Israel As Cheney Pawn In America's Energy War With China

Israel As Cheney Pawn
In The Real Struggle For The Middle East And Central Asia
America's Battle Against China
For Control Of Persian Gulf And Caspian Energy Resources
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/WATUSvChina.htm
Iran And Syria Next In Firing Line In Global Energy War
Cheney-Netanyahu Axis
Willing To Risk Setting Region Alight

"It was weeks before the American invasion [of Iraq], and the [Syriana film] screenwriter [Stephen Gaghan] had just returned from Damascus, where he heard prognostications of what a quagmire the war would be. 'I'm in [Richard] Perle's kitchen. He's passing out favors in the Bush administration. He's dispensing wisdom and making me a cappuccino from this $3,000 cappuccino machine. He's really smart, really clever, and I'm having a great time. I feel really lucky. I asked him, 'Mr. Perle, I have just one question. Who's going to run Iraq?' He said, 'Oh, no, no, no, we're not going into that. Who says we're going into Iraq?' I said, 'Really, if we went in, who's going to run the country?' He said, 'It's a shame we haven't done a better job of supporting Ahmad Chalabi. He's a wonderful man.' I said, 'Listen, Chalabi hasn't been in Iraq since 1959. He wears a Hermès tie. He lives in Paris. If he goes back there, they're going to reject him like a bad organ transplant.' Gaghan says that suddenly Perle got very serious. 'He looked at me like 'Who let you in here?' He stared daggers at me for about a minute.' Suddenly the doorbell rang. 'He said, 'Excellent. I'll introduce you to Bibi on the way out.' It was Benjamin Netanyahu, dropping by with nine Uzi-wielding Mossad agents."
Killers rendered in shades of gray
Los Angeles Times, 30 October 2005

"Israel's finance minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, predicted yesterday that the British-era oil pipeline from Iraq's northern oilfields through Jordan to the Israeli port city of Haifa would be reopened. 'It won't be long when you will see Iraqi oil flowing to Haifa,' Mr Netanyahu told a group of British investors in London. 'It is just a matter of time until the pipeline is reconstituted and Iraqi oil will flow to the Mediterranean.'"
Iraq-Israel oil pipeline 'to reopen'
Daily Telegraph, 21 June 2003

"Richard Perle submitted his resignation as Chairman of the Defense Policy Board to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld within hours of publication of the following editorial in American Politics Journal -- and dozens of other articles and opinion pieces published in the last couple of weeks. However -- and unbelievably -- Perle is to remain as a member of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board under Rumsfeld's watch, albeit not as its Chairman.... Perle, as Chairman of the Defense Policy Board (which is an advisory group that reports to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz), is reported to have once presented a written document to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spelling out a new Israel foreign policy. It called for the repudiation of the Oslo Accords and the underlying concept of 'land for peace'; for the permanent annexation for the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip, and for the elimination of Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad as first steps towards overthrowing or destabilizing the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. So, if you think that Baghdad is the last stop, it's time to think again."
Richard Perle: Dead Man Walking
American Politics Journal, 27 March 2003

"Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.... It is believed Israel would call on its top special forces brigade, Unit 262 — the equivalent of the SAS — and the F-15I strategic 69 Squadron, which can strike Iran and return to Israel without refuelling .... Russia last week signed an estimated $1 billion contract — its largest since 2000 — to sell Iran advanced Tor-M1 systems capable of destroying guided missiles and laser-guided bombs from aircraft.... The date set for possible Israeli strikes on Iran also coincides with Israel’s general election on March 28, prompting speculation that Sharon may be sabre-rattling for votes. Benjamin Netanyahu, the frontrunner to lead Likud into the elections, said that if Sharon did not act against Iran, 'then when I form the new Israeli government, we’ll do what we did in the past against Saddam’s reactor...'"
Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
London Times, 11 December 2005

"Although Downing Street publicly insists that Bush and Blair remain 'closely in touch' on the Iranian threat, some British officials are privately concerned that Dick Cheney, the hardline American vice-president, is driving the administration’s policy on Iran.... One well known US weapons specialist last week described the Iranian nuclear issue as 'the Cuban missile crisis in slow motion'.... [there are] reports in Israel that Washington is secretly encouraging Tel Aviv to strike.... "
Blair’s loyalty tested as Bush menaces Iran
Sunday Times, 23 January 2005

".... And there [in Iran] the issue is certainly not tyranny; it's nuclear weapons. And the vice president [Cheney] today in a kind of a strange parallel statement to this declaration of freedom hinted that the Israelis may do it [attack Iran] and in fact used language which sounds like a justification or even an encouragement for the Israelis to do it. And I happen to think that this would be very destabilizing in the region. We would be viewed as complicit. It would intensify the problems that we are already facing in manifold fashion...."
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former US National Security Adviser
PBS News Hour, 20 January 2005

