"The Oil Factor in Somalia"

The first time a George Bush took troops to Somalia, the excuse was a "humanitarian mission." Without knowing any facts, and knowing only Bush's character, I was CERTAIN at the time that whatever we were doing there had nothing to do with humanitarianism.

This time, we're being told it's -- as Jeff Huber so accurately pointed out -- suspected terrorists. Suspected. Not known. Not proven. As the Saturday Night Live Church Lady used to say, "How conveeeenient."

Back in 1993, one of that nearly extinct breed, an investigative reporter named Mark Fineman wrote an amazing piece in the Los Angeles Times on January 18, 1993, titled "The Oil Factor in Somalia." His story was so important that -- typically -- the rest of the media didn't dare touch it with a ten foot pole. Project Censored included it in its year-end list of most underreported stories.

I'll quote liberally, but you should read the whole thing, currently archived at NetNomad:

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Far beneath the surface of the tragic drama of Somalia, four major U.S. oil companies are quietly sitting on a prospective fortune in exclusive concessions to explore and exploit tens of millions of acres of the Somali countryside.
That land, in the opinion of geologists and industry sources, could yield significant amounts of oil and natural gas if the U.S.-led military mission can restore peace to the impoverished East African nation.

According to documents obtained by The Times, nearly two-thirds of Somalia was allocated to the American oil giants Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips in the final years before Somalia's pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the nation plunged into chaos in January, 1991. Industry sources said the companies holding the rights to the most promising concessions are hoping that the Bush Administration's decision to send U.S. troops to safeguard aid shipments to Somalia will also help protect their multimillion-dollar investments there.

Officially, the Administration and the State Department insist that the U.S. military mission in Somalia is strictly humanitarian. Oil industry spokesmen dismissed as "absurd" and "nonsense" allegations by aid experts, veteran East Africa analysts and several prominent Somalis that President Bush, a former Texas oilman, was moved to act in Somalia, at least in part, by the U.S. corporate oil stake.

But corporate and scientific documents disclosed that the American companies are well positioned to pursue Somalia's most promising potential oil reserves the moment the nation is pacified. And the State Department and U.S. military officials acknowledge that one of those oil companies has done more than simply sit back and hope for peace.

Fineman narrowed in on Conoco, out of whose headquarters the "relief" effort was being run:

Conoco Inc., the only major multinational corporation to mantain a functioning office in Mogadishu throughout the past two years of nationwide anarchy, has been directly involved in the U.S. government's role in the U.N.-sponsored humanitarian military effort.
Conoco, whose tireless exploration efforts in north-central Somalia reportedly had yielded the most encouraging prospects just before Siad Barre's fall, permitted its Mogadishu corporate compound to be transformed into a de facto American embassy a few days before the U.S. Marines landed in the capital, with Bush's special envoy using it as his temporary headquarters. In addition, the president of the company's subsidiary in Somalia won high official praise for serving as the government's volunteer "facilitator" during the months before and during the U.S. intervention.

Describing the arrangement as "a business relationship," an official spokesman for the Houston-based parent corporation of Conoco Somalia Ltd. said the U.S. government was paying rental for its use of the compound, and he insisted that Conoco was proud of resident general manager Raymond Marchand's contribution to the U.S.-led humanitarian effort. . . .

But the close relationship between Conoco and the U.S. intervention force has left many Somalis and foreign development experts deeply troubled by the blurry line between the U.S. government and the large oil company, leading many to liken the Somalia operation to a miniature version of Operation Desert Storm, the U.S.-led military effort in January, 1991, to drive Iraq from Kuwait and, more broadly, safeguard the world's largest oil reserves.

"They sent all the wrong signals when Oakley moved into the Conoco compound," said one expert on Somalia who worked with one of the four major companies as they intensified their exploration efforts in the country in the late 1980s.

"It's left everyone thinking the big question here isn't famine relief but oil -- whether the oil concessions granted under Siad Barre will be transferred if and when peace is restored," the expert said. "It's potentially worth billions of dollars, and believe me, that's what the whole game is starting to look like."

Some experts scoff at the idea of Somalia as a major oil player. But a World Bank three-year study showed instead that the region had "high" commercial potential.

