By Jerry Mazza
Read full article »»
Yet, dating back to 1991, just after Barre left the country, SomaliaWatch.org, reported about The Oil Factor in Somalia. “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.” This was during the closing days of Bush Sr.’s administration. He lost his bid for reelection in November 1992, leaving the “peace-keeping” mission to Clinton.
“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 [then] pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the nation plunged into chaos in January, 1991. [Conceivably, Barre awarded the rights to the US in return for the millions in aid his country was receiving from us]. Industry sources said the companies holding the rights to the most promising concessions [were] hoping that the Bush [Sr.] Administration’s decision to send U.S. troops to safeguard aid shipments to Somalia [would] also help protect their multimillion-dollar investments there.”
Read full article »»