Twitter
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Delicious
Digg
Newsvine
Google
Yahoo
TechnoratiThe Mother of All Benchmarks in Iraq: Oil
In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2002-2003, oil was seldom mentioned. Yes, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz did describe the country as afloat "on a sea of oil" (which might fund any American war and reconstruction program there); and, yes, on rare occasions, the President did speak reverentially of preserving "the patrimony of the people of Iraq" -- by which he meant not cuneiform tablets or ancient statues in the National Museum in Baghdad, but the country's vast oil reserves, known and suspected. And yes, oil did make it prominently onto the signs of war protestors at home and abroad.
Everybody who was anybody in Washington and the media, not to speak of the punditocracy and think-tank-ocracy of our nation knew, however, that those bobbing signs among the millions of antiwar demonstrators that said "No Blood for Oil" were just so simplistic, if not utterly simpleminded. Oil news, as was only proper, was generally relegated to the business pages of our papers, or even more properly -- since it was at best but one modest factor among so very many in Bush administration calculations -- roundly ignored. Admittedly, the first "reconstruction" contract the administration issued was to Halliburton to rescue that country's "patrimony," its oil fields, from potential self-destruction during the invasion, and the key instructions -- possibly just about the only instructions -- issued to U.S. troops after taking Baghdad were to guard the Oil Ministry. Then again, everyone knew this crew had their idiosyncrasies.
Ever since, oil has played a remarkably small part in the consideration of, coverage of, or retrospective assessments of the invasion, occupation, and war in Iraq (unless you lived on the Internet). To give but a single example, the index to Thomas E. Ricks' almost 500-page bestseller, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, has but a single relevant entry: "oil exports and postwar reconstruction, Wolfowitz on, 98." Yet today, every leading politician of either party is strangely convinced that the key "benchmark" the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki must pass to prove its mettle is the onerous oil law, now stalled in Parliament, that has been forced upon it by the Bush administration.
Recently, Tomdispatch.com regular Michael Schwartz followed the oil slicks deep into the Gulf of Catastrophe in Iraq. Offering a sweeping view of the role oil, the prize of prizes in Iraq, has played in Bush administration considerations since 2001, he concludes on the Mother of All Benchmarks: "Like so many American initiatives in Iraq, the oil law, even if passed, might never be worth more than the paper it will be printed on. The likelihood that any future Iraqi government which takes on a nationalist mantel will consider such an agreement in any way binding is nil. One day in perhaps the not so distant future, that 'law,' even if briefly the law of the land, is likely to find itself in the dustbin of history, along with Saddam's various oil deals. As a result, the Bush administration's 'capture of new and existing oil and gas fields' is likely to end as a predictable fiasco."
Tom Engelhardt is editor of TomDispatch.com
© 2007 The Nation
9 Comments so far
Show AllThe oil/auto/coal axis controls the government and media. Let's attack from the flank.
http://www.freepublictransit.org
I brought up the obvious oil issue from the beginning - in myriad discussions; including the fact that the very first order of business while invading Iraq was to take and hold the oil fields (I assumed forever.)
Of COURSE its about oil. Elect two oil men, and an entire oil cabinet to the White House and how could it not be about oil? Yet I've been verbally attacked every time I brought it up, by indignant Americans (Fox-watchers) who insisted that oil played a very small role in this war. It was about Iraqi freedom. Or our freedom. Or democracy. Something... but NOT OIL.
I was grateful when the Baker Hamilton Group came right out and admitted that oil was central to the issue. And of course, Bush avoided their advice -- and still no media coverage of the oil elephant in the middle of the room.
An entire nation in denial? I believe this is the chief reason why the Democratic leadership insisted on having benchmarks attached to the budget supplemental. Gotta get that oil first.
We must have it... but we absolutely cannot talk about it.
This is just more proof that this is an illegal and immoral war.
semper fi, actually Iraq is 60% shia, 20% kurd and 20% sunni. During the first "gulf war" when we shot the conscripted Iraqi army in the back as they retreated (the "turkey shoot"), and George Bush sr told the shia to rise up against Saddham and he would invade Iraq and support them so they did. But he didn't. And Saddham butchered the shia in retaliation.
But the reality is that the shia-sunni conflict is ancient and ongoing. And we're not in there to make peace or come to anyone's aid. We're trying to cram a vicious oil-stealing scheme down their throats. If you get your information from FOX news, you're just getting Rupert Murdoch's version to fit his agenda. Why do you think Cheney fought tooth and nail to keep anyone from finding out who was on his energy task force or what they discussed? But leaks are springing about that as well. Maps of Iraq's oil fields. And the participants? Oil moguls. Read the handwriting. And FOLLOW THE MONEY.
