and neither did Rumsfeld or Kissinger. Too bad.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto

>>>>>Oh, yeah, Suharto didn't have oil. <<<<<<
He also wasn't tried by his own people and sentenced to death, as Saddam was. We didn't kill Saddam; the Iraqi government did.

Indonesia has oil and is a member of OPEC but their existing fields are now old and rapidly dwindling, and their untapped reserves are still waiting for development monies. Needless to say, Suharto lined his pockets with oil profits.


6 December 1975 [Text of Ford-Kissinger-Suharto Discussion]:
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/
With the U.S. position on the East Timor “business” settled, Suharto turned to economic problems, especially petroleum investments. With the recent bankruptcy of the state oil company, the regime needed more revenue and Suharto wanted to get it from the oil companies that invested in Indonesia. Noting that the oil companies were sharing larger shares of their profits with Middle Eastern states than they were with Indonesia, Suharto told Ford and Kissinger that he wanted to negotiate an "understanding" with them. Both Americans were sympathetic and said that he would have their support. Kissinger, however, noted carefully that whatever Suharto did he should “not create a climate that discourages investment.” The possibility that the East Timor affair could prove to be a disaster for Indonesia and someday impair the “climate for investment” never seems to have occurred to either Kissinger or Ford.

www.allbusiness.com/mining/o...76-1.html
Before Suharto's downfall in 1998, the oil trading companies Perta and Permindo used to have exclusive rights to import crude oils and refined products on behalf of Pertamina. Allegedly, they used to charge hefty commissions above a 35 cents/barrel margin. In 1997, the two companies imported about 200,000 b/d each of crude oils and products.

Perta was 70% controlled by companies linked to Suharto and other top political leaders in his regime, including Suharto's son Hutomo (Tommy) Mandala Putra. Pertamina only held 30% in Perta. Permindo was 65% controlled by another Suharto son Bambang Trihatmodjo, Suharto's cousin Sudwikatmono and close business associate Nirwan Bakrie. The other 35% was held by Pertamina.

Both companies lost their exclusive rights in late May 1998. From July 1, Pertamina took over the oil imports and later introduced an open bidding process in an approach similar to India's IOC. It was said subsequently, that Pertamina offered to take over the controlling shares in Perta and Permindo at prices way below those demanded by Suharto's family and associates.

www.laborrights.org/press/in..._0204.htm
Indonesia Takes a Tortuous Path to Oil
The New York Times - February 19, 2004
By WAYNE ARNOLD

Deep underground near a town called Cepu on the Indonesian island of Java lies more than 600 million barrels of crude oil, $20 billion worth at current prices and enough to increase daily output in that impoverished country by 15 percent.

But Exxon Mobil, which has an exclusive contract to extract the oil at Cepu (pronounced CHEH-poo), will not pump a drop. Since finding much more oil than expected in 2001, Exxon Mobil has been locked in negotiations with Indonesia's national petroleum company, Pertamina, which has demanded that Exxon Mobil share more of the bounty.

So it goes with oil investment in Indonesia, Asia's only member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Indonesia this year assumed the rotating presidency of OPEC, which on Feb. 11 announced production cuts to stabilize prices. Indonesia will not have to cut: it already falls short of its OPEC quotas, and analysts say that falling investment is hastening an end to Indonesia's days as a net oil exporter.

"This is a critical issue for Indonesia," said John G. Phipps, senior director for Indonesian affairs at the U.S.-Asean Business Council in Washington, which led a delegation of American oil executives to Jakarta in January to meet President Megawati Sukarnoputri and members of her cabinet. "They need to move forward and develop their resources."