Michael Pugliese, getting kinda cranky in his middle age!
P.S. Here is PJB reply to Washington Post "smear". http://www.buchanan.org/pa-00-0724-edsall.html And Justin Raimondo of www.antiwar.com from the 24th, on Paul Krugman, Nader and PJB. http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a397cf00402ca.htm
Source: Austin American-Statesman Published: July 13, 1997 Author: David B. Ottaway, Dan Morgan Posted on 07/24/2000 18:40:20 PDT by Wallaby Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Caspian oil draws crowd of ex-Washington heavyweights David B. Ottaway, Dan Morgan Austin American-Statesman; Insight; Pg. J6 July 13, 1997 WASHINGTON -- The last great oil rush of the 20th century -- targeted at a potential $4 trillion patch in Central Asia's Caspian Sea region -- has lured a prestigious group of U.S. prospectors: former high-ranking government officials bent on winning a stake in the bonanza for themselves or their companies.
Adding a sense of intrigue, former Maj. Gen. Richard Secord, chief covert operative for Oliver North in the Iran-contra scandal, reportedly has been sighted in Baku.
These men are working together for policy changes that they say are needed to put U.S. companies on an equal footing with foreign competitors in Azerbaijan, a small nation that is at the center of a vast untapped oil basin. Involved in the effort are two former national security advisers, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski; former White House chief of staff John Sununu; Defense Secretary Richard Cheney and Secretary of State James Baker from the Bush administration; and Lloyd Bentsen, a former Texas senator who also served as treasury secretary under President Clinton. The involvement of these heavyweights has escalated an intense lobbying and public relations campaign in Washington. American oil companies hope to ease restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, allowing them to secure U.S. government-backed loans and financial assistance as they tap into fields believed to hold as much as 200 billion barrels, more oil than any region outside the Persian Gulf. The restrictions were passed by Congress in 1992 to protest Azerbaijan's blockade of its fellow former Soviet republic, Armenia. For many of these old Cold Warriors, the Caspian oil boom has provided a unique opportunity to help a former Soviet republic buttress its independence from Russia while taking advantage of a business opportunity. Scowcroft, for example, was paid $100,000 in 1996 by Pennzoil Co. for consulting on special international projects,'' according to the firm's latest annual report. The former Bush adviser also earned a $30,000 director's fee from the company, which is a partner in the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, the main foreign oil consortium in Azerbaijan. Scowcroft confirmed in an interview that he advises Pennzoil on its Caspian project but said his interest in the region stems from larger concerns.
Cheney is chairman of Halliburton Inc., an oil services firm operating in the Caspian fields.
I'm a big booster of Azerbaijan because the United States has big interests out there,'' he said. Azerbaijan International, in which American firms have a 40 percent stake, is a client of the law firm of Baker, while Cheney is chairman of Halliburton Inc., an oil services firm operating in the Caspian fields. Sununu's management consulting firm, JHS Associates, is expected to sign a major contract with Azerbaijan next month. At a May reception in Washington for Azerbaijan's prime minister, Artur Rasizade, Bentsen likened Azerbaijan's struggle for independence to that of his home state of Texas, and beamed as an oil executive presented the prime minister with a pair of shiny Texas cowboy boots. Bentsen is a shareholder in Frontera Resources, an oil services company working in Azerbaijan. Frontera is chaired by fellow Texan William H. White, a former Clinton deputy secretary of energy. Brzezinski is a consultant to Amoco, another Azerbaijan International partner promoting Azerbaijan's cause in Washington. Others with links to the region include former Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Lufkin, who is working with an energy developer.