Free Republic

June 2005 They come from different backgrounds with the same story. But the countries they are in — Canada and Australia — refuse to believe them or publicly acknowledge what they are saying. Why? Because both administrations have huge and influential money ties with China which has never been closer. The latest diplomatic crises involving Chinese spies overseas is playing out in Australia after a Chinese First Secretary Chen Yonglin applied for asylum in Sydney. Chen has alleged there are 1,000 Chinese spies in Australia and that abductions sponsored by the Chinese Government take place Down Under. He said he...

<p>WASHINGTON — After a bombing killed 19 U.S. airmen at a barracks in Saudi Arabia in 1996, the Clinton administration struck back by unmasking Iranian intelligence officers around the world, significantly disrupting Iranian-backed terrorism, according to a high-level U.S. official and a former top official who was serving at the time of the operation.</p>

Last fall, federal agents raided the home and office of Robin L. Raphel in search of proof that she, a seasoned member of America’s diplomatic corps, was spying for Pakistan. But officials now say the spying investigation has all but fizzled, leaving the Justice Department to decide whether to prosecute Ms. Raphel for the far less serious charge of keeping classified information in her home. The fallout from the investigation has in the meantime seriously damaged Ms. Raphel’s reputation, built over decades in some of the world’s most volatile countries. If the Justice Department declines to file spying charges, as...

April 14, 1999, Wednesday COMMITTEE HEARING SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS: SUBCOMMITTEE ON NEAR EASTERN AND SOUTH U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS) HOLDS HEARING ON THE CRISIS IN AFGANISTAN &nbsp;WASHINGTON, D.C. SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS), CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR JOHN ASHCROFT (R-MO) U.S. SENATOR GORDON H. SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR ROD GRAMS (R-MN) U.S. SENATOR CRAIG THOMAS (R-WY) U.S. SENATOR PAUL DAVID WELLSTONE (D-MN), RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR ROBERT G. TORRICELLI (D-NJ) U.S. SENATOR PAUL S. SARBANES (D-MD) U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DANA ROHRABACHER (R-CA) THE HONORABLE KARL F. INDERFURTH ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SOUTH ...

A veteran State Department diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe and has had her security clearances withdrawn, according to U.S. officials. The FBI searched the Northwest Washington home of Robin L. Raphel last month, and her State Department office was also examined and sealed, officials said. Raphel, a fixture in Washington’s diplomatic and think-tank circles, was placed on administrative leave last month, and her contract with the State Department was allowed to expire this week. Two U.S. officials described the investigation as a counterintelligence matter, which typically involves allegations of spying...

Our Political Bureau NEW DELHI MANY functionaries of the United States State Department, who handled South Asia under the Clinton Administration, may have to face embarrassment when the Bush regime gets down to locating the factors that made it easier for terrorists to carry out the September 11 carnage. These functionaries, it is reliably learnt, ignored the warnings about the activities and intentions of the terrorist groups operating out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. One of such reports had come from Michael Sheehan, the head of counter-terrorism wing of the State Department. Sheehan’s report also listed the measures that the ...

South Texas region draws third big investment in a weekNEW YORK (MarketWatch) — China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Norway’s Statoil ASA announced separate deals, both valued at more than $2 billion, to develop the Eagle Ford shale in south Texas. Statoil said Monday it would team up with Canada-based Talisman Energy Inc. to buy acreage in the Eagle Ford shale. Statoil and Talisman formed a joint venture to purchase assets from Enduring Resources LLC for $1.33 billion. Statoil will also pay $180 million for additional acreage. Statoil’s share of the two transactions will cost $843 million. Late Sunday, Cnooc...

"Hurry hurry hurry. We can destroy the enemy. Advance." "Hit hit hit the Taliban." "Hit him hit him hit him. Fire, fire." "We're arriving in Khalakhan." "Take care about the troops." "The Taliban are surrendering." "Bring them to me." "One hundred of them are coming to you." "El Ham captured a pickup with their weapons." These were the voices on the radio of the Northern Alliance commanders we have been visiting for weeks. Several other journalists and I were standing with some Afghan soldiers on the roof of a command post--a mud house with a tank's turret and gun jutting ...

BEIJING - Chinese state-controlled oil company CNOOC Ltd. said Monday it is paying $2.3 billion for a 45 percent stake in a Nigerian oil field in its first major investment since its failed bid to take over Unocal Corp. last year. The deal adds to a multibillion-dollar string of foreign acquisitions by Chinese oil companies, which are aggressively pursuing energy supplies to fuel China's booming economy. The agreement, which requires approval from the Nigerian and Chinese governments, covers a deep-water area of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, CNOOC said. It said the area includes the Akpo oil field discovered in...

