President Bush and Vice President Cheney had vested interest in the Caspian Pipeline long before Sept. 11. There's no question that the hidden stakes in the war against terrorism can be summed up in a single word: oil.
The western part of Afghanistan, the area of the proposed Caspian pipeline, is now occupied by the US. Of course, the Bush Administration says its war goals have been clear and do not involve oil. Since this oil initiative began well before Sept. 11, with meetings between the Taliban and the US Government, as well as close ties between the interim government with the Bush administration and UNOCAL, and the fact that the military troops were already in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, it appears evident that the war goals are clear and in fact very much involve the construction of the Caspian Pipeline.