"Recent reports in the German media suggest that the United States may be preparing its allies for an imminent military strike against facilities that are part of Iran's suspected clandestine nuclear weapons program.... According to Ulfkotte's report, 'western security sources' claim that during CIA Director Porter Goss' Dec. 12 visit to Ankara, he asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide support for a possibile 2006 air strike against Iranian nuclear and military facilities.... [the German news agency] DDP also reported that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman and Pakistan have been informed in recent weeks of Washington's military plans. The countries, apparently, were told that air strikes were a 'possible option,' but they were given no specific timeframe for the operations..... What's new here, however, is that Washington appears to be dispatching high-level officials to prepare its allies for a possible attack rather than merely implying the possibility as it has repeatedly done during the past year. ..... Sources in German security circles told the DDP reporter that Goss had ensured Ankara that the Turkish government would be informed of any possible air strikes against Iran a few hours before they happened. The Turkish government has also been given the 'green light' to strike camps of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iran on the day in question.... the string of visits by high-profile US politicians to Turkey and surrounding reports are drawing new attention to the issue. In recent weeks, the number of American and NATO security officials heading to Ankara has increased dramatically. "
Is Washington Planning a Military Strike?
Der Spiegel, 30 December 2005

"All I can say is this: the Israeli government is preparing to use nuclear weapons in its next war with the Islamic world. Here where I live, people often talk of the Holocaust. But each and every nuclear bomb is a Holocaust in itself. It can kill, devastate cities, destroy entire peoples. The Israeli Defense Ministry has long had a nuclear arsenal. Israeli intelligence tried to keep the existence of this arsenal secret from the outside world, but fortunately did not succeed. Nevertheless, they are still trying to silence me - even now, after seventeen-and-a-half years in prison."
Interview with Mordechai Vanunu: Israel preparing to use nuclear weapons against Iran
Voyenny Parad, No. 4, 2005 (original Russian) - Globalresearch.ca

"Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur, has warned that any conflict with Iran could push oil prices over $100 a barrel and trigger 'the biggest recession we have ever seen'. Iran is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer. International concerns over the country’s nuclear developments have risen in the past month, but Sir Richard warned that any military intervention in the region would prove 'disastrous' for the world economy. Speaking to Times Online from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sir Richard called for urgent investment in alternative energy sources to replace the rapidly dwindling stocks of fossil fuels such as crude oil.... Sir Richard was also critical of the efforts of the major oil companies, which over the past year have booked record profits on the back of record-high oil prices. He said they had so far 'only dabbled' in exploring green energy sources."
Branson fears oil will cause biggest recession
London Times, 26 January 2006

"Israel, which has long regarded Iran as a more dire threat than Iraq, is making thinly veiled threats of a unilateral pre-emptive attack, like its 1981 airstrike against Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.... Iran's facilities (which it insists are for peaceful purposes) are at the far edge of combat range for Israel's aircraft; They're also widely dispersed and, in many cases, deep underground . But America certainly could do it—and has given the idea some serious thought. 'The U.S. capability to make a mess of Iran's nuclear infrastructure is formidable,' says veteran Mideast analyst Geoffrey Kemp. 'The question is, what then?' NEWSWEEK has learned that the CIA and DIA have war-gamed the likely consequences of a U.S. pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. No one liked the outcome. As an Air Force source tells it, 'The war games were unsuccessful at preventing the conflict from escalating.'"
War-Gaming the Mullahs
Newsweek magazine reported 27 September 2004

".... the big problem will be if the Israelis say, enough`s enough.... when you talk about military options, you have to say what sort of military option would be possible and what effect would it have? And when you look at them in practical terms, they are all counterproductive.... there may be worse scenarios, that is, having an all out war which rages across all of these countries (in the region) than finding an accommodation. "
Lord Timothy Garden, a former British assistant chief of defense staff
United Press International, 7 March 2006

Netanyahu, Neocons, And Oil

netanyahu2.jpg (23539 bytes)

"Now Israel is set for its own exercise in democracy on March 28th. Israelis must choose between a party that would continue confrontation with the Palestinians – the right-wing Likud, led by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and Kadima, which talks as tough as Likud but primarily advocates complete separation. The centrist Kadima is lead by Ariel Sharon's successor, Ehud Olmert, the dour former mayor of Jerusalem. In between, are the smaller religious parties and Labour, which, after March 28th, will most likely support whichever political group is chosen to form a government."
A Middle East line in the sand
CBC News, 14 March 2006

