Today when i walked past the shell oil station, the price for premium gas was $2.60. That is insane. So it led me to wondering, why are these prices so high? The reasons go back 30 plus years. It goes back to the cold war, to the Nixon Administration. It goes back to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations). Opec was assisted in its formation in the 1970's by the United States government. The government at the time felt that it would help the Arabs in teh middle east to fight against the soviets."In the early 1970s, notes Professor[William L.] Anderson, "Washington was favorably disposed toward the fledgling OPEC," supposedly out of a desire to cultivate greater prosperity in the Middle East, thereby deterring Soviet expansion. (This assumption was belied by the close relations some OPEC governments had with Moscow.) For that reason, continues Anderson, "the U.S. government did not object as foreign governments began forcing less favorable contracts on … energy exploration and production companies."' This is a statement from Dr. William L. Anderson to the New American. Then came the oil embargo of 1974. Oil became scarce and then president Nixon appointed William E. Simon the 'Energy Czar'. Simon calls the position he is in a dictatorship. "I myself became an illustration of a free-market principle … [namely] that government planning and regulation of the economy will ultimately lead to shortages, crises, and, if not reversed in time, some form of economic dictatorship.... Years of incoherent government intervention strangled energy production, domestic supplies diminished, artificial shortages emerged, a foreign embargo on oil precipitated a crisis, there was a violent public outcry for an instant solution, an energy ‘dictatorship’ was established to allocate the rare commodity — and I, incredibly, became the ‘dictator.’... There is nothing like becoming an economic planner oneself to learn what is desperately, stupidly wrong with such a system." After what the conservative paper calls the "radical environmental lobby"; the lobby to keep massive spills from happening and help preserve millions of acres of wildlands, space for discovering new sources of oil become more limited.
The situation in the mid-west has eclipsed even some places on the west coast. According to the Detroit News, "Michigan drivers are paying more for gas than motorists in all but 12 other states, AAA reports. In the Midwest, only Illinois has higher prices. " Thats right, the state of Illinois has the highest gas prices in the midwest. Who is to blame? Why are prices so high? Well it's not just OPEC, even though they do have something to do with it. It is mostly the refiners in America that allow it. All with a link back to president Bush and Vice President Cheney. It starts with Shell oil in Bakersfield California. They are trying to close down a plant that has been producing high quality, and high volume refined gas. The company says that it was "no longer economically viable" because "there is simply no longer an adequate supply of crude oil to justify the continued operation of this facility." But lo and behold a big corporation lied! Another quote from a company memo says, "[W]e(shell oil) turned in excellent operational performance this year. We are the most reliable US Shell refinery in 2003, and achieved world-class performance two years in row now. We have made quantum step improvements in our environmental compliance, finishing well under target again for the second straight year. We have reduced the expense we control 15+% year over year, and have been one of the few Shell U.S. refineries to turn a profit….We've done this with the lowest personnel index in Shell refining in the country, making us comparatively the most productive and effective workforce in the system." It seems they're just trying to keep gas off the market to control it, by sending the price of gas skyrocketing. Passing the cost on to the consumer at outrageous rates. This according to a letter to the Attorney General of California, " Should constitute an unfair business practice and form the basis for an Unfair Business Competition Law case against Shell that seeks an injunction forcing Shell to sell the refinery for more than the cost of demolition or to keep the refinery running."They make all of these billions of dollars off of this refined gas to an area who is desperate for it, then since they are so overwhlemingly greedy, they shut it down to make billions more dollars. Oh but wait there is more!
Many want to blame all of this on President Bush, but it isn't all his fault. His predecessor had something to do with it. According to the Utility Consumers Action Network (UCAN) "As a result of the Federal Government’s permissive policy towards mergers and lax state oversight of the gasoline markets, the competitive markets serving California have deteriorated to a point of over-consolidation. " This president has enhanced it with his ties to big oil and big business. The laxed attitude toward these mergers have caused an oilgopoly between a few business and refineries."UCAN has observed that regionally, only four retailers (Arco, Chevron, Shell, and 76/Phillips) dominate the San Diego gasoline market. Independents have approximately 10% of the San Diego market. In a sum, this is an oligopoly – and we are collective fools to rely on it to provide reasonably priced gasoline. " This is where the ties to the current admisistration comes in. According to an article published by the Arizona Republic "The Bush administration approved 33 takeovers totaling $19.5 billion, on top of 21 deals worth $7.3 billion under President Clinton, Bloomberg data shows. Reduced supplies were already pushing up gas prices in Clinton's term, according to a Federal Trade Commission study conducted after pump prices rose to more than $2 a gallon in Milwaukee and Chicago in 2000." The article continues, "Americans are paying 30 percent more for regular gasoline than a year ago, an average of $1.94 a gallon, and a poll by American Research Group May 3-6 showed voters becoming concerned. Oil futures have averaged $28.62 a barrel since Bush took office, 42 percent higher than the average during Clinton's two terms. Oil reached a record $41.38 a barrel on Friday. "

