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Posted by Jas on 03/26/07 00:52
Somalia: An Oily Clich March 25, 2007
By David Barouski
Today, it is a reflexive clich to claim the United States (U.S.) is off on
another oil-acquisition conquest anytime they invade an Arabic nation.
In the case of Somalia, the clich may neverless true. While undoubtedly,
the U.S. and its Ethiopian proxy conqured Somalia and "liberated" it from
the clutches of Al-Qaeda primarily for geostrategic reasons (possible
launching point to attack Iran, more friendly territory close to Arabic
Sudan, more ports under their control, a possible regional base for the
AFRICOM command post, potential launching points to protect the Strait of
Hormuz [the primary shipping point of Middle Eastern oil], etc), Somalia is
awash in unspoken oil and provides a tantalizing business opportunity.
Perhaps We Had Better Start From the Beginning?
The story begins in 1990, just prior to the horrible famine of almost
Biblical porportions that claimed thousands of innocent lives in Somalia.
Mohamed Said Barre was in charge of the country. Barre signed of nearly
two-thirds of his country to Conoco, Amoco, Chevron, and Phillips (this was
prior to the Conoco-Phillips merger). Unfortunately for them, Barre was
overthrown by Mohammed Farah Aideed of the rival Hebr Gedr clan in January
1991 and launched a civil war shortly thereafter.
After Aideed started the civil war, the oil giants were unable to work their
concessions for two reasons. One, the constant fighting, robbery, and
pirating off the coast made it impossible. Second, it was technically
illegal because Somalia did not have a recognized government. Since Somalia
was run by a that it was illegal to do business with, the oil companies were
out of luck. Either the U.S. had to legitimize Aideed in the eyes of the
international community or remove him. Either way, the fighting had to stop.
As one of his last acts as President, George H.W. Bush (who owned oil
concessions across the Gulf of Aden in Marib, Yemen via Hunt Oil) sent the
first wave of U.S. soldiers to Somalia to officially help deliver food to
starving Somalis. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia Robert Oakley
kept in daily contact with Aideed from December 1992 to May 1993. He was
unsuccessful in his negotiations to end the fighting. President Bill Clinton
then resorted to "Operation Restore Hope." Conoco's office in Mogadishu
served as a de facto U.S. Embassy for the landing Marines after the original
building was shelled and looted. Mr. Oakley and Marine General Frank Libutti
wrote a letter of commendation to Conoco Somalia's General Manager Raymond
Marchand thanking him for his service.
After a series of unsuccessful assassination attempts by U.S. forces, the
Somalis struck back during a U.S. raid in the infamous "Blackhawk Down"
incident (the U.S. Army dubbed it the "Battle of the Black Sea" while the
Somalis' called it "Maalinti Rangers" [Day of the Rangers]) on 3-4 October,
1994 that claimed the lives of 18 Americans and one Malaysian soldier.
President Clinton pulled out of Somalia and the place was left to its own
devices while the U.S. cultivated relationships with Ethiopian Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi, Djibouti's President Hassan Gouled, and Eritrea's
President Isaias Afewerki. Aideed was assassinated in 1996 by Osman Hassan
Ali Atto.
Somalia continued to be deeply fractured after the death of Aideed. The
extreme northwest corner of Somalia, known as Somaliland, declared
independence in 1991, but did not receive any diplomatic recognition. The
adjacent region to the east, known as Puntland, followed suit in 1998 under
the leadership of presidency of Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, but with one major
difference. They only wanted to be a separate Somali state, not a country.
Flash Forward?. Puntland had some lucrative oil concessions, but the
turnover of governments left most of the contracts null and void. The
companies also faced a legal problem. Since Puntland was not its own
autonomous state, the companies had to deal with the central government in
order to do business. The problem was?there was no central government
entity. That needed to be changed.
Somalia began toying with creating a government in 2001. Indeed, the French
oil giant TotalElfFina signed an agreement with the Transitional Government
for a concession in southern Somalia. After lots of jockying for power
between the clans, the first government plan was signed in July 2003. Kenya
was overseeing the process and the federal charter was signed in September
2003.
Fighting broke out again in 2004, particularly in the south, and it reached
Mogadishu by the end of May. As a result, the Somali Government was in exile
in Nairobi. Despite the chaos, parliament members were sworn in during
August 2004. They voted Abdullahi Yusuf (from the Darod clan, which is not
liked in Mogadishu) president. Mr. Yusuf is a career soldier who served as
Somalia's mlitary attach to the Soviet Union. When the U.S. backed Barre's
rise to power, Mr. Yusuf refused to turn on his Soviet Allies and was
imprisoned. After he was released, he took part in a failed coup attempt on
Said Barre. He fled to Kenya and befrended the Ethiopians. He later returned
to northern Somalia and ran Puntland since its independence in 1998, making
him a valuble ally to U.S. oil interests if he could shed his
communist-supporting background.
