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October 15, 2000
The Well-Oiled Presidential Campaigns
by Garry Leech
One topic that has been grossly neglected in the rhetoric of the
leading U.S. presidential candidates has been the escalating U.S.
military involvement in Colombia. Congress recently approved a $1.3
billion aid bill to fight the drug war in the Andean region. President
Clinton signed the aid bill and then, shortly thereafter, proceeded
to waive the human rights conditions that it contained. Consequently,
80 percent of the Colombian aid will go to a military that has repeatedly
committed human rights abuses. Neither of the leading candidates
for president--Republican George Bush and Democrat Al Gore--commented
on Clinton's waiver because violating human rights in the drug war
serves the interests of the oil companies that have funded both
campaigns.
Al Gore has attempted to paint George Bush as the candidate who
represents the interests of big oil, but Gore is also up to his
neck in oil money. The vice-president owns some $1 million in Occidental
Petroleum (Oxy) stock and his father was the company's vice-president
and a board member for decades. Furthermore, Oxy chairman Ray Irani
donated $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 1996 just
two days after sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House.
Throughout this presidential campaign Gore has refused to discuss
his Oxy connection and the ongoing land dispute between the company
and the indigenous U'wa over drilling rights on Colombian lands
the U'wa claim to be part of their traditional territory. The dispute
has repeatedly resulted in the Colombian Army using heavy-handed
tactics in violent confrontations with the U'wa (see, The
Case of the U'wa).
However, Gore has been more than willing to discuss Bush's close
ties to the oil industry, especially with the Enron Oil and Gas
Corporation. Enron is one of several oil companies with interests
in Colombia that are greasing the wheels of the Bush campaign. Exxon-Mobil,
BP Amoco and Shell are among the others. In total, the oil industry
is responsible for almost 20 percent of Bush's campaign war chest.
But while accusing Bush of being in the pocket of big oil, Gore
has neglected to mention that many of the same oil companies, including
Enron, Exxon-Mobil and BP Amoco, have also funded his campaign.
The Colombian military, while protecting the interests of these
oil companies, has often been complicit in human rights abuses committed
against Colombians who dare to oppose the activities of the multinationals.
President Clinton's waiving of the aid package's human rights conditions
allows military aid to flow freely to the army that is protecting
the economic interests of those bankrolling the Bush and Gore campaigns
(see, U.S. Aid Package Amounts to Corporate
Welfare). Therefore, it is no surprise that Clinton's controversial
human right's decision escaped criticism from corporate America's
candidates.
Both Bush and Gore have called for stricter policing and penalties
for drug use. They also support the increasing militarization of
the war on drugs both at home and abroad. This rhetoric not only
plays well with their constituents, it is also music to the ears
of their oil-backers. The next president will be able to conveniently
repay his campaign debts by protecting corporate oil interests in
Colombia under the guise of the drug war. And neither candidate
is about to let an issue like human rights interfere with such a
cozy business relationship.
This article originally appeared
in Colombia Report, an online journal
that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).
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