Chinese Press Discussing U.S. War Against Terrorism

        Oil and Gas - The true objective
        of an U.S. war against terrorism



        Zhu JinGuo / Yang Shu

        Until recently and in the wake of an increased U.S. military presence
        in that region, Central Asia's important strategical position, going
        together with abundant natural resources of oil and gas in the Caspian
        Sea, is offering a commercial perspective. A perspective, increasingly
        turned into the focal point of interest of an international auditorium,
        while the exportation line of Caspian oil and gas has become a popular
        topic of conversation in all countries concerned. The U.S.A., Russia,
        Western Europe and Japan, as well as some neighbouring Islamic countries,
        one after the other included Caspian oil in their own strategic plan of
        energy resources development. However, all of them showed a different
        intensity in entering the Caspian area. Surpassing a boundless commercial
        opportunity, stored in that region, it is obvious that there are further
        political long-terme benefits related to it.
        ............................................
        At the beginning of the 1990s, America had started to consider the      note:
        draft for an Afghanistan project. An "U.S. Californian United Oil       Chinese expression
        Company" was directly involved in the planning and execution of that    hinting at  SHELL,
        project. A pipeline needed to be planned and laid from Turkmenistan,    though CHEVRON had
        passing through Afghanistan and finally reaching the Pakistani town of  been involved too.
        Karachi. Later, it should be extended into India, such, carrying the
        abundant natural gas from Turkmenistan to the Indian Ocean. In those
        years, the U.S. tacitly approved the Taliban regime who, to a very
        high degree, achieved an early end of the civil war in Afghanistan,
        such enabling the country to regain unity as quickly as possible. At
        the same time, the passageway through Central Asia should be knocked
        open as fast as possible. The Afghanistan programme, having achieved
        the outflow of Caspian oil, would then put the U.S.A. in a favourable
        position, in their rivalry with Russia over the controlling power of
        Caspian natural resources.
        ............................................
        It is usually considered, that if turmoil of war and the poison of
        terrorism are earnestly kept away from Afghanistan, the development
        of a social economy might enter the right path, and the Afghanistan
        project might gain hope of being realized. Abundant natural resources
        of oil and gas from the Caspian Sea might then successfully pass
        through Afghanistan, flow into Pakistan and reach the Indian Ocean.
        Such is the U.S. war against terrorism, leading to the next step of
        willfully making Central Asia a permanent location, reminding an
        international community of just another homeland. Hence, the true
        aim of that U.S. war against terrorism are the natural resources of
        oil and gas in Central Asia.

    
   
  Excerpt from RENMIN RIBAO / PEOPLE'S DAILY, 13/05/2002, regarded as the
  semiofficial voice of the Peking government. complete text in Chinese
  English version by Wolfgang Wiesner, publisher of BLUEPRINT magazine.

  It should be remembered that People's China is a neighbouring country of
  Afghanistan and owns some enormous resources of natural gas, to be found
  in the bordering region of Tibet as well as in Mongolia.
  Further articles on the Axis of Evil can be found in the English edition
  of People's Daily.