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TechnoratiKucinich Claims War Masks the Real Objective: Iraqi Oil
WASHINGTON - It's all about Iraq's oil - rich, abundant, and coveted by multinational companies waiting to line their deep pockets.
Or so said Rep. Dennis Kucinich Wednesday in an unusual hourlong address on the House floor. He laid out his contention that the White House and Democratic-led Congress are helping oil companies grab a stake in Iraq's vast oil fields while claiming to be interested merely in winding down the Iraq war.
The claim has brought Kucinich derision within his own Democratic Party. Leaders reject the suggestion that they would help "privatize" Iraqi oil. And Republicans dismiss him altogether, with Republican Party spokesman Dan Ronayne saying, "It sounds like congressman Kucinich is trying to get noticed with a nutty conspiracy theory."
But elements of Kucinich's claim appear to be based on theories about geopolitics and oil as much as on any conspiracy.
At the heart of the issue is a measure that, if ratified by the Iraqi parliament, would set the stage for rebuilding the war-torn country's oil industry. Oil in Iraq, with the world's third-biggest reserves, could pay for massive reconstruction and modernization.
But Iraq's pipelines and terminals have been neglected or sabotaged. The industry needs to be rebuilt - yet there is promise, since only 15 of Iraq's 74 discovered oil fields have been developed, according to a study by Amy Myers Jaffe, a fellow in energy studies at Rice University in Houston.
Who should develop that? What role should Baghdad play and what role should provincial governments have? If private industry helps, how should it be rewarded?
The framework for answering these questions is in the bill before the Iraqi parliament - a bill that's been gaining detractors in Iraq. Some members of Congress - but not Kucinich - say it or some other so-called hydrocarbon act could serve as a benchmark for Congress and the administration to measure Iraq's progress. It could be a measure on which to base eventual withdrawal of American troops.
But the measure itself is mired in disagreement in Iraq, with Sunnis and Kurds differing on the central question of provincial versus central control. Some in Iraq also see the measure as a way for Western corporations to gain control through revenue- sharing provisions.
"Everyone knows that the oil law does not serve the Iraqi people, and that it serves Bush, his supporters and the foreign companies at the expense of the Iraqi people who have been wronged and deprived of their right to their oil despite enduring all difficulties," Hasan Jum'a Awwad, head of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, said in a May 12 letter to Democrats in the U.S. Congress.
There's another view. Iraq's oil industry is in shambles. It needs help, but outside experts keep getting killed. Multinational oil companies, whose shareholders expect a return on investment, could help.
Iraq could go it alone, but getting higher oil output could require hard decisions, including "possible under-investment in other areas of the country's economy," Jaffe's analysis said. Iraq needs up to $10 billion to restore production to pre-war levels, she said, and more than $20 billion - "a major investment program" - to raise output to about 5 million barrels a day, the high end of its historical production levels.
"If it is decided that higher levels of production are desired," Jaffe wrote, "it is inevitable that the potential role of outside in vestors and lenders will loom large."
While that does not mean companies would give their resources and expertise out of charity, Karen Matusic, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, says it does not mean privatization, either. She asks why Kucinich would not want to help Iraq, which lacks the tools.
"They don't have the kinds of funds or even technology needed to develop those fields," she said.
Sen. George Voinovich, an Ohio Republican, shares that view.
"That oil is capital," and all sides in Iraq need it, said Voinovich spokesman Chris Paulitz.
Kucinich agrees with the sentiment. But he worries it won't work out that way.
"It's clear," he said, "that the people of Iraq are under enormous pressure to give up their oil."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: skoff@plaind.com, 216-999-4212
© 2007 The Plain Dealer
82 Comments so far
Show AllKucinich is correct. The war in Iraq is, and has been, about oil, period. Who will control the vast petroleum reserves of the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the Caspian Sea area) has been the central question in the "Great Game" between global superpowers extending back over a century.
Beneath the ideological flag-waving and religious polemics, economics has always been at the heart of every conflict. Throughout history wars have ALWAYS been fought for control of strategic assets, and our current situation is no different. The issue of war in Iraq has never been about democracy versus dictatorship or fundamentalist Christianity versus Islamic militancy, but rather, American transnational petro-chemical corporate control or retention of ownership by the indigenous peoples of this region. What is at stake involves trillions of dollars in assets.
It is the reason that ex-oilmen George H.W. Bush launched the first Iraq war and his son, ex-oilman George W. Bush, along with ex-oil corporate executive Dick Cheney launched the second Iraq war. The regime in Washington is composed of criminal war-profiteering plutocrats and their petro-chemical corporate political toadies, period. Kudos to Kucinich for boldly speaking the truth! The rest is rhetoric.
Uh, this is news? More than four years into the war, people are still pondering why the Texas oil patch guys did it in the first place? Duh.