In December 2004, Ali Mohammed Gedi was appointed the Prime Minister. He
hails from the Abgaal sub-clan of Mogadishu's Hawiye clan, one of the two
largest clans in the country. The new government relocated to Mogadishu and
by May 2005, Mohammed Qanyare Affrah, Osman Ali Atto, and Muse Sudi Yalahow
united their militias as a de facto government army. By late 2005, the
government's transition process was derailed.
Some factions were not happy the largest clans possessed all the power
positions. President Yusuf and Prime Minister Ghedi both survived
assassination attempts and retreated back to Kenya. By October 2005, the
Transitional Government was purchasing large amounts of arms from Yemen and
arming allied clans to defend Mogadishu and Baidoa to the south. Ethiopia
was also suppling the Transitional Government with weapons.
Contemporary History
From the beginning of 2006 until July, fierce fighting between rival clans
and political movements occurred. It culminated with the Union of Islamic
Courts (UIC) seizing control of Mogadishu, and in effect, the country,
though most of the Transitional Government was still located in Baidoa.
While Eritrea armed the UIC, the U.S. unsuccessfully backed the opposing
forces, called the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and
Counter-Terrorism (ARPC).
The so-called warlords leading the ARPC, Mohamed Dheere, Bashir Raghe, and
Mahamed Qanyare, had been spying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
years. A U.S. diplomat at the Nairobi Embassy was even fired for criticizing
the CIA's policy.
Once again, U.S. business interests were thwarted and the UIC's leader,
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, was already on the U.S.' official terrorist list
for heading al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a group supposedly linked to Al-Qaeda
during the 1990s, making it illegal for them to do business with his regime.
"Slick" Business Deals
Beginning in 2005, Prime Minister Gedi demanded all business proposals go
through the Transitional Government. He forbade anyone to approach the local
administrations in Puntland, but he was willing to allow business there
provided he approved of it. The Australian firm Range Resources Limited
signed an agreement with the government of Puntland for exclusive rights to
all their minerals, including oil, lead, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, tin,
beryl, tantalum, niobium (columbium), uranium, coal, and gypsum.
Range Resources obtained permission to exploit the land from Puntland
President Mohamud Muse Hirse on 18 October, 2005, and from Prime Minister
Gedi on 2 November 2005. They are also bidding to buy addition consessions
from the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC). Range Resources is run by
Non-Executive Chairman Sir Samuel Kwesi Jonah. S
ir Jonah is a Board Member of: Lonmin, the Commonwealth African Investment
Fund (Comafin), Transnet Limited, Anglo-American Platinum Corporation
Limited, the Ashesi University Foundation, Equinox Minerals (Chairman), the
uranium-producing nuclear power company UraMin Incorporated (Chairman),
Anglo-American Corporation, Moto Goldmines Limited, Scharrig Mining
(Chairman), Sierra Rutile Limited (Chairman), Sierra Resources Holding,
Titanium Resources Group, Copper Resources Corporation (with George Arthur
Forrest and George Andrew Forrest), Standard Bank Group of South Africa,
Bayport Holding Limited, Transnet Limited, Equator Exploration Limited in
Nigeria and So Tom - Prncipe (with Baronness Chalker), and Mittal Steel
(currently in the proverbial hot seat for a contract they signed with the
government of Liberia).
He is a Advisory Council member of the U.N. Secretary General's Global
Compact, South African President Thabo Mbeki's International Investment
Advisory Council, the African Regional Advisory Board of the London Business
School, First Atlantic Merchant Bank, Defiance Mining, Ghanian President
John Kufuor's Ghana Investors' Advisory Council, President Obasanjo Nigerian
Investors' Advisory Council, and serves as a Presidential Advisor to
President Mohamud Muse Hersi of the Somali state of Puntland. He also holds
an honorary British knighthood, the Star of Ghana and several other
international awards and titles.
Meanwhile, Perth-based Ophir Energy seeks to drill in Somaliland. Ophir is
led by Alan Stein and is 50%-owned by South Africa's Mvelaphanda Holdings.
Mvelphanda is run by Tokyo Sexwale and its Board of Directors includes
Michael Beckett (former Chairman of Ashanti Goldfields, a company prevously
run by Sir Jonah), and Bernard Van Rooyen (former director of the Canadian
firm Banro Resources). Ophir was reportedly introduced to Somalia by
Mvelaphanda's partner Dr Andrew Chakravarty, who's wife is a well-connected
Somali national. Mr. Chakravarty's Rova Energy Corporation acquired offshore
concessions formerly belonging to Equitable Life Investment Company and its
U.S. partner Somapetroleum. Ophir currently is a 75% shareholder of Rova.
