U.S. tells India to back off Syria oil deal

[allemand]

NEW DELHI: Taking strong exception to India's recent decision to buy a Syrian oilfield in partnership with China, the United States has asked the Manmohan Singh Government to "reconsider" its proposed investment in Syria.

A demarche to this effect was made earlier this month and an aide memoire outlining Washington's objections handed over to the Ministry of External Affairs by senior diplomats in New Delhi. (...)

It is not known whether the U.S. embassy in Beijing presented a similar note to the Chinese Government. Indian officials say the U.S. has been told the Syrian investment will proceed as planned. (...)

"We are being told whom to do business with and where we should stay away from," a senior Indian official told The Hindu. "Today, it is Iran and Syria, tomorrow it may be Sudan or Myanmar or Venezuela or someplace else. At stake is not just our energy security but also our right to take decisions by ourselves."

http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/28/stories/2006012813250100.htm

[methinks2]

1. why . . .

why do we care where they do business? Do they tell us where to buy our oil?

[arcane1]

2. "we" care...

because our leaders want to invade Syria and control access to said oil

and, of course, reap the profits for themselves

[phantom power]

9. One reason we care is threats to petro-dollar economy

There are no nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons programs, but Iran's economic plans do pose an existential threat to America, and not one that can be simply brushed aside as the unavoidable workings of the free market.

America monopolizes the oil trade. Oil is denominated in dollars and sold on either the NYMEX or London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), both owned by Americans. This forces the central banks around the world to maintain huge stockpiles of dollars even though the greenback is currently underwritten by $8 trillion of debt and even though the Bush administration has said that it will perpetuate the deficit-producing tax cuts.

America's currency monopoly is the perfect pyramid-scheme. As long as nations are forced to buy oil in dollars, the United States can continue its profligate spending with impunity. (The dollar now accounts for 68% of global currency reserves up from 51% just a decade ago) The only threat to this strategy is the prospect of competition from an independent oil exchange; forcing the faltering dollar to go nose-to-nose with a more stable (debt-free) currency such as the euro. That would compel central banks to diversify their holdings, sending billions of dollars back to America and ensuring a devastating cycle of hyper-inflation.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=115&topic_id=39530

[oblivious]

19. An Iranian bourse is not the only threat to this pyramid scheme.

Central banks, particularly in Asia, selling large amounts of US currency, or even stopping the purchase of US dollars, poses the same threat I guess. But as long as the US remains the world's power buyer, this is unlikely to happen.

[sarcasmo]

3. This is the worst Foreign Policy ever in the history of the United States

[radfringe]

12. worst Foreign Policy ever

yeah... it's called the YEEE-HAAAWWWW manifesto

[sarcasmo]

14. It's what happens when you think with your Cowboy hat and two guns.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

15. lol. thats the funniest thing i have heard all day

Yee=haaw manifesto.

[Hardrada]

4. Are we going to invade India now?

We don't have cabinet positions anymore. It is all one big War/Propaganda Department.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. we wont . india was bright enough to ignore us

when we frowned at their developing nukes.

[ClintonTyree]

5. The neighborhood bully.........

"give me your milk money, India"! :spank: And these same people wonder why the world hates us. American imperialism will only be tolerated so far, then a group of countries will band together and kick our ass. Oh, I forgot. We've got god on our side though, so these other countries are shit out of luck. :eyes:

[MrMonk]

6. . . . or else what?

Seriously, what does the misadministration plan to do about it?

[bobthedrummer]

7. Don't forget-China invested in Nigerian oil too after it's bid for Unocal

was rejected-plus China is getting into currency other than dollars--this is economic warfare too.

[formercia]

31. All paid for by selling chap labor to make toys

for the kids' happy meal and every other conceivable waste of petrochemicals. We paid for it. Evert time we buy something that says Made in China, part of it goes to fund their global expansion. Thanks to poppy bush greasing the skids in China.

[leftchick]

8. the chimp thinks he is fucking Cesar Augustus

this is beyond embarrassing. I am sorry the rest of the world.

[movonne]

18. Oh that is good...Love it..

[NoAmericanTaliban]

10. Tell Repukes to boycott India if they do this...

they wouldn't, because of all the cheap computer labor they are getting from them. I pretent to be a right winger & contact them to boycott India - did it last when they exploded 'test' nuclear bombs near the Paki border. Use the anti-immigration stance against them. We have no right to tell another country where to get their fuel. If we had a decent energy policy that weaned us off oil & invested in alternative energy we wouldn't to worry about the middle east.

[HuffleClaw]

11. this administration is bound and determined to piss off all its

'allies'. this bullying has got to stop. and to top it off, they STILL keep saying things like, 'the international community must' and 'obligations of the civilized world'. its unreal.

[54anickel]

13. They have no true allies, just rope suppliers biding their. eom

[no_hypocrisy]

17. Probably not a good idea to flat out command a country with nukes

to break a business contract to its detriment.

[AX10]

20. India is also an emerging world power.

Don't mess around with them. Someday they will be on an equal footing with the US.

