June 8, 2006
WITH OR AGAINST?:
US bypasses Russia with BP pipeline (Adrian Blomfield, 09/06/2006, Daily Telegraph)
Washington scored a significant victory in its contest with Moscow for influence in Central Asia yesterday when Kazakhstan agreed to start pumping oil to the West through a British Petroleum pipeline that bypasses Russia and Iran.Posted by Orrin Judd at June 8, 2006 11:51 PMThe deal, secured largely because of a personal visit to Kazakhstan last month by Dick Cheney, the United States vice-president, will infuriate the Kremlin.
But there will be secret relief in European capitals, where there is growing concern over Russia's apparent willingness to use its vast energy supplies as a political weapon.
Interesting-He's no stranger there. Mr. Cheney's ties to Kazakhstan go back to when he was CEO of Halliburton. He made two official visits when I was there in early ninety-six.
Posted by: Tom Wall at June 9, 2006 12:35 AMOur options are multitudinal, theirs aren't. It's a wonder they can't comprehend that simple fact.
Posted by: erp at June 9, 2006 8:38 AMSupposedly 70+% of the Russians want Putin to stay past 2008 (breaking his promise to leave at the end of his term); via CaptainsQuarters.
Posted by: jim hamlen at June 9, 2006 11:37 AM