"Israel should take 'bold and courageous' action against arch-foe Iran’s nuclear program, similar to its 1981 air strike on the main Iraqi atomic reactor, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday....The frontrunner to head Israel’s right-wing Likud Party ahead of March 28 elections, Netanyahu has been drawing battle lines with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who last week voiced hope that foreign diplomacy would prevent Iran getting the bomb. Israeli officials have said that, unless stopped, Iran will achieve the know-how to build a bomb by March next year. Independent estimates have put Iran years away from such a capability."
Netanyahu warns of Iran nuclear threat
Reuters, 4 December 2005

"Through a journalist friend, he [Stephen Gaghan, director of the film 'Syriana'] arranged a meeting with [the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board Chairman Richard] Perle a few months before the invasion of Iraq. Over what Gaghan calls 'the best cappuccino of my life,' they bantered in Perle's palatial kitchen until Gaghan, at that point quite knowledgeable about the Middle East, questioned the viability of Perle's friend Ahmad Chalabi as a future Iraqi leader. '[Perle] steepled his hands just like Mr. Burns on The Simpsons and stared at me. Then the doorbell rang - beat ... beat ... beat - 'Excellent. I'll introduce you to Bibi on the way out. ' ' (Neither Perle nor former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned calls for comment.)"
'So, You Ever Kill Anybody?'
TIME, 21 November 2005

"Israel stands to benefit greatly from the US led war on Iraq, primarily by getting rid of an implacable foe in President Saddam Hussein and the threat from the weapons of mass destruction he was alleged to possess. But it seems the Israelis have other things in mind. An intriguing pointer to one potentially significant benefit was a report by Haaretz on 31 March that minister for national infrastructures Joseph Paritzky was considering the possibility of reopening the long-defunct oil pipeline from Mosul to the Mediterranean port of Haifa. With Israel lacking energy resources of its own and depending on highly expensive oil from Russia, reopening the pipeline would transform its economy.... All of this lends weight to the theory that Bush's war is part of a masterplan to reshape the Middle East to serve Israel's interests. Haaretz quoted Paritzky as saying that the pipeline project is economically justifiable because it would dramatically reduce Israel's energy bill. US efforts to get Iraqi oil to Israel are not surprising. Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the US guaranteed all Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. The MoU, which has been quietly renewed every five years, also committed the USA to construct and stock a supplementary strategic reserve for Israel, equivalent to some US$3bn in 2002. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from restrictions on oil exports from the USA. Moreover, the USA agreed to divert oil from its home market, even if that entailed domestic shortages, and guaranteed delivery of the promised oil in its own tankers if commercial shippers were unwilling or not available to carry the crude to Israel. All of this adds up to a potentially massive financial commitment. The USA has another reason for supporting Paritzky's project: a land route for Iraqi oil direct to the Mediterranean would lessen US dependence on Gulf oil supplies. Direct access to the world's second-largest oil reserves (with the possibility of expansion through so-far untapped deposits) is an important strategic objective."
Oil from Iraq : An Israeli pipedream?
Jane's Foreign Report, 16 April 2003

But Control Of Gulf Oil And The Security Of Israel Is Under Renewed Threat
Following The Backfire Of 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'
Which Has Resulted In Iran And China Making Major Gains In The Region

"Yuval Diskin, the head of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, said recently his country might come to regret its decision to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. 'I'm not sure we won`t come to miss Saddam,' he told a group of students broadcast on Israeli TV."
Iraq, Iran unintended results
United Press International, 17 February 2006

"Friction between occupation authorities [in Iraq] and Shi'ite fundamentalists, leading to occasional violent confrontations, reflects possibly irreconcilable differences. The most visible, but likely most tractable, of these has been the Islamist commitment to sharia law, which flatly contradicts the occupation's commitment to a secular state. Only slightly less visible has been the affinity of the Shi'ite parties for Iran, expressed in their unwavering desire to establish political, cultural and economic relations with their Shi'ite neighbor. This has led to public disputes between the Shi'ite parties and the US leadership, which sees Iran as its principal enemy in the Middle East."
A government with no military, no territory
Asia Times, 11 March 2006

"Iran has used the turmoil in Iraq to extend its influence over the Shia-led Government, as well as in Syria and Lebanon."
UN 'has less than a year' to stop Iran going nuclear
London Times, 10 March 2006

