Pipeline Brigade.(George W. Bush's oil policy)(Brief Article)

Is George W. Bush using war as an extension of his oil policy? It looked that way in February, when Washington announced a $700 million aid package for the Andean region, largely to fight the twin threats of guerrilla war and drugrunning that threaten the area. As is usual, half the money will go to Colombia, but with a new twist: $98 million for training and equipping a Colombian brigade of around 2,000 soldiers to protect the 772-kilometer Cano Limon pipeline. Used to transport crude oil to the Caribbean coast from a field pumped by Occidental Petroleum of California in partnership with the Colombian state oil company, the pipeline is a favorite target of rebel saboteurs.

This would hardly be the first time a nation defended its interest in smoothly flowing oil supplies by force of arms. Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the gulf war that followed are only the latest conflicts over control of fossil fuel. Bush's critics have argued since September 11 that his "war on terror" is really about oil, and their suspicions have been heightened by the Pentagon's clear intent to keep access to bases in the oil-rich Caspian Sea region after the war in Afghanistan winds down. But in Colombia the oil connection is not conjecture: it was spelled out in a budget request that specifically names the pipeline and Occidental, and appeared to set a dangerous precedent.

If the United States would defend Occidental's supplies, why not those of any number of American oil companies in potential war zones? At a time when the Bush administration has built its energy policy around reducing U.S. dependence on Mideast oil, and is working overtime to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, it can't ignore disruption of other sources. In March, Bush aides were planning to push through $15 million to $30 million in emergency spending to "jump-start" the pipeline defense effort, rather than wait for the 2003 budget process to grind itself out.

Senior Bush officials insist the Cano Limon brigade has its origins not in U.S. oil interests but in parliamentary maneuvering back home. Conventional wisdom in Washington is that Colombia will lose the war against the rebels without more U.S. help. Bush officials, like their predecessors, express frustration at laws that limit U.S. ...