Does senior Obama official have ties to human rights abuser Chevron?

Last month Chevron was awarded the "Richard C. Holbrooke Award for Business Leadership" in "recognition of the company's global public health programs." (And, no, this is not a story from The Onion.) It was first reported by Newsweek's Michael Isikoff. The award, from the Global Business Coalition, was bestowed upon Chevron at a June 24 ceremony in honor of its work "to eradicate HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria." In a world where war criminals like Henry Kissinger receive the Nobel Peace Prize and murderous thugs like former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Colombia's Alvaro Uribe are given the U.S. "Presidential Medal of Freedom," perhaps this award should not come as a surprise. Other award recipients included Shell Oil (which just paid $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit over its alleged involvement in the killing of Nigerian playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists), Marathon Oil and Anglo Coal of South Africa. In giving Chevron the award, the GBC asserted Chevron "has long been a leader in the fight for global health." But those who have monitored the company's record for years beg to differ.

"Giving Chevron an award for its fight against malaria is like giving Phillip Morris an award for smoking cessation programs," says Steve Kretzmann, a longtime environmental activist and Executive Director of Oil Change International. "Chevron is doing everything it can to lobby against climate change legislation and produce more oil, which causes climate change. A changing climate will greatly increase the spread and range of malaria globally, and higher rates of HIV in oil producing communities owing to the prevalence of prostitution is well documented."

Judith Chomsky, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, which sued Chevron for its involvement in killings and other abuses in the Niger Delta says the awarding of such a "prize to Chevron elevates form over substance," adding, "Outside of photo ops and international scrutiny, where the populations are poor and lacking the ability to effect Chevron's behavior, Chevron operates in total disregard for the health and environmental consequences of its operations." In recognizing Chevron, the GBC cited the company's work in Nigeria. But Chomsky charges that in Nigeria the company has severely damaged the environment and harmed indigenous communities. "The fact that Chevron uses some of its ill-gotten profits for public displays of civic actions does not balance out the greater harm for which it is responsible," she says.

While giving such an award to Chevron is perverse enough on its own, let's remember whom it is that the award is named after. Richard C. Holbrooke is currently the Obama administration's point man on Afghanistan and Pakistan with a substantial portfolio that includes areas of Chevron's current and, likely, future operations. Before becoming Obama's "Af/Pak" envoy, Holbrooke was the president and CEO of GBC, an organization he spent the past decade building. Holbrooke, who cut his teeth working for Henry Kissinger during Vietnam, has, for decades, marched back-and-forth over the golden bridge linking corporations and government. Chevron received the award in large part because it committed $30 million over three years to the GBC-affiliated Global Fund in 2008 while Holbrooke was GBC's president and CEO.

In its press release on the award, Chevron labeled the prize "prestigious" despite the fact that it is the first time it has been presented and was named after Holbrooke after he joined the Obama administration.
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It never really changes, does it?