"Saudi Arabia, long the largest supplier of oil to the United States, has cut U.S. sales dramatically and may soon no longer be among the top five largest U.S. suppliers. The Saudi kingdom's new largest customer is China.... Saudi Arabia's turn away from the U.S. market began at the end of 2002 as the United States was preparing to go to war in Iraq.... Placke said China recently surpassed Japan in its oil consumption and is currently the world's second-largest oil market behind the United States. Lippman said, however, that building consumption might be only part of the reason Saudi Arabia is turning its attention to China. 'It seems to me that there is a certain logic for the Saudis in looking around and saying, well wait a minute, we need a good relationship with a country that is a permanent member of the (U.N.) Security Council, is a strong a growing market for our oil, is a nuclear power and, by the way, is untainted by having invaded any Arab countries,' Lippman said."
Saudi Arabia cuts oil sales to U.S., ups China
Washington Times, 16 September 2005

"Move over, Big Oil. There's a new oilman on the world stage - China. China's takeover bid for Unocal Corp. makes clear to sticker-shocked Americans that the 1.3 billion Chinese people are demanding an ever-larger supply of the world's energy to fuel their booming economy and are willing to get it wherever necessary. From Central Asia to Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and even Canada, Chinese firms are pumping oil and natural gas in many areas that the United States was counting on to meet its own record-high demand.... While the Bush administration tries to build international pressure against Iran over its nuclear aspirations, China has signed a $70 billion long- term oil and gas supply deal with the Tehran... Chinese firms signed numerous contracts to co-produce oil and natural gas. Iran is China's largest single source of foreign oil, providing 13 percent of China's total annual imports..."
China on global hunt to quench its thirst for oil
San Francisco Chronicle, 26 June 2005

US Mission Failure In Iraq Has Allowed Iran And China To Move Closer Centre-Stage In The Middle East
As Part Of The Emerging Global Energy War
In Desperation Netanyahu And The Neoconservatives In Washington Are Looking For
An Early Strike On Iran To Stem The Losses

iranmap3.jpg (22793 bytes)
Iran Is The Only Country
Which Borders Both The Gulf And The Caspian
It Lies At The Heart Of The Most Pivotal
Geostrategic Location On Earth

"Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, is ringed by mountains, is roughly four times the size of Iraq and has almost three times its population. Its military numbers almost 900,000 soldiers and reservists and has long-range missiles that can reach Israel. Iran dominates the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which at least 35 percent of the world's oil is shipped, and could threaten that commerce with its anti-ship cruise missiles, U.S. military officials say."
Bush's Iran Options Limited by Iraq, Perils of War
Bloomberg, 23 January 2006

"Iranian president Mohammad Ahmadinejad is evaluating an all out military response, including closing the Strait of Hormuz, if Iran is attacked by US-led Western powers for its WMD programme. Iran told this plainly in a meeting with Russia last week, adding that the world would have to pay a 'heavy price' for any attack, as it would close the Hormuz and search and apprehend tankers and ships and terminate means of sea communications, even if they were commercial."
Iran threatens to close Hormuz
News Insight, 4 February 2006

"We're there because the fact of the matter is that part of the world controls the world supply of oil, and whoever controls the supply of oil, especially if it were a man like Saddam Hussein, with a large army and sophisticated weapons, would have a stranglehold on the American economy and on — indeed on the world economy."
Dick Cheney, US Secretary of Defense 1990
New York Times, 24 February 2006

"For the world as a whole, oil companies are expected to keep finding and developing enough oil to offset our seventy one million plus barrel a day of oil depletion, but also to meet new demand. By some estimates there will be an average of two per cent annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead along with conservatively a three per cent natural decline in production from existing reserves. That means by 2010 we will need on the order of an additional fifty million barrels a day. So where is the oil going to come from? Governments and the national oil companies are obviously in control of about ninety per cent of the assets. Oil remains fundamentally a government business. While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies, even though companies are anxious for greater access there, progress continues to be slow."
Dick Cheney, Chief Executive of Halliburton, now Vice President of the United States
Speech at London Institute of Petroleum, Autumn Lunch 1999

"'The days of inexpensive, convenient, abundant energy sources are quickly drawing to a close,' according to a recently released US Army strategic report. The report posits that a peak in global oil production looks likely to be imminent, with wide reaching implications for the US Army and society in general... The report, was conducted by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is dated September 2005."
US Army: Peak Oil and the Army's future
Energy Bulletin, 13 March 2006

