DIPLOMACY BY DECEPTION
Grand Larceny - United
States Oil Policies Abroad
U.S. oil policies in foreign countries provides a consistent history
of diplomacy by deception. In researching State Department documents
for this book, I discovered numerous documents which openly pro
claimed support for Standard Oil in Mexico and U.S. petroleum
companies in the Middle East. It then became clear to me that the
State Department was involved in a gigantic plot of diplomacy by
deception in the foreign oil business.
A State Department directive dated Aug.16,1919 to all consuls and
embassies in foreign countries urged massive spying and redoubling
of foreign service personnel to assist the major American oil
companies, an extract of which follows:
"Gentlemen: The vital importance of securing adequate supplies of
mineral oil both for present and future needs of the United States
has been forcibly brought to the attention of the Department The
development of proven fields and exploration of new areas is being
aggressively conducted in many parts of the world by nationals of
various countries and concessions for mineral rights are being
actively sought It is desired to have the most complete and recent
information regarding such activities by either United States
citizens or by others.
"You are accordingly instructed to obtain and forward promptly from
time to time information regarding mineral oil concession, change of
ownership of oil property, or important changes in ownership, or
control of corporate companies concerned with oil production or
distribution.
"Information regarding development of new fields or increased output
of producing areas should also be forwarded. Comprehensive data are
desired and reports should not be limited to points specifically
mentioned above, but should include information regarding all
matters of interest affecting the mineral oil industry which may
arise from time to time..."
This directive was issued following a long and bitter fight with the
Mexican government As we shall see in the account that follows, A.C.
Bedford, chairman of Standard Oil, had demanded that the U.S.
government come into the picture:
"All proper diplomatic support in
obtaining and operating oil producing property abroad should be
backed by the government."
The Federal Trade Commission promptly
recommended "diplomatic support" of such oil ventures abroad.
Charles Evans Hughes also testified before the Coolidge Federal Oil
Conservation Board, insisting that State Department and oil company
policies be synonymous:
"The foreign policy of the government,
expressed in the phrase 'Open Door', consistently prosecuted by the
Department of State, has made it possible for our American interests
abroad to be intelligently fostered and the needs of our people, to
no slight extent, to be appropriately safeguarded."
This really meant
that a merging of government and private oil interests was
necessary. It was not by accident that Evans just happened to be
counsel of the American Petroleum Institute and Standard Oil.
A Case History: Exploitation of Mexican Oil
The history of exploitation of Mexican oil also serves as an example
of how diplomacy by deception attains its desired ends. The conquest
of Mexico's main natural resource—its oil —remains an ugly, open
blot in the pages of American history.
Oil was discovered in Mexico by British construction magnate,
Weetman Pearson, whose company was part of the global network of
Committee of 300 companies. Pearson was not in the oil business but
was backed by the British oil companies, particularly the Royal
Dutch Shell Company. He soon became the leading producer in Mexico.
Mexican President Porfirio Diaz officially gave Pearson sole rights
to prospect for oil, after he had already given the "sole right" to
Edward Dahoney of Standard oil, who was known as "the czar of
Mexican oil." As we shall see, Diaz fought for the interests of his
elitist backers. He was also firmly under the influence of Dahoney
and President Warren Harding.
One must go back to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, in
terms of which Mexico ceded Upper California, New Mexico and
northern Sonora, Coahuila and Tampaulis to the United States for $15
million. Texas had been annexed by the United States in 1845. One of
the main reasons for annexing Texas was that geologists knew of the
vast oil fields that lay beneath its lands.
In 1876, Diaz overthrew Leordo de Tejada, and on May 2,1877, was
declared president of Mexico. He remained in office until 1911,
except for four years (1880-1884.) Diaz stabilized finances,
undertook industrial projects, built railways and increased
commerce during his dictatorial rule while remaining true to those
who put him in power. Mexico's "royalty" was closely linked to the
royalty of Britain and Europe.