SuZen-
I couldn't agree more. I have been plotting my escape to CR for the past 2 years (never been there, but it sounds like a great place!). Screw this place...Americans, for the most part, deserve exactly what they are getting. They are a bunch of lazy, self-absorbed, mindless, consumers who, as long as they get their steady dose of American Idol and the mall, are perfectly happy to live in a country that commits crimes against humanity and is speeding down the highway toward its own self destruction.
This question is obviously off-topic, and unwelcome: Why is the world fighting over oil, when oil will be its demise?
Short-term gain to ensure quick (and final) pain perhaps.
Let's fight over solar energy instead. Problem is, this may not satisy the death-mongers (the military-industrial complex) who seem to revel in death, or treat it as non-issue.
failing this, we will continue to see america as the designated serial killer of the planet. After all, they very much enjoy it.
Our concern for the freedoms of those populating the most oil rich region of the Globe does seem a little excessive, but I thought that was just a coincidence.
jon
Connecting the dots:from human behaviors to ecosystem decline
http://StudentsForTheEarth.org
The Iraqis should create a national oil cooperative. Give an A level shares to every citizen in Iraq, Give a B level to every Iraqi refugee who returns, Give a C level for every person in a family killed in this war. Then sell any others to other investors, but be sure Iraqis maintain majority control. They would all then be invested and make more decisions to serve their common interests.
This could bring peacea and ensure the Iraqis have control of their natural resource.
I heard this from a man who called in a C-Span. Made a ton of sense to me.
Forget it Happy, the 2008 presidential campaign has already been fixed!
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/061
One of the fundamental arguments by AEI and international oil companies is justified by saying they are willing to help Iraq. The argument: Iraq needs their help to build Iraqi oil fields.
Iraq doesn't need help with building its oil fields. Iraq needs help becoming a sovereign nation that can defend itself against outside forces that are interested in dominating its natural resources. The third world countries in the world who become strong are the ones who build themselves up from within, and not from international loans.
Outsiders say Iraq needs roughly 10-15 Billion USD (not EURO, mind you) to rebuild a functional oil infrastructure. What are the examples of success when a third world country takes first world bank loans? How many countries today have been overwhelmed by the interest rates of the World Bank? Why did Wolfie recently step down? Why was Wolfie a key player in implementing the illegal invasion of Iraq, and afterwards why was he placed in charge of the World Bank?
People want to belittle these issues by calling it a conspiracy while failing to follow the slime trail* left by the brokers. ...Then again, Iraq could sue the US and UK for the invasion and destruction of their country., Iraq could bill the US for disposal of US waste- ie DU, cluster bomblets- ie landmines., etc., I'm sure the damage and clean up could easily reach 40 Billion USD (OK, fat chance).
*No offense to Mollusks
jonm-
You're about three years behind me. I even worked for the Kucinich campaign in PA back in 2004 and voted for him in the state primary (oh yes, he was a candidate back then too for those of you who think he's new at this). But when I saw how his own party dismissed him and the incredible odds a progressive has even within the supposedly "open-minded" Dem party, I left the party for the fresh air of independence.
It amazes me that so many progressive American voters are still tied to the belief that their voice will be heard in the Democratic Party and their candidate will actually get nominated let alone supported during an election. Kucinich is a great man but he stands no chance, NO CHANCE, of representing his party in 2008. Then again, if Kucinich believes in the ideals and vision he speaks about, why would he stay in a party dominated by corporate elitists, special interests and big money? If he were to break from the party, you'd see a mass exodus of progressives following him. The Dem Party has not only shot itself in the foot this week by turning its back to its own members by voting to support the continuation of the war, but I think it has shown everyone finally just how shackled they are to corporate interests that run this country. Kucinich could be the catalyst to unite the fractured pro-human rights, pro-peace Left in this country, but it won't happen as long as he believes himself a Democrat.
The only reason I'm keeping my Democratic registration is so I can vote for Kucinich in the PA primary after then it's independent once again for me. I've lost all faith in the Democratic Party.
What's really remarkable about this is how the comments and Kucinich speech all reveal a good understanding of "Operation Iraq Liberation" aka OIL, but the reporter in this article feels the need to parrot the Bush Administration's PR line - "The oil companies are there to HELP the Iraqi people" - which is just ridiculous, as anyone could see. The Emperor wears no clothes.
The media also won't report on the main reason behind the current high gasoline prices - the warm winter, probably related to global warming, reduced heating fuel sales and caused a revenue shortfall for the oil corporations, which they are now trying to make up by jacking up the price. It's monopolistic manipulation of the market - but don't expect Gonzales Justice Department to raise the issue.
Maybe if DK left the D party, the corporate propaganda machine (media) wouldn't even mention him - perhaps there would be fewer chances of him participating in the farces that they call "debates". Perhaps his odds would be even worse than they are now. There are a few good guys in that party, Sen Byrd & Rangel to name two.
I think it's about Oil, Israel, AND the 500 + billion dollar pork barrel that our misleaders call "defense" spending, when of course it's used merely as a tool to expand the American empire/corporate profits.