"The world faces the real threat of a new conflict over oil as China competes with existing world powers for scarce resources to feed its growing economy, according to a report published today. The State of the World 2006, released by the Worldwatch Institute, says that last year China became the second- largest importer of oil, after the US... While environmentalists are concerned about the impact on the world's climate and the drain on its resources, strategists fear that the competition for energy, particularly oil, could destabilise the planet. According to the report, China was nearly self-sufficient in oil in the mid-1990s. But over the past decade its consumption has doubled and it has now overtaken Japan as the second-largest importer of oil, with 3.2 million barrels a day in 2004. It predicts that if the economies of China and India continue to grow at their current rate, the world will not be able to produce enough oil to meet demand by 2050, when consumption will have grown from the current 85 million barrels a day to 200 million barrels. 'Few geologists believe that output will reach even half those levels before beginning to decline,' the report says. As a result China is already looking for new oil suppliers from Siberia to Sudan, often dealing with notorious regimes, such as the junta in Burma. Of even greater concern is the possibility that open conflict could break out between nations competing for resources or trying to protect their supply lines, such as key trade routes, currently patrolled by the US Navy."
'Find a couple of spare planets or face global oil war'
London Times, 12 January 2006

"A mere two months ago, the news of a China-Kazakhstan pipeline agreement, worth US$3.5 billion, raised some eyebrows in the world press, some hinting that China's economic foreign policy may be on the verge of a new leap forward. A clue to the fact that such anticipation may have totally understated the case was last week's signing of a mega-gas deal between Beijing and Tehran worth $100 billion. Billed as the 'deal of the century' by various commentators, this agreement is likely to increase by another $50 to $100 billion, bringing the total close to $200 billion, when a similar oil agreement, currently being negotiated, is inked not too far from now...."
China Rocks the Geopolitical Boat with Iran Oil Deal
Asia Times, 2 December 2004

"A major new alliance is emerging between Iran and China that threatens to undermine U.S. ability to pressure Tehran on its nuclear program, support for extremist groups and refusal to back Arab-Israeli peace efforts. The relationship has grown out of China's soaring energy needs -- crude oil imports surged nearly 40 percent in the first eight months of this year, according to state media -- and Iran's growing appetite for consumer goods for a population that has doubled since the 1979 revolution, Iranian officials and analysts say... Beijing has also provided Iran with advanced military technology, including missile technology, U.S. officials say."
Iran's New Alliance With China Could Cost U.S. Leverage
Washington Post, 17 November 2005

"A leaked Pentagon agenda indicates the defence officials and military scientists are discussing the viability of what are being called mini-nukes. These would form a new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons which can be designed to bore deep underground before exploding, destroying hardened bunkers that might contain weapons of mass destruction...."
US experts debate 'mini-nukes'
BBC Online, 8 August 2003

"The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons.... As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections."
Philip Giraldi, former CIA counter-terrorism officer
American Conservative, 1 August 2005

"Israeli and American officials have admitted collaborating to deploy US-supplied Harpoon cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads in Israel's fleet of Dolphin-class submarines, giving the Middle East's only nuclear power the ability to strike at any of its Arab neighbours. The unprecedented disclosure came as Israel announced that states 'harbouring terrorists' are legitimate targets, responding to Syria's declaration of its right to self-defence should Israel bomb its territory again. According to Israeli and Bush administration officials interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the sea-launch capability gives Israel the ability to target Iran more easily should the Iranians develop their own nuclear weapons."
Israel deploys nuclear arms in submarines
Observer, 12 October 2003

"This comfortable world, as we have known it, is coming to a crucial turning point. And energy, specifically the cost and security of energy supply, lies at the apex of this turning point.... So, while some of the problems, such as Kyoto, have had much attention, others, such as the long-term security of energy supply upon which our prosperity has depended, have been neglected. Now, suddenly, new risks are appearing on the horizon. There are new dangers that could alter our quality of life over the next 20 years. They could put at risk the comfortable social order we have created for ourselves, to which most of the rest of the world has been conditioned to aspire. A key factor in the changing balances of world energy is Russia.... So perhaps we should heed some distant storm warnings. Perhaps we should be concerned when Russia and China seem to be coming to recognise the scale of opportunity that a strategic partnership can offer them in terms of energy security and global influence? And when the US Department of Energy forecasts that, by 2020, the annual shortfall in Opec oil production, against global demand, will exceed the biggest-ever production of Saudi Arabia, the traditional swing producer. And when we expect Canadian gas exports to the US to dwindle and shortly cease because of the need for energy for the processing of tar sands.... What we believe to have been the definitive triumph of the Western democratic way over the sterile misery of the Soviet system may be turning out not to have been the victorious end of the Cold War after all, but just one battle in an unending struggle for global power and influence. The key weapon in the battle lines now being drawn is energy. Even if market forces prevail in setting costs of oil and gas, it seems clear that having so heavily depleted its own relatively low-cost hydrocarbon reserves, the OECD will have no influence over the supply or over the very much higher future costs of that supply."
Energy question may spell end of the good life for the West
London Times, 27 December 2005