Re: [A-List] Oil Addiction: The World in Peril - 5

["tony black" <tal@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy Chomat's work, but I am compelled to
comment that his review, such as it is, of the Iran / Iraq War and of the
1991 Gulf War (the 1991 Gulf Massacre) is at best politically naive; at
worst a complete travesty...

Tony


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Totten" <shimogamo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "A-List" <a-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 2:32 AM
Subject: [A-List] Oil Addiction: The World in Peril - 5


> by Pierre Chomat (Universal Publishers, 2004)
>
> translated from the French by Pamela Gilbert-Snyder
>
>
> Part I. Man's Egosystems
>
> Chapter 5. The Oil Addicts go to Market
>
> How did our excessive appetite for ergamines become a problem for
humanity? Only
> ten years ago, this question would not have received much attention -
although
> many countries had already taken up arms to satisfy that appetite.
>
> One would think that the world's disadvantaged, way off over there
somewhere -
> the ones we barely know about - must look at the way we live and wonder
how
> anyone can behave so carelessly. Perhaps they are amazed that we take
airplanes
> at the drop of a hat, sometimes just to satisfy some vague curiosity. Or
that we
> like to show off our superiority by parading around in SUVs, perched high
above
> the rest. Or that we live in huge houses while they, for the most part,
have to
> be content with shelters lacking all conveniences. Or that we illuminate
the sky
> over Las Vegas with millions of electric lights, just for fun. Or that we
roar
> around on snowmobiles over the hideouts of hibernating bears, badgers, and
> squirrels in national parks where we pretend that Nature still reigns
supreme.
> Or that we make a deafening noise with our leaf blowers, just to push a
few dead
> leaves off into the street.
>
> We may be ready to admit in the West that we have taken our energy
consumption
> way too far. We may even be ready to admit that our mania for automating
> everything around us has become downright eccentric. But it seems we still
have
> trouble accepting that our oil-addicted lifestyle is threatening our very
future.
>
> The abundance of the petroleum reserves we have discovered so far has led
us to
> believe that energy is Nature's gift to Man. These incredible reserves of
power,
> stored within the Earth for so long as if waiting just for us, have
certainly
> given us some strange habits. We have been unable to adequately grasp just
how
> much we really use them and how precious they are. We have not relied
solely on
> Nature's renewable energy sources - wind and water - for many, many years.
By
> relying on the Earth's stores of fossil materials, which can be renewed
only
> over millions of years, we are living beyond the means of our globe! Worse
yet,
> most of the industrialized nations now depend on far-off
hydrocarbon-producing
> nations to meet their domestic energy needs, which have become gargantuan.
> Western Europe and Japan have been in this situation for some time. The
United
> States, which once had its own rich reserves of oil and natural gas, has
also
> reached this stage.
>
> The industrialized world has placed itself in a situation of dependency.
Its
> strength is based on weakness!
>
> The first danger we face due to this paradoxical dilemma is an ongoing
one: our
> society, high on energy, has to continually mobilize its modern-day
centurions
> in the constant search for oil. The slogans of my dream come to mind:
"Find the
> oil and bring it to us! Wherever it may be!" and "I Vroom, Therefore I
Am!"
>
> Another more insidious - and equally alarming - complication is that the
> ergamine, as it dies, does not vanish without a trace. The carbon dioxide
gas
> that it releases, which we negligently allow to escape into the
atmosphere, is
> not just "passing through"; it is here to stay! We will talk more about
this in
> the chapter entitled "The Earth's New Cloak".
>
> Sometimes countries that claim to be rich, despite not having easy access
to the
> fuel needed to maintain their industrial standing, adopt very aggressive
energy
> policies toward the oil-producing nations. I saw this firsthand, between
1975
> and 1978 in the Middle East. At that time I was closely involved in the
> development of the petroleum reserves of Iran, but my work took me also
often to
> Iraq. This gave me the opportunity to witness the implementation of the
> industrialized nations' geopolitical strategies in and around the Persian
Gulf.
>
> The Gulf region may seem to some to be nothing more than an immense market
for
> ergamines. But the Middle East is much more than oil. Some of
civilization's
> oldest and most inspiring historical sites are located in this region.
>
> The history of Persia is visible in its ancient glorious monuments. The
Chogha
> Zanbil ziggurat in the land of the Elamites, the palace at Persepolis,
and,
> nearer to our time, the Isfahan palaces and Shiraz rose gardens, where
Saadi
> wrote his poetry: all were extremely important to the development of
Western
> civilization.
