One primary purpose of these bogus ‘democracies’ is to fortify U.S. military power either through the puppet government put into prominence or NATO. This military presence will be used to ‘contain’ Russia and China. To this end A top US general arrived in the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Sunday for a mission aimed at training thousands of soldiers in the impoverished Caucasus republic for joint missions with the West.
Note:
"Chechnya borders Georgia, and Georgia, like Azerbaidjan, is on the fast track to join NATO. There are already hundreds of US troops in Georgia, training the local forces. They are there for two reasons: first, to protect the US-built Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline; secondly – and this follows from the first – to assist Georgia in recuperating her two secessionist territories, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It will not do to have Russia anywhere close to the pipeline, and she has troops in both these areas. Pushing Russia comprehensively out of the Caucasus, and humiliating her, requires victory for the Chechens. An independent Chechnya may also be the prelude to the longer-term break-up of Russia herself: the CIA predicted that oil-rich Siberia might escape Moscow's control in its report, Global Trends 2015, published in April." (#msg-4307815) "So the New World Order strategists are determined to put their man in control of Ukraine, at the presidential election on 31st October. Huge influence, and presumably money, is being pumped in to ensure a victory for Victor Yushchenko. Paul Wolfowitz said in Warsaw on 5th October that Ukraine should join NATO. Mark Brzezinski and Richard Holbrooke have rattled their sabers over Ukraine, and Anders Aslund, the architect of Yelstin's mass larceny, has eloquently outlined the West's strategic interest in that country.
The Yushchenko-Timoshenko forces want to align with Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (the other nations in the GUUAM configuration of junior league NATO aspirants) in erecting a ring of iron around Putin and the former Soviet Union. U.S. troops are already in Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. How long before they are in Kiev, training "President" Yushchenko's NATO-ized military in the use of American equipment – and advising a spiffed-up Ukrainian military within striking distance of the Kremlin? #msg-4674009
-Am
US general in Georgia to train troops
TBILISI (AFP) Dec 05, 2004 A top US general arrived in the former Soviet republic of Georgia on Sunday for a mission aimed at training thousands of soldiers in the impoverished Caucasus republic for joint missions with the West.
Peter Pace, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was due to meet President Mikhail Saakashvili amid Georgia's efforts to join the US-led NATO alliance despite displeasure from its much larger neighbor Russia.
"We are going to discuss a new US program called Operation Keeping Stability," Georgian Chiefs of Staff General Georgy Kapanadze told AFP.
Kapanadze said the program to train 3,000 Georgian solders would begin in January and cost Washington 32 million dollars.
Pace refused to comment on the program's details on his arrival to the Georgian capital, saying final negotiations were still underway.
Russia has expressed concern over the US presence in Georgia, whose new leader has tense relations with Moscow and is trying to win independence from Kremlin dominance.
US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on Tuesday said it was important to expand NATO to Ukraine, where a pro-Western opposition candidate is tipped to win presidential elections later this month.
Perle, who believes that the White House should contain the Kremlin rather than cooperate with it, has criticized the campaign against Yukos shareholders from the beginning. http://www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/915/news/n_10814.htm
Kazakhstan's Foreign Direct Investments to Reach US$5 Billion in 2004
The most important foreign investor in the reference period was the United States. During the first three quarters of 2004, US investments reached US$1.174 billion (up by 45%). This sum is superior to the US' total investments in Kazakhstan over the entire year 2003 (US$1.088 billion).
This investment is expected as our grand strategists in Washington have turned to the legendary Caspian "Silk Road" to oil riches, reviving the dream of a trans-Caucasian oil pipeline that will fill the gas tanks of Europe, bring down prices rapidly – and hand over control of much of the world's hydrocarbons to U.S. corporate interests and their allies.
"Efforts are being redoubled to crank into action the various pipelines which are supposed to transport Caspian oil to Western markets. One of these is the Brody pipeline which runs between the Ukrainian town of that name and the Black Sea port of Odessa (a Russian city but also in UKRAINE). The Brody pipeline was initially supposed to take US-controlled Caspian oil to Western markets, but it has instead been pumping Russia oil, something the Americans do not like. #msg-4674009
Kazakhstan has hydrocarbon reserves estimated at 100 billion barrels. By 2007, these reserves (including the Kashagan deposit which is the second largest in the world) will enable the country to become a major oil producing country and thus a major traveler on Washington’s ‘Silk Road’ if all goes according to plan.
