May 15 2006
Cheney: All Is Well as long as There Are Wells of Oil
Cheney’s recent condemnation of Russia but praise for Nazarbayev. See Washington Post article.
“Asked about Kazakhstan’s human rights record, he expressed “admiration for all that’s been accomplished here in Kazakhstan” and confidence that it will continue.”
Of course, the ultimate concern is:
“Oil has dominated U.S. relations with Kazakhstan for years. With the largest crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region, Kazakhstan pumps 1.2 million barrels a day and exports 1 million of that, making it an increasingly important international supplier. With foreign investment flooding into the country, the Kazakh government hopes to boost production to 3.5 million barrels a day by 2015, rivaling Iran.”
A day later, a better more comprehensive article:
And then there’s a picture of Bush welcoming President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to the Oval Office.
Bush said he talked about the “wave of democracy” with a leader who had recently overseen parliamentary elections that human rights advocates had criticized as deeply flawed.
Similarly, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month warmly greeted Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea, as a “good friend” in Washington, … he and his wife had accounts worth $13 million in the Riggs National Bank while most of his fellow citizens live on less than a dollar a day.