It was the promulgation of a new mining code on Nov. 22,1884, that
opened the door for Pearson to get into the oil business. Contrary
to the old Spanish law, the new law provided that a title to land
carried ownership of subsoil products. It also permitted the
communal lands belonging to the Indians and mestizos to pass into
the hands of the 1.5 million "upper class" of Mexico. It was against
this background that Diaz started giving concessions to foreign
investors.
The first to receive a concession was Dahoney, the close associate
Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall and President Harding, to whom
Dahony had donated large amounts of campaign money. In Harding's
cabinet were no less than four oilmen, notably Fall. In 1900,
Dahoney bought280,000 acres of Hacienda del Tulillo for $325,000. By
"rewarding" President Diaz, Dahoney was literally able to steal
land, or buy it at ridiculously low prices.
After four years of operations, Dahoney was producing most of the
220,000 barrels of oil coining out of Mexico. Thinking he was well
established, Dahoney, on instructions from the United States
government declined to increase "reward" payments to President Diaz,
although the Potrero and Cero Azul fields were producing in excess
of $1 million a week. This was rather typical of the selfish greed
of John D., a streak that ran through the entire Rockefeller brood.
At this point, Diaz, upset with Dahoney, gave Pearson a "sole
concession." By 1910, Pearson's Mexican Eagle Company had acquired
58 percent of the total Mexican production.
In response, Rockefeller ordered Pearson's wells dynamited and his
workers fired upon by peasants his money had armed for the purpose.
Large bands of brigands were armed and trained to smash Mexican
Eagle pipelines and oil installations. All of the dirty tricks
taught by William "Doc" Avery Rockefeller, surfaced in John D.
Rockefeller's war on Pearson.
But Pearson proved to be more than a match for Rockefeller, fighting
back with similar tactics. Calculating that there was not enough oil
in Mexico to continue fighting over (a grave error as it turned
out), Rockefeller backed off and left the field to Pearson. Later,
John D. regretted his decision to pull out of the struggle and
pledged Standard's resources to create bloody chaos in Mexico. In
this country we called the unrest "Mexican revolutions" which no one
understood.
In recognition of his services to British oil interests, Pearson was
granted the title of "Lord Cowdray," and was henceforth known by
that title. He was also made a permanent member of the Committee of
300. Lord Cowdray was on good terms with President Wilson, but
behind the scenes, John D. was working to undermine the relationship
and get back into the business of exploiting Mexico's oil. Lord
Cowdray, however, was determined to keep the bulk of Mexican oil
profits in the coffers of the British government
Oil diplomacy in London and Washington differ little in aggression.
Motives and methods have remained remarkably unchanged. After all,
international power remains, above all, economic. On Jan. 21, 1928,
Rear Admiral Charles Plunkett, commander of the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
let the cat out of the bag, defending President Calvin Coolidge's
$800 million navy program when he said:
"The penalty for commercial
and industrial efficiency inevitably is war."
This was in reference
to the great demand for oil for oil-fired navy ship. Plunkett had
his eye on Mexico's oil.
Logically, the nation that is in control of raw material assets of
the world, rules it When Britain had a large navy which it needed to
guard its world trade, diplomacy by deception was the key to British
operations in oil-producing countries. America learned fast especially after the advent of the Dulles Illuminati family, as we shall
see.
Let us return to Mexico, where, in 1911, Diaz was ousted by
Francisco Madero, and uncover the role played by Standard Oil in
that endeavor. Gen. Victoriano Huerto alarmed British oil
interests by declaring his intention to regain control of Mexico's
oil, and the British asked Lord Cowdray (who by that time had sold
his Mexican operation to Shell) to get President Wilson to help them
unseat Huerta.
This was a fine piece of diplomacy by deception, because the British
knew that Standard Oil was behind the 1911 Madero revolution that
downed President Diaz. It was a revolution Standard oil thought was
necessary to stop British rape of "their" Mexican oil. Francisco
Madero, who became president of Mexico on Nov. 6,1911, had little
understanding of the forces who were pulling his strings, and played
the political game, not realizing that politics is based solely on
economics. But Huerta, who replaced him, knew how the game was
played.