China also has been working on a pipeline with Kazakhstan for the expanding Chinese market. #msg-4675029
-Am
Kazakhstan's Foreign Direct Investments to Reach US$5 Billion in 2004 Friday January 7, 5:25 am ET
ASTANA, Republic of Kazakhstan, January 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Kazakhstan's economy received foreign direct investments of US$3.9 billion during the first nine months of 2004, up by 17.6% compared to the same period in 2003. This is of all CIS-countries the second highest capital inflow in volume (after Russia) and the highest inflow by capita. With US$1.2 billion the US is still by far the biggest investor. International analysts believe that, from 2004 onwards, the volume of investments will exceed US$5 billion per year.
According to the latest report of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan reached US$3.917 billion over the first nine months of 2004. This is a rise of 17.6% compared to the same period the previous year.
The most important foreign investor in the reference period was the United States. During the first three quarters of 2004, US investments reached US$1.174 billion (up by 45%). This sum is superior to the US' total investments in Kazakhstan over the entire year 2003 (US$1.088 billion). The second biggest investor is the Netherlands, with investments reaching US$571 million over the same period (up by 34.7% year-on-year). The UK came third with US$529 million, growth of 23.7%.
The most attractive sector remains extraction of natural resources. An overall US$3.1 billion, i.e. 68.3% of the reference period's total investments went into this sector. US$1.9 billion went directly into the mining sector (up by 17.2% compared to the reference period), whereas US$1.2 billion were invested in geological exploration and prospecting activities (up by 78.6%).
However, even if the oil and gas industry will remain the most attractive sector in which to invest for years to come, other sectors are emerging. During the first nine months of 2004, foreign investments in the consumer goods industry grew by 50.7%, reaching US$164.4 million, whereas investments in transport and communications related industries rose by 6.6% over the same period to US$65.9 million.
Growth in non-oil sector is at least partially due to the government's economic development program "Strategy of Industrial and Innovation Development for 2003-2015," which aims to diversify the country's economy in order to reduce its dependence on oil. "Kazakhstan will take further measures to improve the investment climate," announced Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the annual meeting of Foreign Investors Council last December in Astana. "The Republic devotes much attention to the enhancement of the legislation to protect investors' rights," he further emphasised.
The National Bank report states that the rise in Kazakhstan's foreign direct investment is considerable: From 1993 to 2003, the total volume of direct investments was US$15.25 billion. While from 1996 to 1999 an annual US$1.2 billion to US$2.1 billion were invested in Kazakhstan, the US$3-billion-mark was only slightly missed in 2000. Since 2001, the US$4 billion-mark has been exceeded every year: US$4.557 billion in 2001, US$4.106 billion in 2002 and US$4.608 billion in 2003. According to forecasts of US Department of Economy and Commerce, from 2004 onwards the volume of direct foreign investments in Kazakhstan should exceed US$5 billion per year.
About Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is the largest and most modern of the Central Asian republics. The country proclaimed its sovereignty on the 26th of October 1990, and its independence on December 16th 1991. In the ensuing 12 years, the transition has been made between a panned and a market economy. The Geopolitical situation of the country makes it an inevitable bridge between Europe and Asia as well as the leading country of the region. An interesting fact is that Kazakhstan, a democratic and lay state, suffers neither from terrorism or ethnic confrontation.
Kazakhstan spans Europe and Asia from the Caspian Sea to the mountains of Central Asia. By its size (covering 2.7 million square kilometres), Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and its population (50% Kazakh and 37% Russian as well as Ukrainians, Volga Germans, Uzbeks, Koreans and Ouigours) is of 17 million.
The republic is divided into 14 regions, including a city-region (Almaty, the country's ex-capital). President Nursultan Nazarbayev was last elected by universal suffrage in 1999. The Kazakh legislature is bicameral, including a lower chamber, the "Majilis", with 77 representants (including 14 women as of the last legislature) elected through direct suffrage; and a Senate of 40 members, mostly elected through indirect suffrage with 7 named by the President - the term in the Senate is of 6 years.
After having undergone the highest growth of all CIS member states (including Russia) in 2001, the Kazakh GDP grew by 9.3% in 2002. Kazakhstan has hydrocarbon reserves estimated at 100 billion barrels. By 2007, these reserves (including the Kashagan deposit which is the second largest in the world) will enable the country to become a major oil producing country. Moreover, the abundant natural resources of Kazakhstan include uranium, chromium, silver, phosphor, nickel, coal and gold. Though the oil industry is the most dynamic sector of its economy, Kazakhstan's gaol is to push forward reforms which cover social issues, decentralisation, education, modernising the administration, agriculture and boosting the development of small and medium businesses.
