By Victor Perlo

he latest figures on direct foreign

a investments of U.S. corporations

-a-.ate that profits are bigger than

ae the latest news indicates that

these companies—especially the oil

monopolies—are having trouble in a
changing world.

The Commerce Department says that
profits on direct foreign investments
last year increased by a record $2.1 bil-
lion, or 21%, to the level of $12.4 billion in
1972. This time the Commerce Depart-
ment also showed a fraction of the ad-

ditional hidden profits, in a larger total

called ‘road earnings,’ which reach- ~

-ed $15 pillion. Figures for the first half
of 1973 show an even faster rise, of
31.4% over the first half of 1972. This in-
dicates ‘broad earnings’ for the full

ear 1973 of around $19 billion. Truly a
fantastic plundering of : the labor and
resources of other countries.

Many economists have overestimated
the relative shift in foreign investments
to manufacturing. In fact, the oil cartel
remains. the biggest profiteer from for-
eign investments, with the highest rate
of profit, and with profit remittances to
the United States exceeding those of all
manufacturing companies combined.

The so-called “broad earnings’’ abroad
of petroleum companies in 1972 reached
nearly $5 billion, of which $4¥e billion

were brought back to the United States.

The bulk of these profits came from the

Arab lands. Remitted profits of oil
companies from the Middle East — ex-

WORLD MAGAZINE

cluding Libya—came to nearly $242 bil-
lion, or almost one-third of the corre-

sponding figure for all corporations 2

from all parts of the world. The rate of
profit on Middle Eastern oil investments
passes belief. It amounted to 167% of
book value.

Capitalizing on the earlier cooked up
shortage scare, and now on actual Mid-
dle East war shortages, the oil trust is
increasing -its. milking of consumers.
Third quarter profit rates such exception-
al increases as 90% for Gulf, 80% for
Exxon, 64% for Mobil, all companies

prominent in the Middle East. Exxon’s

third quarter profit is at an annual rate
of more than $2i billion—beating out
General Motors.

Chile’s nationalization of Anaconda,
Kennecott, etc., cut U.S. corporate pro-
fits from Latin America by $200 million
per year. This was sufficient to induce
U.S. imperialism to the frenzied sub-
version and gross interference in Chi-
lean internal affairs which led to the
fascist coup.

U.S. imperialism is ready to go to
much more drastic lengths for. the bil-
lions of profit dollars in the Mid-east.
‘For two decades it relied on Israel as
the main battering ram of reaction and
imperialism in the area. Fueled with
unlimited supplies of U.S. capital, arms,
and technology, Israel has developed an
expansionist appetite that’ grows. with

the eating. Its political role is to bring.

about the destruction of all progressive
governments in the area, to stamp out
the anti-imperialist resistance which

has brought about major changes in poli-

tical and social alignment in’ Egypt. Sy-

ria, Iran and South Yemen, and has
begun to seriously influence the situa-
tion in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The
oil magnates have never relied on the
good will of the Arab people, but only
on the repressive measures of subser-
vient governments.

Progressive trends in the Arab lands
threaten the vast profits of the oil com-
panies. Nationalization in Algeria, Iraq,
and Libya have sparked an irreversi-
ble trend in all oil producing lands. At
different paces, even the more con-
servative governments of producing
countries are systematically reducing
the ownership and control position of
the oil companies. It is only a year
since the international conference in
Baghdad on the use of oil as a wea-
pon against imperialism and Zionism.
And now the strategic line developed at
that conference is being realized in

practice. The Arab states have develop--

ed more unity of action than ever be-

fore, have reduced output and have ac- _

tually cut off all oil shipments to the
United States.

The immediate issues in the Middle
East have become crystal clear. In No-
vember 1967 the Security Council pass-
ed its famous resolution 242 calling for
the return of the territories occupied
by Israel. There is nothing ambiguous
about the resolution.

For six years: Israel, abetted by the
United States, proceeded to colonize
the territories, and has extracted hun-
dreds of millions of dollars worth of
stolen oil from the Sinai. During the
past year the Israeli armed forces be-
came increasingly brazen in their arm-

ENERGY DOWN,
PROFITS UP

ed attacks on Lebanon and Syria. And
then, by vetoing a key United Nations re-
solution, the United States made clear
its continuing support for permanent oc-
cupation of the territories by Israel.

The overwhelming majority of the
world’s countries socialist, capitalist,
and developing—agree with the position
of Resolution 242. And this has led to
diplomatic isolation of the U.S. All US.
allies, except fascist; colonialist Portu-
gal, refused to permit the U.S. to use
their territories for assisting Israel’s
war against the Arabs. U.S. oil com-
panies, using their control over a large
share of tanker tonnage, hijacked ship-
ments of oil destined for Western Eu-
ropean lands, India, and Canada, fur-
ther worsening relations with these
countries.

The balance of world forces is mov-
ing inexorably against Israeli and U.S.
imperialism in the Middle East, in
favor of the national liberation forces
there. A vital role in this equation is
played by the Soviet Union. Through-
out, it has provided economic and mili-
tary assistance to the progressive Arab
states, and supported their defensive
efforts diplomatically. Without this, their
resistance could not have been sucess-
ful, and the unbridled power of im-
perialism and feudal-landlord compra-
dore reaction would have remained. in
fullsway. .

It is hard to say how much Nixon’s
alert was motivated by his desire to
sidetrack attention from Watergate.
The mad bomber in the White House
threatened a nuclear assault on the So-
viet Union should it continue effective
support to Egypt, within hours of his
sinister veto of Congressional action
very mildly limiting his arbitrary war
actions.

But his alert was not only, or even

_ mainly, aimed at the Soviet Union. Its

most immediate target was the Arab
oil countries. -By. attempting to scare
off the Soviet Union from offering fur-
ther assistance, it sought to convert the
ceasefire into a humiliating defeat for
Egypt and Syria, with Israel in perma-
nent occupation of still more territory.
The attempt failed, but at a frightful
risk. Threatening nuclear war, U.S. im-
perialism wants to pressure the Middle
Eastern countries to resume 100% pro-
duction and to abandon plans for taking
control of their oil, under threat of di-
rect U.S. invasion. Meanwhile U.S.- Is-
taeli policy and oil company policy is
still dedicated to forcing out the pro-
gressive governments in Egypt, Syria
and Iraq and to install reactionary capi-
tulationist dictatorships, as in Indochina
and Chile. They have never given up
the idea of restoring the Middle East.
to its former position as a rich carpet
to be trampled on by plundering colo-
nialists. ;

This is an adventurist policy which
is terribly dangerous to the world, and
to the people of the United States. It is
already bringing about an accelerated
wave of inflation and certainty of fuel
shortages that were previously phony,
an orgy of profiteering by the oil mono-
polies, and a new upturn in military
appropriations to finance the continu-
ing buildup of Israeli military forces

-and U.S. invasion and nuclear strike

forces.
But U.S. imperialism overrates its

-own strength and underrates the strength

and will of its adversaries.

There is urgent need for the millions
of students, workers and professionals
who helped check U.S. aggression in
Indochina to become convinced that U.S.
policy in the Middle East is equally
aggressive and that it is even more glo-
bally dangerous. This should include
not least of all the Jewish people, who
played such a positive role on Vietnam.
Nixon must not be forgiven this threat of
nuclear war, even if it was for the mo-
ment aborted.

Our survival and prospect for a bet-
ter life requires impeaching Nixon and
throwing out Kissinger for their foreign
and military policy even more than for
Watergate.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1973—PAGE 3