[norml]

21. U.S. tells India to back off Syria oil deal

U.S. tells India to back off Syria oil deal

Siddharth Varadarajan

Aide memoirehanded over to Ministry


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A strategically significant venture for India
"Today, it is Iran and Syria, tomorrow it may be Sudan or Myanmar or Venezuela."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW DELHI: Taking strong exception to India's recent decision to buy a Syrian oilfield in partnership with China, the United States has asked the Manmohan Singh Government to "reconsider" its proposed investment.

A demarche to this effect was made earlier this month and an aide memoire outlining Washington's objections handed over to the Ministry of External Affairs by senior diplomats here. In December last, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) teamed up to purchase a 37 per cent stake in the al-Furat oil and gas fields from Petro-Canada for $573 million.

The mature fields, jointly run by Shell, have proven reserves of 300 million barrels of oil equivalent. Indian officials consider the Syrian venture to be of enormous strategic significance, both for the value of the underlying assets and the role it will play in cementing the China-India partnership for acquiring oil and gas equities in third countries.

The U.S. aide memoire, a copy of which is in the possession of The Hindu, says: "The United States strongly opposes such investments in Syrian resources."


snip


http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/28/stories/2006012813250100.htm

[pinniped]

22. Why is it *'s business again what other sovereign countries do?

Fuck him and the pig he rode in on.

I guess it's time to slap sanctions on India. No more telemarketing/call centers for you.

--"The United States strongly opposes such investments in Syrian resources."--

[ewoden]

23. Ha Ha Ha America you so funny

You bow head to free market, only free market bite you on monkey tail when you not look.

[ewoden]

24. This part is rich . . .

"The U.S. aide memoire, a copy of which is in the possession of The Hindu, says: "The United States strongly opposes such investments in Syrian resources.""

Perhaps it goes on to say that the US prefers to make war on it's oily brothers rather than pay in greenbacks.

[lovuian]

25. I can not wait for India and China to haunt the corporations

for making them their pets but some pets bite!!!

[Dover]

26. "the mature fields JOINTLY run by Shell"...so Shell is not a U.S. corp?

I guess like all multinational corporations it considers itself a sovereign entity (unless or until it needs our tax and consumer dollars). Nonetheless, it seems the U.S. has no problem doing business with Syria.

[formercia]

32. better known as Royal Dutch Shell n/t

not a us corporation.

[MrPrax]

27. I smell a conspiracy hidden here...!!

Wait a minute--
Petro-Canada owned oil,
Royal Dutch Shell owned oil,
but...But, India and China, can't.

I did READ this right?

Astounding

[lovuian]

28. Yes you read it right

Only the countries they CONTROL but if you notice the big economies are the ones who stand up to Bush...

[Theduckno2]

29. Now we know where some of our trade deficit is going!

Gee, you would think that China and India would just continue to hold all those dollars, as they steadily devalue, but no, they actually use those dollars to buy hard assets.

Don't they know that they are supposed to finance the burgeoning U.S. government debt with those dollars?

:sarcasm:

[0007]

30. The U.S. wants India out of the Middle East.

The big hog wants it all!

[DemonFighterLives]

33. Very Accurate statement

dubby and the boys want it all. This is the just the start of his terrible foreign policy coming home to roost. Other countries will continue to group up and do business, while dubby can only plan wars to get what he wants and thereby alienating more allies and potential allies.
:argh:

[formercia]

35. Meanwhile, India and China have already figured out

Fearless Leader's grand plan and are buying up the assets before he can steal them, all financed by Wally World and all the other US corporations that use cheap Chinese labor to drain the US economy. We are just screwing ourselves.

[catmandu57]

34. When children get too big for their britches

they usually get a good spanking. We're way over due for a come uppance, if it's the only thing these power mad bastards understand then I really wish the fucking world would give us a spanking and send us to bed without supper.
Sometimes tough love is the only thing that works, after the initial shock and the rah rah freeping, maybve we would come to our collective senses and say enough of this shit.

[MellowOne]

36. No wonder so much of the world hates us! n/t

[struggle4progress]

37. BJP takes exception to United States diktat on oil deal with Syria

New Delhi: Taking a strong exception to the US diktat asking India to reconsider the petroleum deal with Syria, the BJP today said the country had every right to take its decisions independently.

Reacting to reports of a US demarche asking India to reconsider its investments in Syrian oil fields jointly with China, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said as a sovereign nation, India must not succumb to such external pressures.

''Our foreign affairs handling should be such that the country should not come under any pressure,'' Mr Prasad said ...

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=96581


CPI objects to US caution on Syrian oilfield project
New Delhi | January 28, 2006 9:07:36 PM IST

... "The Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) strongly objects to the United States asking the Indian Government not to proceed to acquire an oil field in Syria in partnership with China," a press release from the Polit Bureau of the CPI (M) on Saturday said.

The release further said: "The United States has already objected to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. It is opposed to the India-China collaboration in the energy sector and it expects India to join the US game plan of targeting Iran and Syria" ...

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=232665&cat=India

[fujiyama]

38. Hmmm...Maybe someone should tell

the US government that India became independant over fifty years ago, primarilly not to have their policy determined by an imperial power.

Talk about arrogance.