The editorial scolded me and other "hard-left conspiracy theorists" for predicting that Unocal, an American energy company, would be in Afghanistan "two seconds after the end of bombing in Afghanistan." (Yes, I did write that.)

Although Unocal strenuously denies any involvement in Afghanistan, its name keeps popping up in news accounts. President Hamid Karzai was formerly employed by a Unocal subsidiary, and last year [George Bush] named a Unocal executive, Afghan-born Zalmay Khalilzad, as his special envoy to Afghanistan.

Last May, the BBC reported that Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan were signing a huge deal to build the long-planned pipeline. Mohammed Razim, Afghanistan's mines and industries minister, told the BBC that "Unocal will be the lead company" in funding the pipeline. Unocal denied it. At the same time, a Unocal spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that the company had no plans there for the foreseeable future, but that "I don't think it would serve me to say 'forever.'"