Standard Oil was very much involved in the downfall of Porfirio
Diaz. Testimony given by a number of witnesses at the 1913 Senate
Foreign Relations Committee hearing, implicated Dahoney and Standard
Oil for financing the 1911 Madero revolution.
One witness, Lawrence
E. Converse, told the committee members a lot more than Standard
wished them to hear:
"Mr. Madero told me that as soon as the rebels (Madero's forces)
made a good showing of strength, several leading bankers in El Paso
(Texas) stood ready to advance him. I believe the sum was $100,000,
and that Standard Oil interests had bought over the provisional
government of Mexico... They (Gov. Gonzalez and Secretary of State
Hernandez) said Standard Oil interests were backing Madero in his
revolution..."
The Wilson government, anxious to curb Cowdray's concessions,
established diplomatic relations with the Madero government, order
ing an arms embargo against any counter-revolutionists. Cowdray was
cast in the role of villain by Col. House, (Woodrow Wilson's
controller) when Francisco Huerta overthrew Madero.
"We do not love
him (Cowdray), for we think that between him and Carden (Sir Lionel
Carden, British Minister to Mexico), are large part of our troubles
are made," said House.
Col. House correctly charged that Huerta was brought to power by the
British so that Standard's concessions could be crimped by expanding
Lord Cowdray's oil exploitation. President Wilson refused to recog
nize the Huerta government, although Britain and the other major
powers did so. Wilson said:
"we can have no sympathy with those who
seek to seize the power of government to advance their own personal
interests or ambitions."
A Committee of 300 spokesman told President Wilson "you talk just
like a Standard Oilman." The question was posed,
"...what does the
oil or commerce of Mexico amount to, in comparison with the close
friendship between the United States and Great Britain? The two
countries should agree on this primary principle — to leave their
oil interest to fight their own battles, legal and financial."
Those close to President Wilson said he was visibly shaken by
British intelligence MI6 having uncovered his direct links with
Standard's Mexican enterprises, which was starting to tarnish his
Democratic president image. House warned him that the example set by
Huerto in defying American power might be felt all across Latin
America if the United States (read Standard Oil), did not assert
itself. Here was a fine conundrum for a "Liberal Democrat" to
confront.
Secretary of the Interior Fall urged the U.S. Senate to send
American military forces into Mexico to "protect American lives and
property." This rationale was also used by President Bush to send
American troops to Saudi Arabia to "protect the lives and property"
of British Petroleum and its employees, not to mention his own
family's business, Zapata Oil Company. Zapata was one of the first
American oil companies to become friendly with the Al Sabahs of
Kuwait.
In 1913, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee convened
hearings on what it called "Revolutions in Mexico." The American
public, then as now, had no idea what was going on, and were led by
the newspapers to believe that a whole lot of "crazy Mexicans were
running around shooting at each other."
Mr. Dahoney, appearing as an expert witness was quite lyrical in his
veiled request that the Washington government use force to restrain
Huerta. He said:
"...it seems to me that the United States must avail itself of the
enterprise and ability and the pioneer spirit of its citizens to
acquire and to have and to hold a reasonable portion of the world's
petroleum supplies. If it does not, it will find that supplies of
petroleum not within the boundaries of the United States territory
will be rapidly acquired by citizens and governments of other
nations..."
Seems like we have heard a similar quote in more recent times, where
"madman" Saddam Hussein was supposed to be a threat the world's oil
supplies. Secretary Fall added to his appeals in the Senate for
armed intrusion into Mexico:
"...and lend their assistance (i.e.
U.S. military forces) to the restoration of order and maintenance of
peace in that unhappy country and the placing of administrative
functions in the hands of capable and patriotic citizens of Mexico."
