Have Canadian Forces in Afghanistan been pawns?
		Niagara Falls, Ontario, Monday, August 27, 2007 by: Joe Hueglin
		While Canadians agonize over our war dead, events are unfolding that suggest the purpose behind military action in Afghanistan is to secure a route for an oil pipeline: an idea once dismissed as a “conspiracy theory.” Last week a Pakistan Daily Times article, "Govt awards TAP pipeline contract to US company" reported: "The Pakistan government has awarded the contract of laying the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project to the United States International Oil Company (IOC) with an estimated cost of $10 billion." According to sources in the International Oil Company, “the matters of security and insurance in Afghanistan during the laying of the pipeline have been
finalised between the oil company and authorities, and a signing ceremony confirming the mega-project agreement would be held shortly. "Last week as well articles in the Asia Times reported "Taliban, US in new round of peace talks" and "Talks with the Taliban gain ground." According to these sources: "Specifically, the deals aim to stop violence in selected areas and give the Taliban limited control of government pending the conclusion of a broader peace deal for the country and the Taliban's inclusion in some form of national administration." Included in the "selected areas" is the Panjwai District in Kandahar Province, where Canadian lives have been lost. It is suggested the conclusion of negotiations will come with the arrival in Pakistan of Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on September 10th and that "The outcome of the talks will to a large extent decide the agenda of Negroponte's visit and the course of the US-led ‘war on terror’ in the region." If Syed Saleem Shahzad's reporting is accurate, negotiations to end armed conflict in limited areas of Afghanistan are taking place and Canadian Forces may be playing the role of pawns in the international competition for control over petroleum resources.
		Joe Hueglin
Reference:
1. Daily Times, Govt awards TAP pipeline contract to US company, August 20, 2007, Pakistan's Daily Times
2. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Taliban, US in new round of peace talks, August 21, 2007, Asia Times
3. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Talks with the Taliban gain ground, august 24, 2007, Asia Times
4. Wikipedia, Syed Saleem Shahzad
Photo credit:
The Canadian soldier in the scene is Corporal Gordon Bivin of the Royal 22 and it was taken on August 19 in the Panjwayl area by Corporal Simon Dushesne
Retrun to Ensign   This page is a story posted on Ensign which is a daily web site offering a variety of material from scenic images, political commentary, information and news. This publication is the work of Faster Than Light Communications . If you would like to comment on this story or you wish to contact the editor of these sites please send us email.   Editor : Timothy W. Shire Faster Than Light Communication Box 1776, Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, S0E 1T0 306 873 2004