed by
American and Egyptian officials, including representatives from the FBI.
November 15, 1999 CNN
Many
people in Cairo believe a conspiracy lies behind the crash of EgyptAir Flight
...." It was broadcast that an American official said the plane was hit by
a missile… Speculation focused on a possible suicide by the pilot or co-pilot,
on a mad struggle for the controls in the cockpit. The pilot's daughter, Enji
Habashi, suspects foul play. "It's something intentional and I think this
plane has been sabotaged," The official explanation that the pilot in the
Silk Air crash committed suicide also defies logic when one observes that both
black boxes failed and the tail of the aircraft involved in this incident (a 10
month old Boeing 737) was damaged. The tail was found miles from the crash site
indicating that it had separated from the aircraft early in the crash sequence.
The tail section of Egyptair 990 may also have been damaged as evidenced by the
behavior of the elevators operating in opposite directions.
November 18, 1999 Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia sign an agreement to build a pipeline
for the export of crude oil from the Caspian Basin. The 1,080-mile pipeline
will begin at the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, and run through Georgia and Turkey
to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The project is expected to cost $2.4 billion,
and the government of Turkey has offered guarantees that the cost of the
Turkish segment of the pipeline will not exceed $1.4 billion. The signing
ceremony took place during a visit to Istanbul by U.S. President Clinton for a
summit of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE). (WP,
NYT)
November 22, 1999: Beginning in 1998 UNOCAL was chastized, particularly by women's rights
groups, for discussions with the Taliban, and headed in retreat as a worldwide
effort mounted to come to the defense of the Afghani women. This forced UNOCAL
to withdraw from its talks with the Taliban and dissolve its multinational
partnership in that region. In 1999 Alexander's Gas & Oil Connections
newsletter said: "UNOCAL company officials said late last year (1998) they
were abandoning the project because of the need to cut costs in the Caspian
region and because of the repeated failure of efforts to resolve the long civil
conflict in Afghanistan." [Volume 4, issue #20 - Monday, November 22,
1999]
November 30, 1999 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) grants approval for the proposed
merger between oil giants Exxon and Mobil. The $80 billion merger was approved
by the FTC after the firms agreed to the largest divestiture of assets ever
involved in a merger. The companies will sell over 2,400 retail outlets, mostly
in the Northeast, Texas, and California, and a refinery in California. (DJ)
December 6, 1999: Following an internal reorganization at FBI Headquarters, the Attorney
General appointed Mr. Watson the Assistant.
December 20, 1999: The BBC explains one reason why the Northern Alliance has been able to
hold out for so long in its civil war against the Taliban in Afghanistan:
"Iran has stirred up the fighting in order to make sure an international
oil pipeline [goes] through its territory and not through Afghanistan." [BBC, 12/20/99]
Milt Bearden on Osama Bin Laden
There are
two sides to a cultural clash here in 1999. The United States and to a smaller
degree the UK on one side. Fundamentalist Islam on the other side. Both sides
are rallied behind the North Star, Osama bin Laden. For the US, he’s public
enemy number one. We've got a $5 million reward out for his head, blamed him
for every horrible event in our history except the grassy knoll. And now we
have, (with I'm not sure what evidence), linked him to all of the terrorist
acts of this year ... of this decade, perhaps. That's why I say he is our North
Star. On the other side, we have given fundamentalist Islam their North Star, a
rallying point. If the enemy of our enemy is our friend, then Osama bin Laden
is the North Star to every fundamentalist Muslim who goes to Friday prayers and
hears a mullah condemn the United States. So, it seems there's that common
bond, the thing that brings us together is the North Star, and we're just
viewing it from different perspectives. ...
December 31, 2000 The Panama Canal Zone reverts to Panamanian sovereignty at noon, after
nearly a century of American control. More than a half-million barrels of crude
oil and petroleum products transit the Canal each day. (DJ)
January 2000: Former President George Bush Sr. meets with the bin Laden family on
behalf of the Carlyle Group. He had also met with them in 1998, but it's not
known if he met with them after this. Bush denied this meeting took place until
a thank you note was found confirming it. [Wall Street Journal, 9/27/01, Guardian, 10/31/01] FTW Former Philippines' 4President Fidel V. Ramos
is a senior advisor of the Carlyle Group and the head of Carlyle's Asian
advisory board. Its directors include former US president George Herbert Walker
Bush, former US secretary of state James Baker, current US secretary of state
Colin Powell, former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt, former UK Prime Minister John
Major, and former South Korean Prime Minister Park Tae-Joon. Carlyle's client
list has included the likes of the bin Laden family and George Soros (a major
player involved in the so-called Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s).
Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has been one of Carlyle's major investors. Its
chairman is former Reagan administration defense secretary Frank Carlucci.
Carlyle has major stakes in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China,
which was recently admitted into the World Trade Organization.
Jan. 22, 2000 The CFR Project held its first big event: a scenario of a global
financial meltdown, run as a war-game simulation at its Manhattan headquarters.
James Woolsey, ex CIA director, played the role of Secretary of Defense.
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2000/2729_cfr.html
Feb 2000: Richard Perle has served as a director of Autonomy since February
2000. Autonomy a close-knit and highly experienced management team bringing
together extensive expertise covering every facet of information technology and
its constituent sectors and markets. Mr Perle served as Resident Fellow of the
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research since 1987. Mr Perle
is Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hollinger
Digital Inc. and a Director of Morgan Crucible plc, where he serves on the
remuneration committee, Hollinger International and AppNet,Inc., where he
serves on the audit and remuneration committees. Mr Perle is a member of the
International Advisory Board of Hollinger Inc. Mr Perle holds an M.A from
Princeton University and an A.B from the University of Southern California.
February 2000, the NSA's computer system crashed, a sign of overload. It was down for
four days. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20021018/4547216s.htm
Feb 2, 2000 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) acts to block the proposed merger
between BP Amoco and Atlantic Richfield, saying the merger would unduly
restrict competition along the West coast of the United States. (WSJ, WP)
Feb 7, 2000: Three big Texas energy producers, all of which made lavish
contributions to George W.Bush's presidential campaign, stand to gain from
soaring electricity prices in California. That's one reason the watchdog group
Public Citizen says Bush has no interest in promoting price caps, even though
such caps are recommended by Republican as well as Democratic governors and
members of Congress. ("Bush's Biggest Donors Gain From High Prices in
California Crunch", http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0106/ridgeway3.php
)
Feb. 20, 2000, Vladimir Pasechnik announced that, along with partner Caisey
Harlingten, Pasechnik had formed a company called Regma Biotechnologies Ltd.
Regma describes itself as "a new drug company working to provide powerful
alternatives to antibiotics." Like three other microbiologists detailed in
this article, Pasechnik was heavily involved in DNA sequencing research. During
the anthrax panic of this past fall, Pasechnik offered his services to the
British government to help in any way possible. Despite Regma having a public
relations department that has released many items to the press over the past
two years, the company has not announced the death of one of its two founders.
Feb 23. 2000: Enron CFO Andrew Fastow buys a $1.32 million property in River Oaks.
New construction comes to $1.53 million. No mortgage is recorded.
("Architects of Enron's rise bred its demise",
http://chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0201200329jan20.
story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed )
Mar 7, 2000 Akin Gump Assists Clear Channel in $4.4 Billion Acquisition Clear
Channel Communications, Inc. announced its intent to acquire SFX Entertainment,
Inc. in a stock merger that valued SFX at $4.4 billion. Clear Channel
Communications, Inc. is a global leader in the out-of-home advertising industry
with radio and television stations and outdoor displays in 32 countries around
the world. Including announced transactions, Clear Channel operates 867 radio
and 19 television stations in the United States reaching over 120 million
people weekly. SFX is the world's largest diversified promoter, producer and
venue operator for live entertainment events. Clear Channel Senior Vice
President Kenneth Wyker and Vice President Hamlet Newsom headed a legal team
that included Akin Gump corporate partner Stephen C. Mount and associates
Wilhelm E. Liebmann, Sharla Kruger and Patrick Hurley (San Antonio); corporate
partner John Strickland (Austin); corporate partner Alan Laves and associate
Michael Slaney (Dallas); tax partner W. Thomas Weir and real estate associate
Andrew Cohen (San Antonio); labor partner Jonathan Sulds (New York); benefits
partner Andrew Lee Gaines and associate Bruce E. Simonetti (New York); and
antitrust partner Charles Biggio (New York). [Law Firm of Akin Gump Strauss
Hauer & Feld]
March 7, 2000 New York Mercantile Exchange front-month West Texas Intermediate crude
oil futures contract closes at $34.13 per barrel, the highest level in nine
years. (WSJ)
March 15, 2000 Phillips Petroleum announces that it has agreed to purchase Atlantic
Richfield's assets in Alaska for $6.5 billion. The sale is being made in an
effort to secure approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the merger
of Atlantic Richfield with BP Amoco. Earlier the same day, the FTC announced
that it had suspended its antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the merger, citing