They do a very good job of maintaining the illusion that all that wasted money, is well spent.
I've seen bumper stickers with "How did our oil get under Iraq's sand?" for years, so it's hardly a "conspiracy theory." More like the secret that's not. And the other reason we're in Iraq? To protect Israel. It's all about Israel and oil, plain and simple.
By this time, if Kucinich were sincere, he would leave the Democratic party. He is the token who lends the party a modicum of credibility and keeps you, hope after hope, maintaining the shred of faith in the party. He keeps the progressives reeled in, hanging on to dear hope.
What I want to know is how did the Iraqis produce 5 million barrels of oil a day before the war? To hear these "pundits" talk they are incapable of exploiting their oil resources without help and yet they were doing just fine
back when we were supposedly running sanctions
against doing business with them. So either
we were clandestinly helping them and therefore guilty of violating our own sanctions, or...and I suspect this is the more likely...their oil producing infrastructure was deliberatly targeted during the invasion in order to render them incapable of producing oil; all this at the same time GWB and Adolf Cheney were assuring us Iraqi oil would pay for this travesty. They knew oil would not pay for this illegal invasion because they deliberatly interrupted production in order to enable their oil industry puppet masters to steal it later.
That they have resorted to calling Kucinich
a "nutty conspiracy theory" type show they have no actual substantive answer to his allegations and have resorted to name calling to cloud the issue (a tactic they use again and again when they have been caught in a lie)
Lot of people can be fooled all the time, concenterate on them George. W. Bush
Somes up the Americans
I have never been much of a Dennis Kucinich fan. But, I am fast becoming one. He seems to be the only one who has enough guts to stand up to the mafia! We all know there is a reason Bush keeps hanging on there. He keeps pushing to privatize everything. He has privatized war that is costing the American taxpayer through the nose! Big business is more corrupt than government. We can see from Enron and few other companies what privatizion has done.
Anna litvin,
The US runs on petroleum, like the rest of the world, but the US actions in Iraq have not made the price cheaper for Americans, nor was that the objective. If Iraq had been left alone, and the sanctions had come to an end as scheduled, their production would be way up and the world price and US consumer price for oil would be significantly lower.
The US oil companies that want to control the oil do not want that, and would not use that power, to benefit US consumers. US consumers would have to pay as much as anyone else. This is not about benefits to US consumers. It is about who gets the profit derived from the difference between the cost of producing the oil and the price one obtains from selling it.
Bush and Cheney have been trying to fool US consumers into believing that if the US oil companies control the oil then that is better for US consumers, but there is absolutely no reason to believe that. The oil companies would sell to anyone and would not give US consumers a break on the price.
There would be no benefit to US consumers by having US companies get the PSAs they are seeking, but instead it would be a net negative, as the trillions in profit they would accumulate would allow them to further bully the rest of us and further warp and corrupt our political system and our culture.
I have great admiration for any person who stands on their principles and conscience. Kucinich is one of those people who stands above his colleagues. He is an idealist and visionary who is not afraid to take a stand, even if that stand goes against the grain of his own party leadership and the corporate media. There are others too in both the house and senate who are willing to speak out. But unfortunately, neither Kucinich nor any other like-minded member of congress will ever reach a point of real power as long as they remain in their corporate-controlled and profit-driven party. It's time that these rays of hope break away from the very politics that keep them and free thinking Americans from attaining the good society we desparately need. We need a new third party with an idealistic, non-corporate platform lead by these fearless idealists. Oh, that's right. We have the Green Party. What say ye, Kucinich? Is it time?
Just another Wacky Conspiracy Theory
Greg Palast claims that it is not about oil, it is about petrodollars.
The idea is to keep Iraqi oil off the market, to drive the price up.
Prices now are hovering around $65.00 per barrel and last summer they reached into the 70's.
Greg Palast says "mission accomplished".
For information on the history of the price of oil, follow this link.
http://www.wtrg.com/prices.htm
I been saying for years now that I would give six months of pay to hear Bush-man say " WE WILL LEAVE IRAQ WHEN THE MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED........... THAT IS WHEN ALL THEIR OIL IS GONE!"
Its sad that Kucinich doesn't mention Ron Paul the Republican peace candidate and that Common Dreams doesn't cover him along with Kucinich.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE UNITED ON THE WAR BUT DIVIDED ON GAY MARRIAGE GUN CONTROL ETC. This is true among those most veahemently opposed to the war as well. No issues of common solidarity among the majority of war opponents like during Vietnam. I would like to see Kucinish and Ron Paul meet, debate, then part of the time disguss how to together they can stop the war, and Paul and Kucinich supporters likewise, get together to discuss how they can end the war while part of the time argue diversive issues.
Richard Kanegis 215-563-2866 PO Box 31913 Phila PA 19103. RichardKanegis@aol.com. I'm the guy that usually argues that bin Laden is winning an overwhelming victory pluging the world into hate.
The loot we get and so desperately need gives a sense of urgency to the war and makes us all complicit.
