When Democrat Bill Clinton was President of the United States, there weren't many issues where he could expect support from Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Defense. But when it came to the importance of making sure Caspian gas and oil could reach world markets without Gazprom's permission, the two were united. Independent Caspian energy was endorsed by such disparate individuals as Henry Kissinger, Dick Cheney, and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
In May 1997, Weinberger gave a speach about Caspian energy resources. He said "The stakes in the Caspian are enormous...Open access to the Caspian is critical if the United States is to diversify its energy sources and reduce its dangerous reliance on Middle Eastern supplies." Weinberger worried about regional powers gaining control over the Caspian: "They will have potential leverage over Western economies, which will be left to rely on the unstable Persian Gulf regon for oil...Our long-term security interests are at stake." (Casper Weinberger as quoted in Bower, Tom. "Oil: Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century," New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009, p. 120.)
Dr. James J. Coyle is available to speak to your organization or at your event. Please contact him at jimcoyle@verizon.net.