"Bush, 57, who owned a Texas oil company, Arbusto Energy, before getting into politics, and Vice President Dick Cheney, 63, former chairman of Halliburton Co., the world's biggest oilfield services company, chose to focus on broadening access to federal land for oil exploration and developing renewable energy sources such as corn-based ethanol to minimize price volatility. The administration's proposed energy bill remains stalled in Congress." It isn't just the American people who are being ripped off at the gas station , they are even doing it to humanitarian aid programs. According to research by congressmen Henry Waxman (D- California) and John Dingell (D- Michigan), "Although it initially appeared that Halliburton was gouging only American taxpayers, it now seems that the company is overcharging the humanitarian Oil for Food Program and the Iraqi people as well. This significantly compounds the implications of Halliburton's actions." Does this administration have no shame in the people who it is willing to extort? It appears not. American lives lost in military action for this oil, and they keep requesting more money. Not for the rebuilding of Iraq, but to get more oil. "The Bush Administration's controversial request for an additional $87 billion for Iraq included $2.1 billion for oil reconstruction funds. Waxman and Dingell say that includes $900 million to import petroleum." This according to The Nation.
Research brought to my attention by Antony Mores took me to a website for the Center for Cooperative Research. The center lists a timeline of events that led up to the war in Afghanistan. The information provided here is a stark reminder to where the Bush administrations priorities are.

1995

Unocal begins negotiations with Taliban over a pipeline deal through Afghanistan to Pakistan. [Rense 12/30/02]



March 1996

US Senator Hank Brown visits several cities in Afghanistan and meets with Taliban officials. He invites them to send delegates to a Unocal-funded conference on Afghanistan in the US. [New York Times, 6/5/1997]



October 1995

US energy company Unocal signs deal with Turkmenistan over development of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan. [Unocal, 8/13/96]



October 1997

Unocal and other oil companies form Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) in preparation for building the trans-Afghanistan pipeline. [Unocal 10/27/97]



December 1998

Pipeline project delayed due to Afghanistan's continuing civil war, and Unocal withdraws from the project. [US Department of Energy, 10/2002]



May 2000

The CIA begins operating in Afghanistan [The Washington Post, 11/18/2001]



February 2001

Upon taking office, the Bush administration immediately begins negotiations with the Taliban over the pipeline. [The Washington Post, 1/20/02]



July 2001

Washington tells India that US troops will be in Afghanistan "before the snow falls" - this deadline is then met thanks to the Sept. 11 attacks two months later. [BBC, 9/18/01; 8/5/02]



August 2001

The last secret meeting between US officials and the Taliban is held, in a last ditch attempt to secure a pipeline deal. Talks break off, with the US allegedy delivering a final ultimatum of 'accept our carpet of gold (oil pipeline), or you will receive a carpet of bombs'. While some question whether this was in fact said (see article), the point is that talks which had been talking place for months over a pipeline deal in Afghanistan finally broke down. [Salon, 8/16/02]



October 2001

September 11th attacks give US excuse to declare war on Afghanistan. Mainstream media attempts to quash any theories that the war might be related to desires for a pipeline in Afghanistan. [BBC 10/29/01]



January 1, 2002

Former Unocal consultant Zalmay Khalilzad appointed as new US special envoy to Afghanistan. [Independent, 1/10/02; 1/1/02]



May 2002

The leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan agree to the construction of a $2bn pipeline to bring gas from Central Asia to the sub-continent. [BBC, 5/30/02]



December 2002

White House announces 10 new bases in Afghanistan 'in hopes of boosting reconstruction efforts and regional security', whose locations coincide with the route proposed by Unocal in 1998 for a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan. [Boston Globe 12/2002]



December 2002

Deal signed to build gas pipeline across Afghanistan. [BBC article]



There it is in black and white. Very few things in this world are black and white. This is one of them. The Bush administration is out for not blood, but out for oil. They want all the money they can get their hands on. The money we pay for gas now, is manuvering its way into the Bush/Cheney warchests. So everytime you see the news playing clips of our men and women forced into combat, think about your car, your heating oil, think about the fact that everytime you drive, a soldier died...for your car.
Sources: Consumerwatchdog.org, 12/26/01
Consumerwatchdog.org, 4/6/04
ucan.org, 3/26/04
newamerican.com, 3/3/04
Justin Flunder freelance writer