THE LOOT
"I think one reason the criminals in Washington don't want to publicize how they are trying to help US oil corporations steal trillions of dollars is that the hapless and hopeless US citizens might start thinking they will get a share of the loot! Of course most Americans might support it if they thought that, but no way will the crooks in charge let a penny slip by to benefit the great unwashed masses, and so they don't want to raise expectations of millions that they know later they will have to crush. Enough people might get angry to actually do something."
THE lOOT WE GET
We are benifiting. Oil fills or pocketbook and puts food on our tables(miles- machinery fuel- pesticides- herbicides-fertilizer) it keeps our economy rolling One tank of gas is the energy equivelant of months of one mans hard labor. The way we use it is like each of us having 300 slaves.
While the oil companies may profit from taking the Iraq oil off the market just wait and see what happens when the price hits $8.00 per gallon or when wee have to wait in line so long we are late to work. "Enough people might get angry to actually do something."
Once again, what is being kurd or sunni or shia has to do with being the goverment. It is like saying that christian, budhist or again another religious group has to be at the head of the decision. We don't care if you are religious, just get the f. out of the goverment decision making. they don't need a religious group to be governing. Do we ask if bush or Kerry are christian when we go voting. Get a secular group at the head of the goverment and keep the religion out of politics for christ sake.
I saw this live on C-Span and was really impressed. It was a terrific presentation that apparently fell on deaf ears (if they didn't all leave on coffee break.) I keep looking for a YouTube video of it for my blog, but haven't found anything - up until this article, I hadn't even seen any real media coverage.
Dennis really stands alone in the House, very much the way Russ Feingold stands alone in the Senate. Both men of great character and ethics; both ignored by their own party -- and loved by their constituents.
So don't we leave Iraq if the Iraqi government asks us to? How's that coming?
Why is it that the greedy evil fuckers and the spineless whimps running the show far out number those that are of any real value to this country?
"Nutty conspiracy theory." How stupid do the Repugs and their Democratic enablers think we are?
The U. S. corporate/political establishment's big quarrel with the late Saddam Hussein was that his oil was nationalized. Same is true with the Mullahs of Iran. As Nader said, putting in Bush and Cheney is simply having the oil companies in the Oval Office. The American Empire is all about controlling access to oil, especially as it grows more scarce. The big laugh is that corporate media and the powers that be are forever focusing on somebody's "Weapons of Mass Destruction." What an absurd projection from the country with more weapons than the rest of the world combined, now making even more nukes. What the hell is the difference if Iran get a nuclear weapon? Israel has hundreds of them. Iran is not about to commit suicide by trying to use one. Persia has been around for many thousands of years. Iran's great sin is to have nationalized oil and to try to go an independent path. So the Bush gang and their Democratic collaborators (like Obama and Clinton) would like to make them into another Iraq. I don't think they will succeed. They will just create many times the mess they have already created. But that's what W does best. Make messy and never be held accountable. He's been doing it all his life, together with his always powerful enablers, whether daddy's friends or the Congressional Democrats.
Of course it's for the oil -- nothing else makes sense. (Oil = power = control = What? Great big pee pees?) And that's why we will never, never never ever leave Iraq. No timeline, no lifeline, no deadline -- no hope. The image of The Road Warrior comes to mind.
"War Masks the Real Objective: Iraqi Oil"
Cover story in the national news magazine, "Well, Duh."
From the very beginning with the Project for a New American Century to the oil bill itself written by representatives of the major oil companies and handed down by Bremer, the American viceroy, it has been obvious that oil was the main goal. Why were the oil ministry and the oil fields the only things protected by the military after the invasion? Why didn't they go immediately to where the WMD were supposed to be hidden, instead? For anyone to actually believe otherwise marks that person as being on a drug induced hallucinogenic trip. To claim otherwise marks one as dishonest as hell and not to be trusted.
This war has always been about oil - and the failure to take the lead in the alternate energy industry. Cling to the dinosaurs at all cost.
Some people have the imagination and courage to lead America into the energy world of the future - a future that is not poisoned by oil or nuclear energies. We will get there, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Here's my take on how this will play out:
Iraqis need help with their oil infrastructure.
U.S. and British oil companies will send their experts over there to install equipment with various oil-flow meters that are "patent protected" like our "democratic" voting machines that any 10 year old can hack into and change the numbers with of course, no OVERSIGHT.
Once the wells are dug and the pipelines and meters are up and running at the expense of American taxpayers (as part of the Iraqi rebuilding project) and possibly a donation from the private oil companies and the Iraqi government, our troops will have to stay in Iraq to fight all the pissed-off insurgents who want to blow-up the oil pipelines so American companies won't reap the larger benefit from Iraqi oil that belongs to Iraqis.
Considering that the entire world will have to rely on oil for at least the next 25-30 years, we (U.S.) can either continue to occupy Iraq for the next 30 years while U.S. Corporations rake-in the wealth from that oil and our troops and Iraqis die on a daily basis, or, we can cut a FAIR oil deal with that country so our troops and American taxpayer money don't get sacrificed for the benefit of American/British Oil Companies and their shareholders.
