Well, 200 Mossad agents prove it isn't _just_ about oil but the US army _has_ become the central asian oil bonanza's pipeline police. If anybody wondered how Cheney as CEO of Halliburton could operate in those volatile regions and still say: "You've got to go where the oil is,(...)I don't worry about it a lot," well they've got their answer. Cheney wasn't worrying because by the time the oil was in the pipes, he knew he'd be the shadow leader of the Dubya junta and he'd simply send in the cavalry. Obviously, he also knew he'd have the requisite excuse, i.e. S11.
Hakki
http://huknews.hoovers.com/fp.asp?layout=displaynews&doc_id=NR20020308670.2_ e94e0005c4fa1ba6
U.S. military in Georgia Will Increase Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Security SAADET ORUC, Ankara - Turkish Daily News 03/07/2002
The U.S. military deployment in Georgia is tied to the demands of the oil and insurance companies involved in the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, analysts say.
According to experts, the insurance companies were demanding a security guarantee for the pipeline.
Commenting that Georgia was the short-term route for Caspian oil reserves, while Afghanistan was the long-term route for energy reserves, authorities have stated that every step taken in these two states has been linked to oil-politics.
The most important mission of the U.S. military deployment will be the enhancement of the security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route, analysts say, while the Armenian route for the pipeline has been completely shelved.
The Armenian diaspora has been pressing for the transportation of Caspian oil through Armenia, an option which has been strongly opposed by Ankara and Baku.
It was demanded that transportation revenues for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline be paid and the insurance companies have also demanded a security guarantee for the pipeline.
British Petroleum (BP) and British insurance companies are involved in the Baku-Ceyhan project and have put pressure on governments to lift barriers to the pipeline.
Turkey has been optimistic about the U.S. military involvement in Georgia.