Rahall was asked about U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's announcement about the oil pipeline shutdown between Syria and Iraq and calls for tough sanctions against Syria.

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By imposing economic sanctions on equipment and technology destined for the huge Siberian gas pipeline project, he put the Soviet Union on notice that if troops were used against Polish workers this crucial project would be scrapped entirely.

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India, Pakistan and Iran will sign a deal this month to build a natural gas pipeline to help feed the subcontinent's desperate need for energy, a major blow to American sanctions against Tehran and a defeat for U.S. influence in South Asia.

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