The decision to take the more sane approach lies in the hands of our Congress. There is no excuse for making the wrong choice!
Here's why no one can admit we went to Iraq to steal control of the oil:
1. Coveting
2. Lying
3. Murdering
4. Stealing
Of course, no one but a complete fool or a liar can hold that there ever was any other reason for attacking, invading, and occupying Iraq.
Bill from Saginaw,
I don't think we need to worry about the Americans finding too many Iraqi politicians who have so little self respect, and so much greed, that they will sign off on the PSAs. There have been reports that Iraqi politicians who are found, by any of various Iraqi militant groups, to be in favor of the PSAs disappear and are never seen alive again. The Democrats might not be able to stop this robbery but it looks like the Iraqis will.
The tragedy is that as the criminal enterprise continues more innocents are killed and maimed, more poisonous DU is used, more money is wasted, and more hatred is formed, and all the while the criminal gang achieves its secondary goals of further enriching arms manufacturers, private mercenaries, Halliburton, construction firms, and the oil companies that have benefited from taking Iraqi oil off the market.
NMBill wrote
''Everything is bought and sold on the Global Market. Everything! We owe China how much?''
How right you are but the truth is every one and everything in the US is owned by the private banks lock stock and barrel as they are able to create money out of NOTHING as an interest bearing DEBT.
Under the freedom of Information act request the figures for the Out Standing Market Credit Debt of the US + the total amount owed to the Chinese.These figures will be an eye opener as to how every one in America is owned by the foreigners
What moneylender says is the bottom line.
Everything is bought and sold on the Global Market. Everything! We owe China how much?
If it is not about the oil, why is it that the US embassay being built is the largest in the world and will be able to house several thousand people. Not to mention that it will have its own water and electric supply.
Pretty well the rest of the world concedes that it IS about the oil. Funny how the corporate press have been as silent as church mice on this issue.
Kucinich would be the democratic canidate in 2008 if he weren't 5'5. He's basically the same as Hillary or Obama, but with more experience. Shame on all of us
The one piece of information I have learned from all that has happened since 911 is that one third of the country has no brain, one third of the country doesn't give a rats ass and the last third just love to talk about it. There are exceptions of course, present company excepted.
If the current Iraqi parliament and/or the Maliki government rolls over and passes Bush's hydrocarbon law with long term PSA's going to the foreign oil firms, what little popular support the regime has will ordinary Iraqi citizens will vanish instantly.
The only thing more unpopular than the US military occupation at the grassroots level is the proposed oil law giveaway. If the Maliki government acquiesces on control of their national oil resources, the insurgency will really galvanize against the Green Zone political figureheads. The regime would be toast.
Three cheers for Dennis Kucinich for timing public discussion of the oil law ploy for the same time George Tenet's book and the upcoming Senate Intelligence Committee report re-emphasize how, in the summer and fall of 2002, all the public stated reasons for invading Iraq (fear of WMD, fear of an Osama-Saddam connection, fear of another 911 sponsored by Iraqi intelligence) were never the real reasons motivating the White House anyway.
If all that Saddam-Osama-WMD-imminent threat fearmongering is now conceded to be utter bullshit and nothing but Karl Rove's window dressing for the masses, then what were the real reasons?
Oil?
Empire?
Or as the Church Lady used to say, could it be the Devil?
Despite lots of reasons to sink into deep cynicism and massive depression over beltway political developments during the last three months, I keep grasping to find redeeming method in the Democratic Party's antiwar legislative strategy.
Could it be that the Dems want passage of the hated oil law by the Iraqis to be made a formal legislative "benchmark" in anticipation that no self respecting politician this sike of Ahmad Chalabi will ever capitulate to such a craven act of naked corporate plunder?
So if Maliki and Moktada and Hakim and Talibani and the insurgency and the Shiites and the Sunnis and the Kurds and the clergy and what's left of the the secularists all simultaneously turn en masse to tell George Bush and the Baker/Hamilton boys to stick it - that this oil law pipe dream is literally a pipe dream that will never come true - could that perhaps bring a sullen, hypocritical bipartisan ending to Little George's great Mesopotamian crusade?
Bill from Saginaw
1. Primary goal : control and profit from Iraq oil.
2. Alternate goal : Profit by upsetting oil market by keeping Iraq oil off the market.
3. Certain benefit either way : Get rich on the military and rebuilding contracts.
The fact that this man, one of the few with the guts to speak the truth, is dismissed by HIS OWN PARTY is just disgusting. I urge everyone to spread the word about Kucinich. I wear his button everywhere and it's amazing how many people still haven't heard of him, thanks to our corporate media. Donate to his campaign if possible, but more importantly, talk it up. If the message gets out there, more people will realize there is hope. Even if he is not nominated, he can bring so much to the debate with his honest, courageous, commonsense philosophy. Kucinich.us
This is without a doubt the best effort to date in making this info available to all concerned. For Congressman Kucinich's complete summary and notes on the one hour speech in the House on 5/23/07 try this link: www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/22838/ It's All About Oil. Check it out!