progress in talks with the companies involved. (DJ, NYT, WSJ)
March 20, 2000 EPA announces Clinton Administration to push for a phase out of (MTBE)
as gasoline additive and wants Congress to pass legislation to end the use of
MTBE in gasoline sold in some smog-prone urban areas, and instead require
nationwide use of ethanol. (DJ) (Remember this when reading about Unocal Patent
and Cheney task notes about Unocal Patent)
March 28, 2000 OPEC to increase oil production 1.452 million barrels per day by its
members, excluding Iran and Iraq. Iraq, has not been subject to OPEC production
agreements while under U.N. Security Council sanctions. Iran, though not
formally signing on to the agreement, stated its intention to raise its
production in order to avoid loss of its market share. This would represent
about a 1.7 million barrel per day increase in OPEC production targets, if Iran
was included. Several major non-OPEC producers, including Mexico and Norway,
also have indicated an intention to raise production. (DJ)
March 2000 - An FBI agent, reportedly angry over a glitch in Carnivore (snooping
system) that has somehow mixed innocent non-targeted emails with those
belonging to Al Qaeda, destroys all of the FBI's Denver-based intercepts of bin
Laden's colleagues in a terrorist investigation. [Source: The Washington Post,
May 29, 2002]
March 2000: Afghanistan Country Report, stating that "drug production in and
trafficking from Afghanistan has funded terrorist groups, increased regional
heroin addiction in refugee and indigenous populations, undermined rule of law,
led to frequent incidents of armed conflict between traffickers and law
en-forcement forces in neighbouring countries, destabilizing the entire
region." Separately, the INCSR further stated "opium for the Pakistan
market enters through Baluchistan and the Northwest Fron-tier Province. Raw
opium remains primarily for local consumption in Pakistan and Iran. Trafficking
organizations also have strong links to Gulf countries, and Dubai seems to be
emerging as an im-portant center for money laundering." [U.S. Department
of State, 1999 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 2000,]
April 12, 2000 CEOs of major US oil companies meet with senior Saudi Arabian officials
to discuss possible investments in natural gas and petrochemical projects. The
firms at the meetings include Chevron, Conoco, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil,
Phillips Petroleum, and Texaco. The Saudi government announces a package of
legal changes that will make Saudi Arabia more open to foreign investors.
Complete foreign ownership will be allowed for some types of projects, and the
maximum corporate tax rate for foreign enterprises will be reduced to 15
percent. (WP)
April 14, 2000 BP Amoco receives approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for
its $28 billion takeover of Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO). As part of
the approval, ARCO has agreed to sell its crude oil production operations in
Alaska to Phillips Petroleum in a deal valued at $6.5 billion. (WP, WSJ)
April 27, 2000
"The US Government View of Energy Developments
in the Caspian, Central Asia, and Iran"
Center for
Strategic and International Studies April 27,
2000
"Proven
oil reserves for the entire Caspian Sea region are estimated at 16-32 billion
barrels, comparable to those in the
United
States (22 billion barrels) and the North Sea (17 billion barrels). Natural gas
reserves are even larger, accounting for almost 2/3 of the hydrocarbon reserves
(proved plus possible) in the Caspian Sea region…. Getting this oil out of the
region to world markets, however, is complicated by several factors, including
geography and geopolitics. …. As a result, multiple
routes for Caspian oil and gas exports have been proposed….. Afghanistan A MOU (Memorandum of
Understanding) has been signed to build a natural gas pipeline stretching from
Turkmenistan to Pakistan (and perhaps India)
via Afghanistan. In addition, the proposed
Central Asia Oil Pipeline would also pass from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan
en route to a Pakistani port on the Arabian Sea. However, the ongoing civil war
has prevented the projects from going forward. While all of the major Afghan
factions have agreed in principle to the construction of the pipelines, the
pipelines may not attract the necessary financing without a peace settlement
and international recognition of the government in Afghanistan. Although the
Taliban control 95% of Afghan territory, only the United Arab Emirates,
Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia had recognized the Taliban government as of late
1998. Afghan support for Osama bin Laden, and the recent U.S. bombing raids on
his suspected strongholds in Afghanistan, also have reduced the likelihood for
international financing of the project." (DOE/EIA Reports on the Caspian
5/17/00)
April 2000: Ken Lay is a $250,000 sponsor of the GOP's fundraising gala in
Washington. He also helps raise money for a literacy charity headed by Barbara
Bush, mother of George W. Bush. (" Enron made a sound investment in
Washington", http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20020124/ts_usatoday/3799465&cid=676
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