Source:
CounterCurrents
F. William Engdahl’s book, "A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order", is reviewed in-depth by Stephen Lendman so readers will know the type of future Henry Kissinger had in mind in 1970 when he said: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people." February 2008.
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BACKGROUND
Oil is the most powerful industry in the world. It fuels manufacturing, agriculture and transportation. Petrodollar flows shape the global financial system.
Many wars have been waged out and are still being fought all over the world to ensure corporate control over oil. Oil is power and power needs to control oil. Behind the names of presidents and dictators are the names of much more powerful actors: Exxon/Mobil, Chevron/Texaco, Shell, British Petroleum, Elf.
A government is toppled by armed opposition in a country in the South and coverage of the story only reports on the local hatred between factions and almost never the corporations and foreign governments backing each of the sides. In many cases, the actors behind the scenes are oil companies. In Venezuela, an elected president has had to face a coup and a general strike because he is sitting on top of a sea of oil and is not perceived as being sufficiently friendly to the US oil establishment.
But oil is not only behind civil wars, coups d'etat and presidential campaigns. Oil is also responsible for countless "low-intensity" wars, that destroy entire communities throughout the world and particularly in the tropics. Many indigenous and other local communities have been wiped off the map or have had to face enormous hardship due to the environmental destruction resulting from oil exploration and exploitation in their territories, as well as from the widespread violation of their human rights. From Ecuador to Nigeria and from Indonesia to Chad, "black gold" has been a curse to local peoples and their environments.
Governments of the world have made some attempts at addressing this issue. They signed and ratified the Convention on Climate Change and its related Kyoto Protocol. Similarly to what happened recently in the United Nations Security Council in relation to Irak, one government -representing the interests of oil corporations-decided not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol because it would affect its interests. This one country -the United States- happens to be the world's number one culprit in CO2 emissions and home to the most powerful oil corporations in the world. It is thus responsible for most of the past and present oil wars.
Big Oil also dominates the Bush administration. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and many other top-ranking officials in the administration have been top corporate oil executives or have longstanding ties to the industry.
F. William Engdahl is a leading researcher, economist and analyst of the New World Order who's written on issues of energy, politics and economics for over 30 years. His book "A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order" it's breathtaking in scope and content, and a shocking and essential history of geopolitics and strategic importance of oil. The book is reviewed in-depth so readers will know the type of future Henry Kissinger had in mind in 1970 when he said: "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control people." February 2008.
Exxon (called Esso in Europe), Shell, BP (British Petroleum), Gulf, Texaco, Mobile and Socol-Chevron. Together they form part of a major network of interlocking, interfacing banks, insurance companies and brokerage houses controlled by the Committee of 300, which are hardly known outside their circle.
A short history of this cartel of non-Arabian oil companies, which controls what is shipped to the United States, and how much is refined into gas and heating oil, and which are interlinked through their joint ownership of the major crude oil production companies, and also have links to eight of the largest banks.
By the end of the 1960s, in spite of opposition from OPEC and the competition from intruders, the seven sisters were still the dominant powers in world oil.
Information on oil corporations including details of each company's personnel, office locations, industry areas, lobbying activities, corporate crimes and links to further information.
An organization that counters corporate-led globalization through education, network-building and activism and works to foster democratic control over corporations.
The creation of this network was inspired by the need to develop global strategies for communities affected by oil activities and to support the resistance processes of communities that do not want to see their territories affected, to work for sustainability and collective rights.
The Bolivian Environment and Development Forum is an umbrella organization of the Bolivian socio-environmental movement, and includes social and environmentalist organizations, academic institutions and individuals who work at the community level to defend their environment and natural resources. In Spanish.
An organization supporting the struggle against injustice and ecological destruction. Their project 'Action for Community and Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America' includes analysis of Plan Puebla Panama, Colombia and the FTAA.
A project of the Institute for Policy Studies (Washington, DC) and the Transnational Institute (Amsterdam), SEEN works in partnership with citizen groups nationally and globally on environment, human rights and development issues with a particular focus on energy, climate change, environmental justice, and economic issues, particularly as these play out in North/South relations.
Federation of autonomous environmental organizations from 66 countries, campaigning on the most urgent environmental and social issues, while simultaneously catalyzing a shift toward sustainable societies.
The oil company Burlington Resources of Houston is attempting to exploit oil in the pristine Amazon rainforest against the will of the people of the area, and in violation of Ecuadorian and International law.
An industry lobby group, the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), was formed to spread the notion that global warming is a dangerous myth. Until recently, the GCC was the main voice of the oil industry at climate negotiations and in key capital cities.