The resemblance between the deception perpetrated against the Senate
and the people of the United States by Dahoney of Standard Oil and
Secretary Fall bears an eerie resemblance to the rhetoric of Bush
prior to and during his illegal war against Iraq. Bush said it was
necessary for American soldiers to "return democracy to Kuwait".
Once America succeeded in reclaiming Kuwait for British Petroleum
(an example of the special friendship between The United States and
Britain talked about by the Committee of 300 messenger during his
visit to President Wilson), Bush turned his attention to "the sad
and unhappy country of Iraq."
Like Wilson, who believed that "tyrant Huerta" had to be removed and
Mexico restored to "order and maintenance of peace in that unhappy
country by placing the administrative functions in the hands of
capable and patriotic citizens of Mexico," Bush, using a similar
form of diplomacy by deception said that America has got to get rid
of the "tyrant Saaaddam." (Misspelling intentional.)
American were soon convinced that President Hussein was the cause of
all of Iraq's problems which is what Colonel House through Wilson
told the American people about President Huerta of Mexico. In both
cases, the common denominator is diplomacy by deception, in Mexico
and Iraq is oil and greed. Today, Council on Foreign Relations
Secretary of State Warren Christopher, has replaced Dahoney, Fall
and Bush, and is perpetuating the pretence that Hussein must be
brought down to save the people of Iraq.
Christopher is merely continuing to use falsehoods in order to cover
the Committee of 300's goal for total seizure of Iraq's oilfields.
It is no different than Wilson's policy toward Huerta.
While in 1912, Wilson presented the "Huerta menace" as a danger to
the Panama Canal, Bush presented Hussein as a threat to U.S. oil
supplies out of Saudi Arabia. In neither case was this the truth:
Wilson lied about the "threat" to the Panama Canal, and Bush lied
about a "pending invasion" of Saudi Arabia by the Iraqi military. In
both cases, there was no such threat Wilson's verbal assault on
Heurta was made public in an address to the Inter-Allied Petroleum
Council.
In a speech prepared for him by Col. House, Wilson told Congress
that,
"The present situation in Mexico is incompatible with the
fulfillment of international obligations on the part of Mexico, with
the civilized development of Mexico herself, and with the
maintenance of tolerable political and economic conditions in
Central America," Wilson said.
"Mexico lies at last where all the
world looks on. Central America is about to be touched by great
routes of the world's trade and intercourse running from Ocean to
Ocean at the Isthmus..."
In effect Wilson was announcing that,
henceforth, the politics of American petroleum companies would
become the policies of the United States of America.
President Wilson was completely in the grip of Wall Street and
Standard Oil. Notwithstanding the fact that on May 1, 1911, the
Supreme Court had ordered an anti-trust action against Standard Oil,
he instructed U.S. consuls in Central America and Mexico to,
"convey
to the authorities an intimation that any maltreatment of Americans
is likely to raise the question of intervention."
The quote is taken
from a long State Department document, and from hearings held by the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1913.
Following up on this message, Wilson instructed Secretary of State
William Bryan to make it plain that he desired an early removal of
President Huerta:
"It is the clear judgment that it is the immediate
duty of Huerta to retire from the Mexican government, and that the
United States government must now proceed to employ such means as
may be necessary to secure this result"
In the best style of an imperialist designed United States, Wilson
followed up with yet another broadside at President Huerta on Nov.
12,1912:
"Huerta has to be cut off from foreign sympathy and aid and from
domestic credit, whether moral or material, and to force him out If
General Huerta does not retire by force of circumstances, it will
become the duty of the United States to use less peaceful means to
put him out" Wilson's belligerent statement is all the more shocking
when we consider that it followed a peaceful election in which
President Huerta was returned to office.
One wonders why if that was the case concerning Panama, John D's
heir, David Rockefeller, fought so hard to give the Canal at Panama
away to Colonel Torrijos, but that is the subject of another chapter
under the heading of Panama and the fraudulent Carter-Torrijos
treaty.
