Bush part of the Burmese Junta’s secret combination? You bet!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Burma, especially after seeing the movie, “Beyond Rangoon” about 12 years ago or so.  Burma, or Myanmar as its illegitimate rulers have renamed it, has been under a military dictatorship for quite some time now.  There was an amazing grassroots movement back in the late 80s to bring democracy to Burma and an amazing lady, Aung San Suu Kyi led that movement.  You can read all about her here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi

This is one of the conflicts in the world where US influence is not readily recognized.  I’m here to expose secret combinations in this world, so in addition to the obvious secret combination of the current Burmese military junta, I believe it important to point out the people that do business with the Burmese military junta as they are on par with the junta itself as partners in crime.  Remember, secret combinations are those that seek for profit, popularity, the praise of men, and power at the expense of life.  This is exactly what is happening in Burma. 

The following excerpt from a John Pilger article points out several corporations that enrich the Burmese junta and perpetuate their hold on power:

The “war on terror” allows Australia and Israel to train Burma’s internal security thugs. It consumes most humanitarian aid indirectly and the very internationalism capable of bringing the “clever” pressure on Burma, about which Aung San Suu Kyi once spoke. Dismissing the idiocy of a military intervention in her country, she asked, “What about all those who trade with the generals, who give them many millions of dollars that keep them going?” She was referring to the huge oil and gas companies, Total and Chevron, which effectively hand the regime $2.7 billion a year, and the Halliburton company (former CEO Vice President Cheney) that backed the construction of the Yadana pipeline, and the many British travel companies that send tourists across bridges and roads built with forced labour. Audley Travel promotes its Burma holidays in the Guardian. The BBC, in contravention of its charter, has just bought 75 per cent of Lonely Planet travel guides, a truculent defender of “our” right to be tourists in Burma regardless of slave-labour, or cyclones, or the woman beyond the trip wire. Shame.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20034.htm

 Last fall Bush put on a great show of getting upset with people who do business with the junta in Burma and he announced new sanctions against Burmese officials:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/20/america/19cndprexy.php

However, he completely missed out on the opportunity to scold the real companies in bed with the junta:

The original pipeline partner, Unocal, was sued by EarthRights International for the use of slave labor. As soon as the suit was settled out of court, Chevron bought Unocal.

Chevron’s role in propping up the brutal regime in Burma is clear. According to Marco Simons, U.S. legal director at EarthRights International: “Sanctions haven’t worked because gas is the lifeline of the regime. Before Yadana went online, Burma’s regime was facing severe shortages of currency. It’s really Yadana and gas projects that kept the military regime afloat to buy arms and ammunition and pay its soldiers.”

The U.S. government has had sanctions in place against Burma since 1997. A loophole exists, though, for companies grandfathered in. Unocal’s exemption from the Burma sanctions has been passed on to its new owner, Chevron.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20071002_chevrons_pipeline_is_the_burmese_regimes_lifeline/

Which leads us to a full circle to complete this secret combination:

Wayne L. Berman, a principal lobbyist for Chevron, is a Bush “Ranger,” having raised at least $200,000 for the president’s campaign. His wife, Lea, is the White House social secretary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101671.html

Not to mention the famous Cheney-Halliburton ties… and the fact that Condoleeza Rice was on the board of Chevron.  Secret combinations.  Let’s cleanse our garments of these guys folks.