Of course it's all about the oil.
Duh....You don't see Bush and Co invading North Korea.
Cee Miracles -
Yes, we are in for one hell of a bumpy ride, no question about that! It's like we're riding in a bus (1)driven by a drunk driver, (2)going ninety miles an hour (3)down a dirt road, (4)the engine is smoking and (5)we have 3 flat tires, and (6)everyone on the bus is discussing the statistical likelihood of there being an accident and which of the 6 problems is most likely the cause.
My solution? JUMP OUT OF THE FRIGGIN' BUS!
I moved to Costa Rica three ago because I could see this coming. I couldn't stomach sending my kids to public schools where they teach them nada but how to be good little consumer taxpayers. TV is drivel, the corporations have everyone hypnotized, and I for one, do not want to play or contribute to the game any longer.
I couldn't just sit and exchange this escalation of insanity with others through email either, thinking that would help, that maybe if I promoted the right candidate things could change. It's to late. The world is being bought and sold on the international marketplace, with the international bankers and a few mega-corps holding all the cards. This is one huge poker game, and our sweat and blood is the nation's currency.
I HAD to act, HAD to make a stand for FREEDOM, beyond borders, for ALL people. Here at least the vote for CAFTA is receiving a national referendum, an unprecedented occurrence, so that the people at least can decide. And they're smart enough to know that it could compromise their sovereignty, so they are fighting it. We are able to buy land here, and are seeking a large parcel and hoping there are others who want to get out of the box before the lid shuts. They are already preparing for another incident, probably nuclear, so they can implement marshall law. This likely to happen before the next election. There is little time left....and the big wheels keep on turning...
Reading through "Imperial Life in the Emerald City", I was reminded of the infamous Bremmer Provisional Authority 'Order 39' which, as I read it, opens up Iraqi oil to the seven sisters at the expense of whatever government results inside that country...and that was two years ago! You remember Oil, the stuff that was going to pay for this war.
I still can not believe that we still have a high percentage of people who think the Iraq war had nothing to do with Iraq's oil.
Everyday there are more reasons to doubt my fellow American's capacity for critical thought.
At least someone in this Government has the balls to tell the truth! It is a sad fact that the majority of both parties are only concerned with corporate America filling their bank accounts, not the lives of our brave Men and Women, or the innocents trapped in a war torn Iraq. Clinton, Obama, they talk a good game, but it's all about paying back the corporations that bank rolled your campaign. Here is a prediction, Obama will end up being Clinton's running mate or vice versa, and we (the good ol' U.S.A.) will continue to exploit the ideals of freedom in order to keep the poor, poor and make the rich, richer. How much money are we spending daily in Iraq?
How much are we spending daily to rebuild the gulf coast? Thousands of Americans are still displaced, struggling or homeless and our own Government doesn't care. Thousands of Men and Women who risked their lives in Iraq are struggling to deal with their psycological and physical ailments and the VA doesn't care. Support our troops, bring them home!
Dear all
The dollar has no value even as a loo paper.It's value is 'oil value'. So the plutocracy who controls US dictates to the Government of the day that it has to steal by stealth, design, brute force any one's and every one's oil. Unless they are willing stooges who willingly bend over back ward to accommodate.
The People's Bank of China and friends are keeping the US a float with a daily overdraft of Two and a half Billions, how long is the question.The US and it's poodles dare NOT take on the Chinese, nor the North Koreans.
The US is a war economy, hence it has to find enemies imaginary or other wise to keep a float. Will Iran be next.?
david
"I have to dispute the idea that the point of the war was to *steal* Iraqi oil, but I will concede this much: *controlling* that oil is certainly a high priority for the sociopaths who matter."
Well its certainly a high priority to the oil companies. And if it is a high priority to the oil companies, then it is a high priority to war criminals in Washington. Oil companies want to extract a barrel of oil at the cost of $1.00 and sell it for $70.00-100.00. The majority of oil will flow out of Iraq and into our $3.50-4.00 per gallon gas stations.
Thankfully, the people of Iraq will not let these parasite suck on their blood without a fight. Through their resistance, they will creat so much instability in Iraq that oil companies will think twice about setting shot in Iraq.
kathydat wrote:
"Bush is insane to think he can murder them into submission. It's just more and more lives lost - theirs and ours."
It sure is and it's part of the plan. Bush is really interested in starting the final war in the Middle East. Oil and tons more profit to oil companies is just a side drama he and his gan enjoy so much.
This is nothing more than Christian Cowboy showdown at the M.E. Corral.
