The Hidden Costs of Empire

Dick Cheney is having a hard time finding oil to low gas prices. One of the factors is distrust of the US by Muslim nations. Another cost of empire and unthinking support for Israel.

The sources said Mr. Cheney found his hosts in Central Asia to be distrustful of U.S. intentions, with some Muslim countries fearful of a regime change as that which took place in 2005 in Kyrgyzstan, regarded as the most pro-American country in the region.

Mr. Cheney also was informed of the contracts China has already signed with Central Asian republics. In April, Turkmenistan signed a deal to supply China with 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year from 2009 to 2039. The price has not yet been determined.

"Even if many analysts doubt Turkmenistan's ability to meet this contract, that deal evokes the contradictions inherent in China's transitional phase," the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation said in a report. "In its substance it evokes the old approach: China subsidizing dictators by paying for pipelines as well as for gas and trying to knock prices down while tying up the producer for 30 years."

Insight Mag