One should not be amazed that at the time the American people
accepted Wilson's belligerent attack on Mexico, thinly disguised as
"patriotic" and in the best interests of the United States. After
all, didn't the bulk of the population, and I believe it was 87
percent of Americans, fully support Bush in his attack on Iraq, and
aren't we guilty of allowing to stand, the inhuman and totally
unjustified embargo against Iraq?
We ought not to be amazed at the similarity of Wilson and Bush
rhetoric, for both were controlled by our upper-level, parallel
secret government, even as Clinton is controlled from Chatham House
in London, through the person of Mrs. Pamela Harriman. No wonder
then that Warren Christopher is continuing the big lie against Iraq.
Oil and greed is the driving factor in 1993, even as it was in 1912.
The charges I make here against Wilson are well documented by author
Anton Mohr in his book "The Oil War."
It was America that hurt Mexico the most in 1912, plunging it into a
civil war falsely labeled as "revolution", even as we are the nation
that hurt Iraq the most in 1991, and continue to do so, in defiance
of our Constitution, which those in Congress who swore an oath to
uphold, have lamentably and miserably failed to do.
Secretary Bryan, told European powers who did not like what they saw
happening in Mexico, that,
"there is a more hopeful prospect of
peace, of security of property and early payment of foreign
obligations if Mexico is left to the forces now reckoning with one
another there."
This was classic diplomacy by deception. What Bryan did not tell the
Europeans was that, far from leaving Mexico "to the forces now
reckoning with one another there," Wilson had already begun to
isolate Huerta using a financial and armament embargo. At the same
time, he armed and financially supported the forces controlled by
Venustiano Carranza and Francisco Villa, and urged them to over
throw Gen. Huerta.
On April 9,1914, a stage-managed crisis was arranged in Tampico by
the U.S. Consul which resulted in the arrest of a group of American
Marines. The United States government demanded an apology, and, when
it was not forthcoming, broke contact with the Huerta government. By
April 21, the incident had been blown out of all proportion, to the
point that U.S. troops received their orders to march on Vera Cruz.
By capitalizing on the Tampico incident, Wilson was able to justify
ordering American naval forces into Vera Cruz. An offer by Huerta to
submit the Vera Cruz affair to the Hague Court was refused by
Wilson. Like his successor, Bush, in the case of President Hussein,
Wilson did not let anything stand in the way of ending the rule of
Gen. Huerta. In this, Wilson was ably assisted by Dahoney of
Standard Oil, who advised Wilson and Bryan that he had given the
rebel Carranza $100,000 in cash and $685,000 in fuel credits.
By mid-1914, Mexico was reduced to utter chaos by President Wilson's
interference in its affairs. On July 5, Huerta was elected president
by popular vote but resigned on July 11, when it became apparent
that Wilson would foment trouble as long as he held the reins of
Mexico's government.
A month later, Gen. Obregon gained control of Mexico City and
installed Carranza as president. But in the north, Francisco Villa
became a dictator. Villa opposed Carranza, but the United States
recognized Carranza anyway. By now, Latin American countries feared
U.S. intervention, which was heightened by fighting between Villa's
troops and U.S. forces at Carrizal.
As a result of the clamor raised in Latin America, and especially
heeding the feedback from his consultants on Latin America, Wilson
ordered U.S. forces withdrawn from Mexico on Feb. 5,1917. Carranza
disappointed his American backers in that he did nothing to help
their cause. Rather, he tried to justify the 1911 revolution, which
he said was necessary to preserve Mexico's integrity. This was not
what the American oil companies had ordered him to say.
By January of 1917, the new Mexican Constitution was ready, and it
came as a shock for Standard Oil and Cowdray's companies. Carranza
was elected for four years. The new constitution which, in effect
declared oil an inalienable natural resource of the Mexican people,
took effect on Feb. 19,1918 and a new tax was also levied on oil
lands and contracts made before May 1,1917.