US and China should break the "old economy" - Clinton By John Liu Hangzhou September 10. INTERFAX-CHINA - Former US President Bill Clinton has said that China had no choice but to develop renewable sources of energy, saying that if new alternatives were not found to traditional modes of economic growth, international conflicts over scarce resources would become increasingly likely. Clinton, attending the China Internet Summit at the West Lake, organized by the e-commerce portal Alibaba in the coastal resort city of Hangzhou, noted that in an "interdependent" world, growing nations such as China and India had to find...

To many, some American politicians' reaction to the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp's (CNOOC) offer to buy US-based Unocal has made clear what they have long suspected: the conservative movement in America, particularly as envisioned by its patron saint Ronald Reagan, is dead. Ironically its downfall began only after the Congress and White House came to be controlled by Republican radicals who claimed to be motivated first and foremost by a visceral hatred of liberals and everything for which they stand. First, despite rhetoric to the contrary and almost immediately upon taking power, these conservatives-in-name-only began expanding the size of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Chinese oil company's fight to buy Unocal ended last week in an angry retreat, but not without leaving clear signs that other political battles loom in Washington, D.C., over how much more of America the cash-rich Chinese can acquire

The Chinese energy firm Cnooc yesterday abandoned its $18.5bn (£10.5bn) bid for US oil and gas firm Unocal, citing "unprecedented political opposition" from Washington. The bid by Cnooc, which is 71% owned by the Chinese government, sparked a furious outcry in Washington where politicians denounced the offer as a threat to national security. Some of the more fiery rhetoric characterised the bid as the beginning of a frantic grab by the Chinese for control of the world's energy supplies. California congressman Richard Pombo warned that the deal could have "disastrous consequences for our economic and national security". Cnooc's decision to...

NEW YORK (AP) -- CNOOC Limited says it has withdrawn its $18.5 billion offer for Unocal Corp.

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The China National Offshore Oil Company's attempted takeover of the U.S. oil company Unocal may have suffered a fatal setback last week when the Unocal board endorsed a rival offer from U.S.-owned Chevron. In addition, Chinese appliance maker Haier has dropped out of the competition to buy U.S. competitor Maytag. At the same time, U.S. officials still need to fill the policy vacuum revealed by these two offers – for many more will surely follow in their wake. The bid for Unocal in particular, seems to have finally awakened many U.S....

Buried in the fine print of Unocal's latest filing with regulators is an interesting dissection of the behind-closed-doors dealing that has played out as Chevron and China's CNOOC Ltd. bid against each other for one of this country's oldest oil companies. According to the filing, Unocal on July 16 almost secured a higher all-cash offer of $69 per share from CNOOC, a subsidiary of government-owned China National Offshore Oil Co. But the wheels fell off when the national oil company insisted Unocal lobby on CNOOC's behalf before Congress, according to Unocal's updated proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange...

Unocal Corp. urged on Sunday the company's board to consider a higher takeover offer from China's CNOOC Ltd. than one it backed from Chevron Corp. Peter Schoenfeld, chief executive of P. Schoenfeld Asset Management which holds over 1 million Unocal shares, said the company would be liable to stockholders for any lost premium on the deal if it refused to seek a higher offer. Schoenfeld released a copy of a July 20 letter sent to Unocal's board in which he estimated shareholder damages would be "at least several billion dollars." "We demand that the Unocal board of directors adhere to...

Engaging in philosophical economics can be very exciting for those with the right charts and graphs, which is why it can be vexing for those who only care about bottom lines. Your ability to explain the superiority of supply-side whatever will only go so far with a businessman whose eye is fixated on his ledger. Moral arguments, let alone nationalistic ones, won't register. Which is why China's attempt to purchase UNOCAL, an American oil company, is such an interesting story. Who for a moment could believe that our good friend China (good enough to have high trade status with, anyway)...

Unocal's board of directors has endorsed a sweetened, $17-billion (U.S.) takeover bid from Chevron, rejecting a higher offer from one of China's state-owned oil companies.

LOS ANGELES — Unocal's board of directors Tuesday recommended that its shareholders accept a last-minute, $17 billion takeover bid from Chevron, rejecting a competing offer from China's third-largest oil company. Chevron boosted its offer by $2 per share shortly before the Unocal board met Tuesday night, raising its bid to $63 per share or more than $17 billion. "Our increased offer has been driven by competitive circumstances, but even at this higher price it remains a compelling transaction for Chevron stockholders," Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David J. OReilly said in a statement late Tuesday. Hours later, Unocal's board...