Many sources have indicated that the US oil companies wanted more control of the oil prices and sought an end to Saddam's erratic manipulation of production through an overthrow of the Iraqi government and a shutdown of Iraq's oil fields. But with Iraq's estimated $10 trillion or more in easily recoverable reserves, it is clear that the oil companies consider production under the PSAs to offer far greater rewards than just shutting down the fields. They are happy with the shutdown, but they are most likely pressuring Bush and Cheney and other crooks in Washington to get them the PSAs that are their hearts' desire.
want to have some fun? ask your rep. what they think of PNAC.
Re: Eric Barth...but Dennis is only partly right about the motivation for the war.
True enough. And let us not forget the military industrial complex. Rather than a 'conspiracy' per se, it is the nature of the beast. The MIC promotes fear to ensure its own survival. Any MIC CEO that dared to contradict this, would soon find him or herself unemployed.
Re:collidingrivers - Why is Kucinich still with the dems?
Because an independant candidate will never get national media exposure. Do you remember lively debates between Nader, Bush and Gore or Kerry? Of course not because corporate America wouldn't allow it. Nader would have forced candidates to tackle issues that matter to Americans such as wages and health care rather than media manufactured issues like gay marriage and abortion. Though they are real issues, they are very much peripheral issues to the majority of Americans (how many people do you know that are currently trying to have a gay marriage or an abortion?) yet they dominate the airwaves to obfiscate more pressing matters.
Kucinich must use the Democratic Party apparatus (if possible!) to get elected much the way that Gorbachez did in the former Soviet Union. Only when Gorbachev finally came to power, was he able to dismantle the repressive system. At least if Kucinich is chosen as the Dem. leader, the national media will have no choice except to bring those issues to the forefront.
Some "conspiracy nut" theory!! The oil part of this story has never been a secret to anyone, but Dennis is only partly right about the motivation for the war. Access (ours and others)to petroleum, is one of the goals of the war. The other major one (now somewhat dented)is the demonstration of global power by the U.S. as the "New Rome." Lastly, and perhaps most critical, is control of the domestic political scene via the quashing of dissent, gerrymandered and fraudulent elections and control of the media. This is very dark stuff of which "serious" or "first tier" Democratic candidates dare not speak. Read Mark Crispin Miller and Greg Palast, the other "conspiracy nuts" for more info. Morris Berman (Dark Ages America) and Ira Chernus (Monsters to Destroy) are excellent reads on this.
Anyone who has read Daniel Yergin's book 'The Prize', a comprehensive tome on the history of oil, will quickly relaize that the oil industry has been 'conspiring' for years to control output. This is nothing new. In fact the reporter does a disservice to Kucinich by paying lip service to this piece of Republican propaganda.
I guess the gullible are suppose to accept the explanation that the invasion of Iraq was to fight Al Qaeda (which didn't exist there until the U.S. invaded) or to prevent Iraq from using WMD's or (can anyone keep a straight face with this one?) ... to promote democracy! Yeah...right!
I have to dispute the idea that the point of the war was to *steal* Iraqi oil, but I will concede this much: *controlling* that oil is certainly a high priority for the sociopaths who matter.
Look at Iraq's oil output from the last few years, then take a look at oil company profits. Oil production in Iraq goes down, oil company profits go up. Exxon/Mobil has repeatedly set new quarterly profit records over the last few years.
Whether Iraq pumps 5-10 million barrels a day or none makes little difference to the oil companies, because they profit either way. I dare say it's almost certainly *more* profitable to leave those oil fields untapped.
Highly recommend reading ARMED MADHOUSE - GREG PALAST for PLAN A & PLAN B for Iraqi oil. Among other puzzle pieces to complete the picture, were the secret plans and deals about the OIL. One is the NEOCON plan for privatization which has fallen out of a favor as the Neocons have. The other is the deal with the Saudi's which is what this is about.
[Palast's investigations and documentations have not been welcomed by our media. So he broadcasts out of London, but you don't hear it here. But you can get his books with all those missing puzzle pieces. Blew me away on so many things and people connections.]
OPEC and the Saudi's are involved with the usual footsie going on with the BUSHY FAMILY, the usual CORPORATE MOGULS and the "KINGS" OF ARABY and, of course, JAMES BAKER, the Bush consigliari of the mega-Texas law firm, Baker/ Botts and whomever else. JAMES BAKER, former Secretary of State to Bush #1, also happens to represent the SAUDI's.
And how about all those extra ships just settled in the harbor ready to "liberate Iran?" One thing that was changed in the compromise bill for funding our troops in Iraq was that GW does NOT have to have congressional advice or approval if he just has an itch to bomb the hell out of IRAN. He's got a blank check now. That was one of the first compromises, but got no media play. Don't hold your breath; an attack on IRAN is in the works at the whim and timing of GW & Co.
And how 'bout that other neat little order slipped through so quietly very, very recently, that in the event of an emergency ... attack, 911-style?, devastating weather, like Katrina, etc., [it's sort of open as to what an emergency is], our PREZ will have not only the powers of the Executive, but will assume the powers of the legislative branches as well. Long time before the next election. And maybe there won't even be one with all the emergencies that may happen or be declared. Or maybe there will be a token election, one fully programmed for more of the same voter fraud and anointed whomevers. [ARMED MADHOUSE - Chapter on "Saving Election 2008."