This additional tax, covered by Article 27 of the document said the
United States was "confiscatory" and in essence urged American
companies in Mexico not to pay taxes. The Carranza government told
Washington that taxation was a matter for "the sovereign state of
Mexico." Try as it did, the U.S. State Department was unable to
budge Carranza from his position that Mexican oil belonged to Mexico
and, while foreigners could still invest in it they could only do so
at a price — taxation. The oil companies woke up to find
that Carranza had turned the tables on them.
At this point, Cowdray went to the American president with a request
"to face the common enemy (nationalization) together." Carranza was
now persona non grata and Cowdray tried to sell his shares because
he saw more confusion coming as the three leading Mexican generals
vied for power. Cowdray's offer to sell was taken up by the Royal
Dutch Shell Company. Although the conditions were uncertain,
Cowdray made a handsome profit from the sale of his shares.
After much fighting, in which Carranza was killed and Villa
assassinated, Gen. Obregon was elected president on Sept 5,1923. On
Dec. 26, Huerta led a revolt against Obregon but was defeated.
Obregon was supported by Washington on the condition that he
restrict application of the constitution found so objectionable by
foreign oil companies. Instead, Obregon slapped a 60 percent tax on
oil exports. The U.S. government and the oil companies were angered
by what
For nearly five years, Washington kept up its attack on the Mexican
Constitution, while hiding its real motivations. By 1927, Mexico was
in civil uproar and its treasury almost empty. The Mexican government was forced to capitulate.
There is no better description of
what the Mexicans felt about being plundered of the oil than an
editorial in "El Universal" of Mexico City, Oct. 1927:
"American imperialism is a fatal product of economic evolution. It
is useless to try and persuade our northern neighbor not to be
imperialistic; they cannot help being so, no matter how excellent
their intentions. Let us study the natural laws of economic
imperialism, in the hope that some method may be found, by which
instead of blindly opposing them, we mitigate their action and turn
it to our advantage."
What followed was a complete and utter retreat from the Mexican
Constitution by President Plutarco Calles. The retreat was continued
by successive Mexican governments. Mexico paid for the
rapprochement, retreating from the principles for which she had
fought for in 1911 and 1917. On July 1,1928, Gen. Obregon was
reelected president but was assassinated 16 days later. Foreign oil
companies were accused of the crime and of keeping Mexico in a state
of flux.
The U.S. government was acting in an alliance with Standard Oil and
Lord Cowdray to force the Mexican government to roll back the Feb.
19,1918 decree which declared oil an inalienable natural resource of
the Mexican people. On July 2, 1934, Gen. Lazaro Cardenas was chosen
by Calles to be his successor. Cardenas then turned on Calles,
calling him "too conservative," and, under pressure from British and
American oil interests, had Calles arrested when he returned from
the
U.S. in 1936. State Department documents leave no doubt about the
hand of the U.S. government in these events.
Cardenas showed sympathy for the American and British oil companies, but was vigorously opposed by Vincente Lombardo Toledano,
leader of the Confederation of Mexican Workers. Cardenas was forced
to bow to demands from this group, and on Nov. 23, 1936, a new
expropriation law empowered the government to seize property,
especially oil lands. This was the reverse of what the U.S.
government and oil companies were expecting, and panicked the oil
companies.
By 1936, there were 17 foreign companies busily engaged in pumping
the oil that rightfully belonged to Mexico. The situation was some
thing akin to South Africa, where, ever since the Anglo Boer War
(1899-1902), the Oppenheimer family of the Committee of 300 drained
South Africa of its gold and diamonds, shipping them to London and
Zurich, while the South African people got little benefit. The
Anglo-Boer War was the first open demonstration of the might and the
power of the Committee of 300.
Both with "black gold" and "yellow gold," the national resources of
Mexico and South Africa, which really belong to the people, were
plundered. This was accomplished under cover of diplomacy by
deception, which fell apart only when national leaders of strength
emerged, such as Daniel Malan, of South Africa and Lazaro Cardenas,
of Mexico.