And no I haven't forgotten the oil spikes of the late 70s and the long lines at gas stations. They were successfully setting up Carter to be the most unpopular President in history. And I haven't forgotten who controls the flow of oil. And I'm watching the prices start to soar, and reading about all the excuses of refinery problems. Makes me think of Enron in California. We're a bunch of sheep being led around by the nose. They stick pins in us and we jump in the directrion they intend us to jump. Like a "senior Bush administration official" said, "We create reality and you react to it, and then we recreate reality and you react to that". And the one thing we don't do is learn anything from it. The least we could do is read history and learn from it.
kathyodat,
Good points. I would also note that those of us not connected to the oil industry will not only see no benefits, but we actually will be in a much worse position if this great robbery is successful. The well-connected corporations, particularly the oil companies, would have that much more wealth with which to influence, i.e. corrupt, our government and with which to bully the rest of us. And, on top of that, the destructive economic polarization of our society would go into hyperdrive. And, as a bonus, there would be more oil use in the US and we would suffer from an increase in associated pollutants.
Failure in this depraved scheme would be good for the Iraqis and also for 90+ percent of the American public.
Nobody is forcing the American consumer to buy gasoline. To the extent that they do virtually insures the high prices. Cut DEMAND and prices will go through the floor.
fact #1: price of crude oil on day of Gulf war in my area $1.43-now $ 2.92.
fact #2: Four or five refineries in U.S. burnt down in suspicious fires-3 or 4 taken off-line without much justification.
fact# 3: One barrel of oil price for refining has skyrocketed from $17 to $ 39 since 9-11.
fact #4: Oil ministry protected in iraq-oil fields blowned up at least 20 times.
fact #5: All projects designed to implement alternative sources-taxed and bogged down to create profit for an oil industry that is cornoring the market
on copper wire, research venues, etc-all used to create these viable sustainable sources.
fact #6: sabre rattling and scared tactics over Iran's self-organized nuclear power programs(not conforming to the standards of profit and power of the
nuclear mafia)-leading to speculation on world markets jacking up prices.
fact #7: Big oil hordes-by putting off-line about 20 % of all refined products.
fact # 8: Total profit of oil, military suppliers and security companies since 9-11- more than $400 billion.
Given that more than a 500,000 totally innocent people have died- more than 1 million have been wounded-and four million have been displaced
since the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began - I think the term " OIL FOR BLOOD"- is a pretty accurate slogan !
fact #1: price of crude oil on day of Gulf war in my area $1.43-now $ 2.92.
fact #2: Four or five refineries in U.S. burnt down in suspicious fires-3 or 4 taken offline without much justification.
fact# 3: One barrel of oils price for refining has skyrocketed from $17 to $ 39 since 9-11.
fact #4: Oil ministry protected in iraq-oil fields blowned up at least 20 times.
fact #5: All projects designed to implement alternative sources-taxed and bogged down to create profit for an oil industry that is cornoring the market
on copper wire, research venues, etc-all used to create these viable sustainable sources.
fact #6: sabre rattling and scared tactics over iran's self-organized nuclear power programs(not conforming to the standards of profit and power of the
nuclear mafia-leading to speculation on world markets jacking up prices.
fact #7: Big oil hordes-by putting off-line about 20 % of all refined products.
fact # 8: Total profit of oil, military suppliers and security companies since 9-11- more than $400 billion.
Given that more than a 500,000 totally innocent people have died- more than 1 million have been wounded-and four million have been displaced
since the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began - I think the term " OIL FOR BLOOD"- is a pretty accurate slogan !
This overview by Tom Englehardt is best used as a reference with all the links. Michael Schwartz indeed followed the oil slicks into the dark heart of the Bush regime and the complicity of the World Bank and the IMF. Incredible reading.
What amazed me is that the Iraqi people are well informed of what Bushco is trying to steal, and their efforts to prevent it. I didn't know why the Iraqi Vice President was assassinated until I read that article. He was pushing for the PSAs.
I am now convinced that if we GET OUT of Iraq they can solve their own problems. I'm not suggesting it will turn into milk and honey overnight, but it won't turn around until we're gone. 75% of Iraqis are convinced we're in there to take their oil and won't put up with it.
I'm also convinced the "leading" Democratic contenders for President don't intend to get out, they're only pretending to. They're also after the oil. After reading the extortion and blackmail we're applying to the Iraqis to try to force them to accept these PSAs and the absolute silence on the part of the Democrats about it makes me feel sick about our country.
If the Iraqis agreed to our demands, one of the most resource rich countries in the world would become an impoverished third world country while the oil companies and you-know-who would become unbelievably rich. The estimated value of their oil fields is $10 trillion. And they're fighting like hell not to let that happen, dying to stop it. And we sit on our well padded butts ignoring the elephant in the living room.
Paolo Freire said "In the struggle between the powerful and the powerless, to remain neutral is to side with the powerful".