This study examines the relationship in between oil and debt. It is based on data on 161 countries for the period 1991-2002, and collected further data on 88 developing countries for the period 1970-2000 for use in a statistical model of debt burdens. (PDF document). July 2005.
A large body of evidence suggests that rich oil resources obstruct democracy and equitable economic growth in developing countries because of a lack of transparency, and therefore accountability, in oil revenues paid by oil companies to governments. Human rights implications of the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises in conflict zones, “failed states” and repressive regimes have drawn increased public attention, concern and scrutiny in recent years. The increase in oil exploration in Africa by multinational oil companies has raised the profile of the debate questioning the oil industry's contribution to development in the South. In some countries of Latin America there is a long history of opposition to oil exploitation, because of its serious environmental and social impacts, and human rights violations.
Below is a list of the corporations represented in the Bush White House. You won’t find every cabinet member or senior adviser listed here. Education Secretary Rod Paige, for example, was a school superintendent in Houston before coming to Washington. Senior adviser Karl Rove and counselor to the president, Karen Hughes, have political backgrounds. Environmental Protection Agency head Christine Todd Whitman, the former New Jersey governor, raised most of her campaign money within the state. But those on Bush’s staff who don’t have extensive corporate connections are the exception, not the rule. You may click on individuals' names for a complete list of their corporate connections.
According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force was interested in Iraq's oil industry in early 2001. The documents prove Cheney’s interest in specific foreign companies pursuing business in Iraq. The documents also contain detailed maps of Iraq's oil fields, terminals and pipelines.
Since Dick Cheney became a candidate for Vice President, many journalists have focused on his mixed financial record as CEO of Halliburton, and his enormous retirement package. Few have investigated Dick Cheney's role in influencing foreign policy for the benefit of the company.
After years with a low profile, thanks to stable prices and ample supply, the oil industry -along with the rest of the energy business- is back in the spotlight.
After a 35 year wait, American and British oil corporations are on the verge of securing control of Iraq's vast oil reserves. Becca Fisher reveals how the unholy alliance of Big Oil, government and the IMF is getting closer to its goal of reconstructing the Iraqi state to gain secure oil supplies. April 2007.
Oil extraction has been a curse for most people living in oil-rich countries in the Global South and has worsened poverty, rather than reduced it. Where oil is extracted there are regular patterns of conflict and human rights abuses; air, water and land pollution; and governments insulated by oil money and un-accountable to their populations. If the G8 is serious about tackling climate change it should stop subsidising oil operations under the guise of 'development' grants.
Much scrutiny of the ongoing U.S. presidential race has focussed on the personal fortunes amassed by President George W Bush and his challenger Senator John Kerry. But millions of dollars from other sources are also at play behind the scenes, including from major actors in the U.S. oil and gas industry.
Scheduled to begin working in 2005, the pipeline from the Caspian Sea port of Baku, in Azerbaijan, to Ceyhan, in Turkey, is expected to bring in more than £65m annually to the regions through which it passes. But there are doubts about whether the money generated will benefit people and the environment in the area - or simply corrupt officials among the "corridor" governments.
The planned extraction, by Occidental of 2 billion barrels of oil from an area of Colombian rainforest threatens both the forest and the survival of the U'wa people, an indigenous Colombian tribe who have repeatedly requested that the company pull out of the project and leave them alone.
In a joint statement, trade union leaders rejected plans to "hand control" over Iraq's oil production to foreign companies "whose aim is to make big profits at the expense of the Iraqi people, and to rob the national wealth, according to long-term, unfair contracts, that undermine the sovereignty of the state and the dignity of the Iraqi people." The US has repeatedly been calling for a law to encourage foreign investment in Iraq's oil. January 2007.
OilWatch and the member organizations of Ecuador and Nigeria are calling a boycott against Chevron-Texaco, to punish this company for the environmental damage and human rights abuses committed during its operations in Nigeria and Ecuador.
The Colombia Solidarity Campaign is committed to exposing BP's corporate crimes in Colombia. These have included environmental damage, arming and training local police forces in counter-insurgency methods, collusion with paramilitaries and refusing to compensate thousands of peasants forced off their lands by the activities of BP.
Evaluation of the development impacts of the World Bank Group’s support for oil, mining, and gas projects worldwide. A call for a strong message from civil society.
It’s nearly ten years after Nigerian activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) were hanged on the morning of 10 November, 1995. Present day Nigeria faces fresh protests in Saro-Wiwa’s stomping ground of the Niger Delta over authoritarian rule and the plunder of the environment by big oil companies. October 2005.
