Assalamu'alaikum,

Expert claims oil interests ruined U.S.-Taliban talks

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20011128wo41.htm

Jean Serror Yomiuri Shimbun Paris Bureau

Protecting the interests of U.S. oil giants led the United States to
misunderstand the complex situation in Afghanistan and eventually caused
negotiations with the Taliban regime over Osama bin Laden to collapse,
according to a book published in France earlier this month.

Guillaume Dasquie, an investigative journalist and coauthor of the book,
"Bin Laden: The Forbidden Truth," explained to The Yomiuri Shimbun how
U.S. officials antagonized the Taliban regime in a year-long dialogue by
uncomprisingly calling on the Taliban to give up power and hand over bin
Laden.

The Yomiuri Shimbun interviewed Dasquie recently in Paris.

Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you assess the influence of the oil industry on
the George W. Bush administration's policy in Afghanistan?

Dasquie: Although we have no direct evidence on how oil companies
interfered in U.S. diplomacy, a basic element must be taken into account:
Oil companies were the main contributors to George W. Bush's presidential
campaign, and key persons in his administration have come from the oil
industry. For instance, Condoleezza Rice, his national security adviser,
is a former director for Chevron, where, notably, she was in charge of
Kazakh affairs.

During the negotiations that started soon after Bush's presidential
inauguration, it became clear that his administration's first priority was
the control of the Afghan ruling regime, not the bin Laden issue. At that
time, the United States expected the Al-Qaida leader would be tried in
Saudi Arabia because if he was extradited to the United States it would
lead to riots among the people of Muslim countries.

The U.S. officials were in contact with the Taliban through Laila Helms,
niece of former Central Intelligence Agency Director Richard Helms, and an
unofficial Taliban representative in Washington. At the same time, in a
two-pronged policy, the United States pressed for sanctions in the United
Nations, whose special envoy Francesco Vendrell had regular talks with the
Afghan factions in the frame of the so-called six-plus-two
group--Afghanistan's neighbors plus the United States and Russia. The U.S.
administration hoped the U.N. process would lead the Taliban to present a
more acceptable face to the international scene. That is why they
supported Vendrell's contacts with the exiled former King Zahir Shah,
which date back to April, long before the current crisis.

Why do you believe there is a link between these negotiations and the
Sept. 11 bombings?

The U.S. officials sent a strong message to the Taliban: "Share power with
the king and expel bin Laden." This only pushed the Taliban to radicalize
its attitude. U.S. policymakers proved irresponsibly blind. They did not
understand how strongly bin Laden was tied politically with Taliban leader
Mullah Mohammed Omar. Furthermore, the U.S. administration had envisioned
a military solution in Afghanistan, and they made it clear to the Taliban
officials at some point in the talks.

So, the Sept. 11 attacks can be seen as Al-Qaida's response to U.S.
blindness. Al-Qaida had nothing to win from the Afghanistan-U.S. talks and
needed to drive the Taliban toward a holy war against the United States.
Al-Qaida had no interest in the political process. They aimed only at
cutting short the negotiations and cementing the Muslims against the
Western world.

According to your investigations, the U.S. administration started
negotiations with the Taliban more than a year before the Sept. 11 attack.
What were the purposes of the talks?

In 1993-94, Western countries began to realize the importance of energy
resources in the soil of Central Asian countries, particularly Kazakhstan.
They became more aware of the situation in Afghanistan, which has always
been regarded as a key to control the region.

Seeking a strong regime in Afghanistan, the Western countries had Saudi
Arabia, a country of Sunni influence like Afghanistan, choose from among
the Pashtun, Afghanistan's main ethnic group, those who could seize power
after years of civil war. That is why the Taliban emerged, with the help
of funds provided by the U.S. and Saudi oil giants--Unocal and Delta Oil.
Talks between the United States and the Taliban started cautiously under
the Clinton administration. But the tone of the talks became different
with the Bush administration.

In your book you extensively described the links between Saudi Arabia and
bin Laden's organization. Do you think Saudi Arabia should be added to the
U.S. list of terrorist-supporting states?

Saudi Arabian clerics are the main sponsors of radical Islamic terrorist
groups around the world. So, even if the government is not directly
involved, Saudi Arabia should be put on such a list. Those clerics
administer millions of so-called zakat, voluntary contributions all
Muslims are supposed to pay. The funds--about 10 million dollars a
year--are officially used to provide help for the world's Muslims, mostly
through nongovernmental organizations. But part of this money is given to
political groups who support terrorist organizations like Al-Qaida. Last
summer, we met with John O'Neill, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation
antiterrorism official, who had just resigned to protest the reluctance of
U.S. diplomats to confront Saudi Arabia.

"All the answers, all the keys to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization
can be found in Saudi Arabia," he told us. But he complained that the FBI
was not free in investigating international terrorist networks because of
repeated interference by the State Department to protect oil interests.
After his resignation, O'Neill became chief of security of the Twin
Towers, where he was killed on Sept. 11.

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