Press Relations Marston-Nicholson Ivan Pandev +33-1-42-96-67-46 i.pandev@group-ibc.com
Keep an eye on GUUAM. It is to be the tool by which Bush works his wonders through his minions Yushchenko and Saakashvili who have decided to revive GUUAM during their recent circle jerk.
A previously posted excerpt on GUUAM
The Yushchenko-Timoshenko forces want to align with Georgia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (the other nations in the GUUAM configuration of junior league NATO aspirants) in erecting a ring of iron around Putin and the former Soviet Union. U.S. troops are already in Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. How long before they are in Kiev, training "President" Yushchenko's NATO-ized military in the use of American equipment – and advising a spiffed-up Ukrainian military within striking distance of the Kremlin?
"This [GUUAM] alliance lies "strategically at the hub of the Caspian oil and gas wealth, with Moldava and the Ukraine offering [pipeline] export routes to the West.
"Dominated by Anglo-American oil interests, the formation of GUUAM ultimately purports to exclude Russia from the oil and gas deposits in the Caspian area, as well as isolating Moscow politically [my emphasis-LC]."
"In the context of GUUAM and the SRS, Washington has encouraged the formation of pro-US client states strategically located along oil pipeline routes. The latter are to be "protected" by NATO under GUUAM and various other military cooperation agreements. The hidden agenda is to eventually cut the Russians off altogether from the Caspian oil and gas fields [my emphasis-LC].
"With a view to weakening Moscow's control over Caspian oil, several alternative pipeline routes have been envisaged. The Baku-Supsa pipeline—inaugurated in 1999 during the War in Yugoslavia and protected military by GUUAM—totally bypasses Russian territory. The oil is transported by pipeline from Baku to the Georgian port of Supsa, where it is shipped by tanker to the Pivdenny terminal near Odessa in the Ukraine. Both Georgia and Ukraine are part of the GUUAM military alliance. This Pivdenny terminal has been financed—in agreement with the (neo-fascist) government of President Leonid Kuchna—by Western loans."
Ukraine and Georgia Have Decided to Resurrect GUUAM
Friendship of Nations
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili visited Kiev on Saturday. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has said that Saakashvili signed a declaration on the development of a strategic partnership. In addition, the two leaders agreed to hold a summit meeting of the GUUAM and announced the development of a joint settlement in Transdniester. Russia, of course, will not welcome the proposal.
Saakashvili made a fast trip to Ukraine. He adjusted his plans for the Georgian-Greek playoff in Tbilisi. Thus,. He convinced many Kievans that his love of sports is not just a pose. On Friday, those present in Mariinsky Park saw his jogging around the Supreme Rada building, with his bright red training suit contrasting sharply to the dark clothes of his body guards.
Talks between Saakashvili and Yushchenko proceeded in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The leaders did not begrudge one another praise. Saakshvili was awarded the Man of the Year 2004 prize in Kiev for his personal efforts to strengthen the centuries-old friendship between the two nations. This year was declared the Year of Georgia in Ukraine. Saakashvili acknowledged Yushchenko's leadership and said that Georgia looks on Ukraine as the region's economic, political and security leader and called Kiev the “locomotive of Eurointegration.”
A package of documents was signed after the meetings. They included the program for cooperation in youth policy and for cooperation between Odessa region and the Ajarian Autonomy. The security councils of the two countries signed a memorandum of mutual understanding. In addition, Kiev and Tbilisi signed a protocol on the readmission – hand over and acceptance – of persons illegally located in the other country.
But the declaration on the development of a strategic partnership is the main outcome of the visit. A summit meeting of the GUUAM, the members of which are Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova, is being planned for April 22 in Chisinau. That organization was founded at the end of the 1990s as a counterweight to the CIS. Russian was able to render the GUUAM ineffective then. Now Ukraine and Georgia are determined to revive it. They have even decided on a new agenda. A joint settlement plan for Transdniester will be introduced. They are obviously not making room there for Russia, which had been the key player in regulation attempts. Saakashvili made it clear that, if a settlement is reached in Transdniester, they will take on to other conflicts, Abkhazia in particular.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko announced at the end of Saakashvili's visit that she would make her first official visit to Georgia, which is not say, not to Russia. She added that she was delighted to accept Saakashvili's invitation because Georgia was a romantic destination for her.
At the end of Saakashvili's visit, the presidents also released a joint statement on events in Kyrgyzstan. “Ukraine and Georgia have been, since the beginning of the revolution, and will always be, on the side of the Kyrgyz people,” it reads in part. They called on the OBSE to take immediate preventative action against violence and bloodshed. They gave highest praise to the “bravery of the country's former president in not ordering the use of force against his own people in the early days of the uprising.”
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