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THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SUPPORTING THE TALIBAN WITH TROOPS RECENT STORIES INTENDED TO FRIGHTEN THE RIGHT ARE DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA by Michael C. Ruppert [© Copyright 2001, Michael C. Ruppert and From The Wilderness Publications, www.copvcia.com. All Rights Reserved. May Be Copied Or Distributed for Non-Profit Purposes Only] FTW, 10/24/01 1200 PDT - Recent news stories circulating widely on the Internet and targeted at conservative U.S. interest groups, indicating that the Government of China (GOC) is actively supporting the Taliban and providing troops to assist Taliban and al'Queda fighters are false. China, which gained admittance to the World Trade Organization just two days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, is a full partner in globalization and has an essential and vested interest in seeing US war and economic plans succeed. Further, US economic influence in China, the world's largest global market, is currently controlling political and military events as China faces a massive energy crisis that only US companies can resolve. An analysis of China's economic relations with the United States reveals the overriding reasons for a Chinese/US alliance and gives the lie to recent stories published by the Debka news organization which are designed to instill fear in the US public and divert attention away from US government covert economic, drug smuggling and military operations in the region. As reprinted by the conservative World Net Daily on October 22 the Debka Intelligence Files (www.debka.com) published a story entitled "Chinese fighters killed in U.S. strikes." That story reported that, "Military sources in Dushnabe and Bishbeck, capitals of Tajikistan respectively, report at least 15 Chinese fighting men on the side of the Taliban, were killed in last week's U.S. bombing over Kandahar'" The story continues to state that Osama bin Laden aide Basir al Masri - now reportedly deceased - enjoyed the protection of at least 10 Chinese bodyguards, some of whom were reportedly killed in recent U.S. air attacks. The Debka report, using selected quotes from British and American papers, including the Washington Post - which has long-documented affiliations with the Central Intelligence Agency - refers to prior stories indicating that the GOC has established intelligence and funding relationships with the Taliban in recent years. It quotes one Washington Post story as stating that Beijing and the Taliban signed a memorandum of understanding on September 11 for greater economic and military cooperation. These relationships fail to take into account a gift of $43 million to the Taliban from Secretary of State Colin Powell last May, or the fact that, through the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI, the CIA has continually provided aid to the Taliban virtually up until the moment of the September 11 attacks. The implication of this story, especially when combined with previous Debka stories claiming massive Chinese troop deployments in and around Afghanistan, is that the United States is potentially facing a direct military confrontation with China. Nothing could be further from the truth. In spite of the fact that one additional October 22 story from the Hindustani Times states that "Taliban Commander-in-Chief Jalaluddin Haqquani has claimed that the militia was 'in touch' with China, which was assisting in the war against the U.S," there remains no credible evidence of such Chinese involvement. In fact, a simple examination of the economic interdependence of the U.S. and China makes such conclusions totally unbelievable. U.S.-China Economic Interdependence With more than 1.3 billion citizens China represents the world's largest untapped marketplace, both for oil and for consumer goods. Not only is the economic future of major U.S. corporations dependent upon continued access to Chinese markets, the Chinese economy - as demonstrated by its relentless 15-year effort to gain access to WTO - is as dependent upon U.S. investment and economic assistance. China was swiftly admitted to the WTO on September 13. There's an old saying that in a ham and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. Many major U.S. corporations are totally committed to ongoing business relations with China and the Chinese government. This was demonstrated by China's hosting of the recent APEC conference in Shanghai. China is in dire need of continued investment and operations from U.S. based companies. This was a matter of pre-eminent concern to George W. Bush during the conference and is also reflective of the Bush family's long-standing business interests in China. According to the U.S-China Business Council (USCBC) (www.uschina.org), new foreign direct investment in China in 2000 alone equaled some $62.66 billion US. This represented a 50.8% increase over 1999. Major U.S. corporations with active investments in China include: Federal Express, Honeywell, Corning, Ford, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Halliburton, AIG, Nortel, Microsoft, FMC, Cargill, Xerox (which, according to the Wall Street Journal, is moving it manufacturing operations to China), Chubb and Emerson Electric. In the first quarter of 2001 alone, according to the USCBC, selected US exports to China rose by the following percentages: power generation equipment (+48%); electrical machinery & equipment (+17.3%); air and spacecraft (+113.7%); iron and steel (+88.5%). Total U.S. trade with China is expected to top $107 billion in 2001. American International Group (AIG), which manages the second largest pool of investment capital in the world, has approximately 40% of its business operations centered in or around China. AIG began its history as an American owned Chinese insurance company, the C.V. Starr Company. (See FTW, Vol. IV, No. 5 - August 14, 2001) Outgoing USCBC President Robert Knapp, in text prepared, apparently within hours of the WTC attacks and China's admission to the WTO, issued a press release stating, "'The WTO negotiations have consumed fifteen years,'" Knapp pointed out, ' but they are now crowned with success' Never has the need for cooperation between the United States and China, both bilaterally and in the multilateral environment, been clearer. The two countries must now work together, intensely and in good faith, to ensure that both nations realize the maximum benefits from China's WTO participation.'" Oil Nowhere is China's dependence upon the United States more clearly demonstrated than its need for oil and gas to continue its economic expansion. As discussed - with full sourcing - in the Oct. 15 issue of From The Wilderness (FTW), the Unocal Corporation has resumed long-standing plans for the construction of a trans-Afghani pipeline system to transport oil and gas from the Central Asian republics to the Pakistani coast for sale to China and Japan. This 1500-mile pipeline from the oil and gas-rich regions of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is the only feasible way to transport oil and gas to China, which is heavily dependent upon imported oil and gas. China cannot build a pipeline across Asia for two reasons. First, the construction of a nearly 4,000-mile pipeline across the northern end of the Himalayas and through the mountains regions of Central China would take decades and is beyond China's technical abilities. The construction expertise of companies like Halliburton - who's CEO until 2000 was Dick Cheney - is essential. Second, China has its own Muslim insurgency in the Uighur region. Islamic fundamentalists there have been trained by the Taliban and are fighting their own campaign for an independent Islamic state. This region is in the Himalayas; just bordering the Central Asian republics and any construction undertaken there would, of necessity, demand a two-front battle against terrorists bent on destroying the pipeline and the forbidding terrain as well. As reported in the Oct. 15 issue of FTW, "Although Unocal ostensibly abandoned the project the next year, things have changed since September 11th. An October 10 story from the Pakistani newspaper, The Frontier Post, opened with: 'The US ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlain, paid a courtesy call on the Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Usman Aminuddin here Tuesday and discussed with him matters pertaining to Pak-US cooperation in the oil and gas sector.' "In a later paragraph the story said, 'Usman Aminuddin also briefed the Ambassador on the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline project and said that this project opens up new avenues of multi-dimensional regional cooperation particularly in view of the recent geo-political developments in the region.' A Reasonable Explanation There may be a few ethnic Chinese fighting with the Taliban but they are most certainly Uighur Muslims and not PLA Chinese troops. Remember that during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s Americans formed volunteer fighting units that fought on both sides of that conflict. That did not mean that the U.S. government had endorsed either side. The Debka reports are dubious and highly suspect as to their intent. WorldNet Daily, which has a well-deserved reputation for solid journalistic standards, should be careful of risking its credibility by republishing such outrageous and unfounded stories. Such stories can and have had the effect of distracting attention from important debate and increasing fear levels in selected groups. And as fear increases, logical, relevant and essential analysis goes out the window. end
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