But unlike Malan, who was unable to hold back the robbing
conspirators by nationalizing the gold mines, Cardenas promulgated a
decree on Nov. 1,1936, in which the subsoil rights of Standard Oil
and other companies was declared nationalized. The net effect of the
decree deprived the oil companies of operating in Mexico and
repatriating their profits to the United States. For years, Mexican
oil workers had lived on the edge of poverty while Rockefeller and
Cowdray added to their bloated profit coffers. Cowdray became one of
the richest men in England; Americans know all to well the magnitude
of the Rockefeller empire.
The blood of thousands of Mexicans had needlessly been shed because
of the greed of Standard Oil, Eagle, Shell, et al. Revolutions were
deliberately caused by the manipulators in the United States, always
backed by the appropriate U.S. government officials. While Cowdray
lived in absolute luxury and frequented the best clubs in London,
Mexican oil workers were worse off than the slaves of the Pharaohs,
living in squalor and huddled together in misery in shanty towns
that beggared description.
On Mar.18,1938, the Cardenas government nationalized the properties
of American and British oil companies. Diplomacy by deception then
took a back seat to the iron fist The United States retaliated by
halting the purchase of silver from Mexico. The British government
broke off diplomatic relations. Secretly, Standard Oil and the
British oil companies funded General Saturnino Cedillo, urging him
to revolt against Cardenas. However, a massive show of support for
Cardenas by the populace, ended the attempted revolt within weeks.
The United States and Britain soon instituted a boycott of Mexican
oil, which devastated the national oil company known as PEMEX.
Cardenas then arranged for barter agreements with Germany and
Italy. Such deceitful conduct by both governments — which most
people considered to be pillars of Western civilization -continued
still when the Communists tried to gain control of Spain and the
Mexican government attempted to break the oil boycott by sending oil
to Gen. Franco's government.
In the Franco-Communist War, known as the "Spanish Civil War,"
Roosevelt backed the Communist side, and allowed them to recruit men
and munitions in the United States. Washington adopted an official
policy of "neutrality," but this piece of deception was ill
concealed, and came out when Texaco was hauled onto the carpet.
PEMEX decided to supply Franco with oil, using Texaco tankers to
ship it to Spanish ports. Sir William Stephenson, head of MI6
intelligence, reported Texaco to Roosevelt. As it is custom where
right-wing anti-communist governments battle for the existence of
their countries, the secret upper-level parallel government of the
United States ordered Roosevelt to halt Mexican oil shipments to
Franco. But that did not stop the Bolsheviks from recruiting in the
United States, or from obtaining munitions and financing from Wall
Street Texaco did not act out of sympathy for Franco or Mexico: its
motive was profit This demonstrates what happens when a Fabian
Socialist such as Roosevelt, directs a country that is opposed to
socialism.
It was not until 1946 that a semblance of good order came to Mexico
with the election of President Miguel Aleman, On Sept. 30,1947, the
Mexican government made a final settlement of all American and
British expropriation claims. This cost the Mexican people dearly
and still left control of the oil de facto in the hands of American
and British oil companies. Thus, the 1936 expropriation decree
signed by Cardenas was only partially successful.
In 1966, when several writers exposed the greed and corruption of
Lord Cowdray, he hired Desmond Young to write a book whitewashing
and playing down his involvement with Diaz and Huerta. In 1970,
President Richard Nixon, at the behest of the
Council on Foreign
Relations, signed an agreement with President Diaz Ordaz which
called for peaceful settlement of future border and other (meaning
oil) disputes.
This agreement still holds good today, and, while the methods of
plundering Mexican oil have changed, the intent and motivation has
not There is a common misconception over Nixon's agreement, namely,
that it represented a change in Washington policy. It was meant to
convey the impression that we now recognize Mexico's right to its
natural resources. This is a repeat of the period when Morrow
negotiated a settlement with Calles-Obregon in what the people of
America were told was a "large concession by the United States,"
when in fact, it was hardly any concession at all as far as
Washington was concerned.
Such is diplomacy by deception.
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