>
> Thanks to Firdausi, Omar Khayyam, Saadi, Hafiz and some other Persian
writers,
> it is still possible to conjure up the memory of the palaces and gardens
of
> ancient Persia.
>
> That castle once
> claimed to rival
> the whirling
> heavens.
>
> How many Kings
> have fallen
> prostrate
> at its doors?
>
> And on its ramparts
> now a ringdove sits
> and mourns.
>
> - Omar Khayyam {4}
>
>
> Iraq's history, even more than Iran's, is directly linked to our Western
past;
> its history is that of Mesopotamia, where our culture had its first
stirrings.
> Traveling across that country, I could not escape the feeling that I was
> traveling back in time. In Sumer, I could sense the bustle of the world's
first
> cities, Ubaid, Ur, and Uruk, and I caught a glimmer of our present
civilization.
> Walking along the stone walls eroded by time, I "heard" the sound of
chiselers
> engraving the first lines of writing ever set down in the West. Thanks to
them,
> the Sumerians and Akkadians still speak to us.
>
> In ancient Babylon, I imagined Hammurabi discussing his code of laws. On
the
> banks of the Euphrates, I "saw" Queen Semiramis in her gardens presiding
over a
> reception in honor of some mysterious emissary. I trod lightly, not
wishing to
> disturb her ...
>
> In 1978, Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. His
Islamic
> revolution was largely the result of the years of exploitation Iran had
suffered
> at the hands of Europe and the United States.
>
> In 1980, a conflict between Iraq and Iran erupted in a war which lasted up
to
> 1988. It claimed millions of lives, all of them unfortunate citizens
reduced to
> dust to satisfy Saddam Hussein's policy of war, which not many Iranians or
> Iraqis, beyond the Sovereign of Baghdad's faithful few, even knew about.
And yet
> this war was about oil. For, in fact, Saddam was seeking control of the
rich oil
> fields of Iran's Khuzestan province, which borders Iraq. In 1990, he tried
again,
> this time invading Kuwait. Given the importance of this tiny country's oil
to
> the Northern hemisphere, the United States and Europe could not stand idly
by
> and watch this act of aggression; they had to do everything they could to
rout
> the Iraqi troops. Once again many Iraqi soldiers and civilians paid with
their
> lives for this latest incursion on the part of their master. Perhaps
one-third
> of the Iraqi soldiers who took part in those battles now lie buried in the
> desert.
>
> Let us return later to those dramatic events, which were never clearly
explained
> to the world. Saddam Hussein's excesses were attributed sometimes to the
actions
> of a power-mad individual, sometimes to an attack against an Islamic
> fundamentalist regime, sometimes to a great Satan. These judgments were
> obviously made with little reflection. The truth is not so simple. It lies
> elsewhere. The Iraqis, Iranians and Kuwaitis who died in these wars gave
their
> lives for the control of oil.
>
> And when I hear the word "oil", I cannot help but think of the nations of
the
> Northern hemisphere. They are the ones who give black gold its excessive
value.
> Even though Saddam Hussein behaved with murderous aggression in seeking to
> secure more reserves of this fabulous elixir, we cannot completely
exonerate the
> West for its share of responsibility in these conflicts. All of us, in
Europe,
> Japan, and America, who benefit from the Middle East's hydrocarbons, share
> responsibility for what occurred there. The West's great interest in the
> petroleum of the Persian Gulf was profoundly disrupting these countries'
> histories. Oil confers great economic power on the industrialized nations,
but
> it also makes them just as powerfully dependent on the Middle East.
However,
> such dependency has also changed the entire direction of this region, and
its
> peoples' way of thinking. The source of Saddam Hussein's murderous madness
lies
> at least partly in the West. That is where he acquired weapons for his
wars, at
> any rate.
>
> Then, in 2003, the West entered into another conflict with Iraq, a war
> instigated by the American government. Why, once again, would men risk
being
> blown apart by missiles in this region? Why was another American general
bound
> for glory?
>
> When the plan to attack was announced, my first reaction was that this was
> completely unacceptable and the words of an Iraqi I had met in Baghdad
during
> the 1970s came to mind.
>
> "In the developing nations", he said, "the future is still mired in the
past.