The Rest, as They Say, is History
Somalia's Transitional Government desired to keep Puntland as a part of the
larger Somalia. This fact, coupled with several nations' unwillingness to
work with the UIC (who may or may not recognize the contracts) led to a need
to restore the Transitional Government in Mogadishu and remove the UIC. This
line of thinking was directly in line with the U.S., who wanted to control
Somali for the aforementioned geostrategic reasons and also to prevent the
nation from becoming a "terrorist safehaven." The U.S. backed Ethiopia's
invasion of Somalia to stamp out the UIC once-and-for-all. They also
supplied air support and Special Forces soldiers to aid in the mission. The
UIC was run into Kenya, where many of its leaders were arrested. Others fled
into hiding in southern Somalia.
The U.S. officially continues to hunt Al-Qaeda in Somali. They are pushing
for an African peacekeeping force to be deployed in the nation as soon as
possible.
Unsurprisingly, two nations with a history of acting as U.S. proxies in the
region answered the call. The Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF) pledged
two battalions to enforce the peace and train the Somali army. The U.S. has
pledged to provide logistics support for Uganda,which likely will include
airlift support.
If the private military contractor Military Professional Resources
Incorporated (MPRI) gets involved in the logistics like they have in Darfur,
the context of U.S. involvement in Somalia could take on a whole new
outlook, especially if counterinsurgency operations become the norm.
MPRI offers a perfect opportunity to embed U.S. operatives to do the illicit
bidding of the Pentagon the U.S. Armed Forces cannot. The Somali Government
has been reinstalled in Mogadishu and though violence is constant in the
city, the government has moved forward. Many of the cabinet members are dual
citizens, with the majority coming from Canada. Others are former warlords.
The Deputy Prime Minister is Hussein Farah Aideed, the son of the late
warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed. In contrast to his father, Hussein is
actually a naturalized American citizen and a former U.S. Marine who served
in the Gulf War. He even served as a U.S. emissary during Operation Restore
Hope, where he met with his father several times.
With a central government in place, the corporations with concessions in the
more peaceful northern region of the country can begin their work.
ConocoPhillips has stated they are not interested in doing business in
Somalia at this time. Will ChevronTexaco and other American oil giants take
advantage of the opportunity to exploit Somalia? Only time will tell, but
Ophir, Rova, and Range Resources are probably grateful to the U.S. and
Ethiopia.
1. Madsen, Wayne. "Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa 1993-1999."
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom: Edwin Mellen Press, Limited.
1999. pg. 31.
2. "The Oil Factor In Somalia," Mark Fineman. Los Angeles Times. 18 January,
1993.
3. Bowden, Mark. "Blackhawk Down: A Story of Modern War." New York, New
York: Penguin Putnam Incorporated. 1999.
4. "UN: Arms Pouring Into Somalia," Al-Jazeera. 8 October, 2006.
5. "U.S. Secretly Backing Warlords in Somalia," Karen DeYoung, Emily Wax.
The Washington Post. 17 May, 2006. Note: A confidential U.N. Security
Council report revealed several armed Islamic groups armed and fought with
the UIC, including Hezbollah and fighters from several Islamic nations
including Saudi Arabia.
6. "Somalia: Fighting in the Shadows." Jeffery Bartholet, Michael Hirsh.
Newsweek. 5 June, 2006. Note: One of the planners for these types of
intelligence operations was Steven Cambone's Deputy Undersecretary of
Intelligence at the Pentagon, General William "Jerry" Boykin, who is known
for his anti-Islamic comments. Boykin commanded the Delta Force team
deployed in Mogadishu in 1993.
7. "Profile: Somalia's Islamist Leader," Joseph Winter. BBC News. 30 June,
2006.
8. Range Resources Limited. "Exclusive Rights to All Minerals in Puntland."
Company Announcements Office. 5 October, 2005.
9. President Mohamud Muse Hirse. "Letter to Consort Private Limited and Mr.
Tony Black." Office of the President. 18 October, 2005; Prime Minister Ali
Mohammed Gedi. "Letter to Puntland State of Somali and Vice President Hassan
Dahir Mohamud. Offic of the Prime Minister. OPM/251/05. 2 November 2006.
10. "Minnows See Oil Seeping Out From Fractured State," Eleanor Gillespie,
Jon Marks. African Energy. Issue 100. 20 July, 2006.
11. Ibid.
12. State House of the Republic of Uganda. "'US to Provide UPDF Support to
(sic) Somalia' - Frazier." Press Release. 29 January, 2007.
13. Confidential Source. 2007.
14. Kevin Sites. "Son of Aideed." Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone. Yahoo News.
29 September, 2005. http://hotzone.yahoo.com/b/hotzone/blogs1077.
Appendix I: Documentation
Letter from President Hirse to Consort Private Limited:
http://www.zmag.org/racewatch/LetterHirse.pdf Letter from Prime Minister
Gedi to the Government of Puntland:
http://www.zmag.org/racewatch/LetterGedi.pdf
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