Beginni 1986, Conoco, along with Amoco, Chevron, Phillips and, briefly, Shell all sought and obtained exploration licenses for northern Somalia from Siad Barre's government. Somalia was soon carved up into concessional blocs, with Conoco, Amoco and Chevron winning the right to explore and exploit the most promising ones.

The companies' interest in Somalia clearly predated the World Bank study. It was grounded in the findings of another, highly successful exploration effort by the Texas-based Hunt Oil Corp. across the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula nation of Yemen, where geologists disclosed in the mid-1980s that the estimated 1 billion barrels of Yemeni oil reserves were part of a great underground rift, or valley, that arced into and across northern Somalia.Fineman ended his piece quoting a Somali businessman saying:

"Our country is now very weak, and, of course, the American oil companies are very strong. This has to be handled very diplomatically, and I think the American government must move out of the oil business, or at least make clear that there is a definite line separating the two, if they want to maintain a long-term relationship here."As Yogi Berra used to say, it's deja vu all over again.
 

AhmedSmelly

I am an offical nacas. too honest
I was contemplating in making a conspiracy theory. That the british new about the oil reserves in Somalia. Thats the of the reasons they cut Somalia in pieces. From Ogaden region, NFD region, Djibuto and Socotra. They didnt want One Muslim country having too much resources. So they gave a lot of oil reserves to ethiopia, thinking they could easily take it from them afterwards.

It backfired!!

Guess what happened, Ethiopia Brought China to the game. The West got angry and forced Ethiopia to give ONLF 50% of the regional oil reserve using international law. The white man does not care about Muslims Somali. He did it because of spite. Ethiopia had to comply or be invaded.
 

IftiinOfLife

Raw Hard Truth
I was contemplating in making a conspiracy theory. That the british new about the oil reserves in Somalia. Thats the of the reasons they cut Somalia in pieces. From Ogaden region, NFD region, Djibuto and Socotra. They didnt want One Muslim country having too much resources. So they gave a lot of oil reserves to ethiopia, thinking they could easily take it from them afterwards.

It backfired!!

Guess what happened, Ethiopia Brought China to the game. The West got angry and forced Ethiopia to give ONLF 50% of the regional oil reserve using international law. The white man does not care about Muslims Somali. He did it because of spite. Ethiopia had to comply or be invaded.


When you want to be wadani... but qabilism slips in lol.
 

AhmedSmelly

I am an offical nacas. too honest
When you want to be wadani... but qabilism slips in lol.
Dude really, I am the least qabilist in here. I just made the connection after I read about oil in Somalia and Somali regions. I am just saying Ethiopia wouldnt have given the ONLF so much of their oil without the West threatening them.
 

IftiinOfLife

Raw Hard Truth
Dude really, I am the least qabilist in here. I just made the connection after I read about oil in Somalia and Somali regions. I am just saying Ethiopia wouldnt have given the ONLF so much of their oil without the West threatening them.

Can you show me a source where any rebel groups own oil lol.
 

AhmedSmelly

I am an offical nacas. too honest
I am an idiot, I believed some Somalis about the deal Ethiopia and ONLF made. If they get 50% it wont be a lot. Because China is taking 85%. I trusted the geeljire @Teeri-Alpha , f*ck ethiopia and its evil rule. It doesnt even make sense, why would a powerful country bow down to some rebels.

I wasnt like this before, I became like this after reading bullshit somalispot users who dont know how to provide decent sources. f*ck Somalis for giving me hope. Hope for Ogaden to become a rising autonomous Somali region. @IftiinOfLife
 

IftiinOfLife

Raw Hard Truth
I am an idiot, I believed some Somalis about the deal Ethiopia and ONLF made. If they get 50% it wont be a lot. Because China is taking 85%. I trusted the geeljire @Teeri-Alpha , f*ck ethiopia and its evil rule. It doesnt even make sense, why would a powerful country bow down to some rebels.

I wasnt like this before, I became like this after reading bullshit somalispot users who dont know how to provide decent sources. f*ck Somalis for giving me hope. Hope for Ogaden to become a rising autonomous Somali region. @IftiinOfLife

Don't ever trust a retarded tribalist lol.

If their bhakti rebel groups had money, why are they on welfare in the west :ayaanswag:
 

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