> For years we have made great plans, formulated the best resolutions;
sometimes
> we have even written beautiful constitutions for our citizens. But history
does
> not respect them. We cannot leave our past behind because we are in denial
as to
> who we really are. Our plans have no basis, because our leaders' goals are
> constantly at odds with the interests of the wealthy nations. Our plans
are only
> fairy tales. Our future does not belong to us."
>
> Thirty years later, I suddenly felt as if I were finally grasping the full
> import of his words. In 2003, Iraq was officially considered an
independent
> nation; it was even a "republic" with representatives "elected" by the
people.
> But in reality these people did not possess the thing that was most
essential to
> them - the freedom to make their own decisions regarding matters that
directly
> concerned them. The tragedy Iraq was about to experience had been
organized
> according to the needs of foreign interests. This war served the interests
of
> the United States, above all, as well as England and a few other
countries, but
> certainly not the interests of the Iraqi people. Without a doubt, the
history of
> Iraq still does not belong to the Iraqi people.
>
> As the days went by, it became increasingly clear that the United States
> intended to make Iraq one of its guaranteed oil suppliers, like Saudi
Arabia.
> This strategy was apparent in all of the news, so carefully distilled by
the
> American media day after day. The battle to be launched against Saddam
Hussein,
> the "evil" master of Baghdad, was an ideal alibi. At the most official
levels,
> Hussein was depicted as an imminent threat, even though the CIA clearly
had
> trouble delivering the necessary arguments to support its government's
thesis.
>
> The American government reported that Saddam Hussein had thumbed his nose
at
> international conventions, but it failed to mention that the United States
was
> doing the same. It had rejected any form of agreement to attempt to slow
global
> warming. It had not signed the 1997 Geneva Convention prohibiting the
production
> and storage of landmines. It had withdrawn from the anti-ballistic missile
> treaty with Moscow. It was even refusing to submit to the jurisdiction of
the
> International Court of Justice in The Hague.
>
> Washington claimed that pre-emptive action - in reality, a "preventive
war" -
> was the way to stop terrorism, although there was not a shred of evidence
that
> Iraq had participated, directly or indirectly, in the attacks on New York
of
> September 11 2001, to which the US government referred unabashedly in its
> justifications.
>
> It was difficult to understand how, in the 21st century, the government of
a
> democratic nation could still twist information so easily to manipulate
its own
> people. When you live far from North America, you tend to believe that the
> United States is the land of total political transparency - that its words
and
> actions are even somewhat naive. If that had ever been the case, it was no
> longer so. The government was lying to its own people, manipulating
information
> to suit its purposes. The six groups that own the majority of the
country's
> fifteen hundred daily newspapers {5} assisted their president in this
task. An
> American citizen who wanted to know how the nation's intellectuals were
reacting
> to the president had no alternative but to turn to specialized or foreign
media.
> Like other American intellectuals at the end of 2002, university professor
and
> author Michael Klare had to rely on the European press {6} to make his
opinions
> known.
>
> By this time, it was clear that we were witnessing the attempt of an
> oil-addicted nation to secure its ergamine markets, and that the war that
the
> American government was preparing against Iraq served a strategy that
certain
> events, real or fabricated, had given it the opportunity to implement.
There was
> no longer any doubt that this war had been in the making for some time,
that it
> was a way to satisfy the great American machine's insatiable appetite for
energy.
> The United States Army was being sent into combat as part of the nation's
energy
> strategy. The United States was heading to Iraq, preceded by missiles, to
secure
> its oil market.
>
> To disguise its aggression, the United States government was talking about
> national security and whipping up a frenzy of fear among its citizens in
order
> to hide the truth and to instill a feeling of hatred for the Iraqi
leaders. And
> we all know what happened next.
>
> The energy we draw from the Earth is no longer merely our source of
well-being,
> our way of life. It is much, much more. It is almost the sole guarantor of
power
> for the countries of the Northern hemisphere; it is certainly the
guarantor of
> United States supremacy. These nations are forced to acquire from
countries
> beyond their borders the magic potion that constitutes their strength. And
they
> are doing it! Without scruple! Their might justifies their right!
>
> It is sad beyond words.
>
>
> Notes
>
> {4} Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat.
>
> {5} "Matters of Scale: The American Way of Choice",
> World Watch Magazine, (March-April 2001): 19
>
> {6} Le Monde Diplomatique, Paris, France, November 2002.
>
>
> Bill Totten     http://billtotten.blogspot.com/
>
>
>
>