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M. Branscomb (a Director of Mobil), and Helene L. Kaplan (a Director of Mobil).
The Seven Sisters also controlled 70% of the U.S. coal supply, which during World War II,
the Germans used to make pollution-free synthetic fuel. Their philosophy was “to mine it now,
it’s coal; to mine it later, it will be like gold.”
These seven companies announced their alliance with the statement: “We have formed a very
exclusive club ... And we are now united. We are making history.” Remember, in 1914,
Congress referred to Standard Oil as “the invisible government.” The oil companies are
powerful, and their power was never more apparent, then it was during the manufactured crisis
of 1973.
On October 6, 1973, as synagogues in Israel observed Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of
Atonement, Syrian MiG-21’s attacked a group of Israeli jets. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and eight
other Arab nations had mobilized against Israel. Egypt attacked the Sinai Peninsula with 4,000
tanks, knocking out many Israeli tanks; while Syria attacked the Golan Heights with 1,200. New
Soviet-made SAM-6 missiles plucked Israeli planes out of the sky with ease. However, within a
few days, the tide was turned. Israel regained control of the Heights, and took a large part of
Syria. On October 12, they were only 18 miles from Damascus. With 12,000 soldiers, and 200
tanks, they swept across the Suez Canal in two directions to surround the Egyptian Third Army,
which had been caught on the east side, and came within 12 miles of Cairo.
Since the first day of the war, Russia had been airlifting supplies to the Arabs, so to counter
that move, the United States said they intended to supply Israel “with whatever it needs.” Once
Israel began smashing their way to victory, Russia sent a Naval force of 71 ships, including 16
submarines, to the Mediterranean, and put their seven airborne divisions on full alert.
On October 12th, the Chairmen of Exxon, Texaco, Mobil, and Chevron (who made up the
production company of Aramco in Saudi Arabia), sent Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Haig (who
later became Reagan’s Secretary of State) a memo warning against any increased aid to Israel, by
saying it would “have a critical and adverse effect on our relations with the moderate Arab
producing countries.” On October 17th, Omar Saqqaf, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia,
gave President Nixon a letter from King Faisal, which said that if the U.S. did not discontinue
their shipment of military supplies to Israel within two days, there would be an embargo. Nixon
stated that he was committed to supporting Israel. The U.S. Sixth Fleet of 49 ships, including 2
aircraft carriers, was sent to the Mediterranean, where they maintained a state of combat
readiness.
OPEC met and decided to raise the price of oil to $5.12 a barrel, which was 70% higher than
they had agreed to before the Arab-Israeli War. The next day, the Arab countries met, and
decided to cut oil production by 5%, however, the Saudis later decided to cut back production by
more than 20%, and by October 20th, had embargoed all oil shipments to the U.S., and countries
that were partial to Israel.
As the Israeli counterattack continued, Egypt and Syria were in serious trouble, and Russia
urged the UN to call a ceasefire. Jim Akins, the ambassador to Saudi Arabia sent a message to
Aramco that the oil embargo would not be lifted “unless the political struggle is settled in a
manner satisfactory to the Arabs.” Two days later, the Saudis requested from the Aramco
directors, information concerning the amount of oil used by the U.S. military, which they
supplied. The Saudis then instructed them to stop all supplies to the military. In December,
OPEC announced a price of $11.65 a barrel, and the result was economic chaos in the United
States and Western Europe.
Though Aramco claimed that they had no choice in what they did, and that they weren’t