USA to crush Turkmenistan’s economy with a billion-dollar lawsuit

6 Comments

1. 

   Jerome a Paris on March 25, 2005 at 5:54 am

   I seriously doubt that they will “crush Turkmenistan’s economy, for a number of reasons:

   • their presence in that country is ridiculously small, because it is a small and poor country, and it is tough to work there
   • the President of Turkmenistan himself  is doing a much better job of that (of crushing the economy and the population. For instance, he recently closed all regional hospitals…).

   As for the pipeline going South, I have written about it many times over at dKos, it WILL NEVER BE BUILT, simply because there are empty pipelines going north to Russia ans it does not make economic sense to build new ones, never mind an expensive new one going through mountains and fucked up countries… It will NOT be financed (and I know, that’s my job), and tyhus it will not be built. It’s used loosely by various parties for political jockeying.

   Turkmenistan is a sorry country, with a crazy all-powerful leader, and it’s very possible that there are conflicts between the local shark and the Westenr sharks on some past or current contracts, but the population will not see a cent either way…

   • 

     DuctapeFatwa on March 25, 2005 at 6:59 am

     of Turkmenistan.

     Shortly after the crusade began, a popular pro-western argument was that the very idea of the pipeline was a “conspiracy theory.”

     Here are some links to some of the history and background, for those interested.

     Afghanistan, Turkmenistan Oil and Gas, and the Projected Pipeline

     Kissinger, Unocal, Enron and Cheney

     Unocal and Bridas Woo the Taliban for Pipeline Project

     Iran-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline Imperiled

     • 

       Jerome a Paris on March 25, 2005 at 8:15 am

       that all this talk about this pipeline IS conspiracy theory

       This pipeline WILL NOT HAPPEN, and anybody serious knows it.
       That does not mean that there aren’t a lot of people pretending that it will happen, or pretending that they will build it, and you can find lots of quotes and “contracts” and amounts about it. This is all posturing.

       Some people would like such a pipeline to be built (starting with the Turkmen president, who would not depend on the Russians anymore to sell “his” gas) – the problem is – these people do not have the money not the industrial capacity to build it. Those that do, won’t build it, because they won’t get paid for it.

       • 

         DuctapeFatwa on March 25, 2005 at 8:51 am

         has proven to be more difficult than some investors may have hoped, despite intensive population reduction operations. Dyncorp, however, is enjoying excellent numbers, and Afghanistan’s principal agricultural product is a dependable profit leader.

   • 

     Sirocco on March 25, 2005 at 7:00 am

     No kidding there about Niyazov (or as he calls himself, ‘Turkmenbashi’ – the Father of All Turkmen. January has been renamed Turkmenbashi in his honor; another month has been renamed for his mom.) His mug is everywhere.

     The man makes Kim Jong-Il appear self-effacing. All kids spend one schoolday a week studying his ‘thought’; there even is a statue of the stupid book. Here is a common oath:

     

     Needless to say, the last clause is the operative one, and security forces are available to help with the breathing part.

     Yet I’m not hearing neo-cons demanding his overthrow by the US military for liberty’s sake. Gee, wonder why not?

2. 

   DuctapeFatwa on March 25, 2005 at 7:34 am

   Months and week days get new names in Turkmenistan

   and here’s one about his attempts to patch things up with Karimov, or as he is affectionately known elsewhere, “The Uzbek boiler,” or in other circles, “a valued ally in the war on terror.”