My own take at this point is that in the not-too-distant future, we are all going to have a lesson in how one's own country becomes a totalitarian dictatorship and full police state, without even any media trying to pretend that it's still the good old U.S. of A. ... because the media as we know it will be gone. What happens to the freedom of the Internet is up for grabs at this point.
Kucinich is a brave man. There are others as well: Russ Feingold, Barbara Lee, John Conyers, Maxine Waters, John Murtha, James Byrd, and a handful of others in both Houses of Congress, but not really too many who don't waffle and cave when they get a bad press or are joked about by Leno and Letterman.
Why is Kucinich laughed at by his colleagues in the House and his TRUE words about the OIL being the issue for the Iraq invasion written off as a "conspiracy theory"? Most of the American public understands already that it's all about the oil. That's old, true news, but the media will dumb it down and leave out relevant information and put frills around it.
Most of these elected officials of ours are making money with their lobbyist friends from "defense" industries and the sale of weapons to other countries. War is good for their pocketbooks and portfolios. And don't forget about oil stocks and shares either. Nifty profits EXXON et al. have been passing on to their shareholders with the manipulated rise of by-the-barrel prices for crude.
Most of our elected officials have deep, deep pocket, lined with money, but deep enough for more, to get re-elected or to have a very good life if they leave office.
Let's get real here. We no longer have a government of the United States. We have a corporate fascist oligarchy, just like Benito Mussolini had. And the Italian assembly representatives, similar to ours, went along. Same thing. They knew which side their bread was buttered on and/or they were very afraid ... with good reason.
Of course, now we can say, "Oh, but look what happened to Mussolini."
Get real. It's too late, folks. It's too late. We are not that young, wide-eyed national group anymore, coming out of The Great Depression. Suddenly it seemed [think Pearl Harbor] with FDR's previous deals with Churchil and clever manipulations away from the public's preference for no more war and isolationism, we became the romanticized Galahad Knight Rescuers / Defenders of a blitzed England and the rest of Europe, but with U.S. manufacturing of tanks, planes, guns, ships and all the rest of the weapons going into high gear and the beginnings of mega-prosperity. George M. Cohan's World War I song ... the "Yanks are Comin'" was retrieved for the fight against Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo, ... and it thrilled us all and we waved the flags, endured rationing with good spirit and planted Victory Gardens for "The Duration."
Who will come to our rescue from OUR dictators? ... Hugo Chavez? China? India? Mussaraf from Pakistan? The Netherlands? Bolivia? England? ... What a bad joke it all is now.
Yeah, call your Senators and Congressional Representatives. If they are among the few who are still honest and uncorrupted and fighting the good fight, they already know, and they are trying, and you'll be thanked for your support. For the rest, call them and call them Traitors to the United States of America and The Constitution of the United States for backing the Bush Administration and its destructive, murderous, illegal, Unconstitutional policies and non-policies.
And then "Buckle your seat belts, dahlings, it's going to be a bumpy ride."
Why is Cheney's energy task force meeting still secret?
Because the minutes of that meeting consist of only three words "Steal Iraqi Oil"
funny how Bush and his cronies are only interested in bringing "dumbocracy" to oil rich areas, on condition that the locals give up the rights to their natural resources.
Its called colonialism
Why is Kucinich even with the Democrats? I agree with Jadedprole- he should bail.
It's not a "claim".. Everyone knows the war is about the oil, and about genocide, and about intimidating all of the Middle East, Russia, and Asia. There's no point in being coy about it. This is what they used to call "pillaging" remember?
Re: voting out the bums
Maybe America will finally start voting its conscience instead of "lesser evil" after this?
While it may be true that all the people who know how to run Iraq's oil industry had the good sense to get the hell out of there, it is just wrong to say that the Iraqi's don't know how to develop their oil. Who has been running it up to now? I agree, there are lots of other countries that could help - Venezuela, Iran, the Russians - they need more US involvement like a hole in the head.
Thanks Dennis,for speaking the Truth. The cons do believe we, the people, are stupid, and irrelevant. Would that the reporter had added the battery of facts and history you included in your speech. A speech delivered to educate our congress, but landing on an empty House, and deaf ears. WE the People, hear you, support you, and do not support the rape and pillage of Iraq. Thank you.
Listen to Amy Goodman's interview with Kucinich here:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/143225
A lone voice who speaks truth to power!
At least one congressman can admit the truth. We need someone with Kucinich's intelligence and integrity to run the country. We don't have anything close to a democracy at this time. I would call it a "mockracy".
bevandaview: It's call EXTORTION! What this benchmark really says is "give us your oil or we will continue to destroy your country and kill all your people until you do".
This Hydrocarbon Law benchmark was originally written by the U.S. (read big oil corps) IN ENGLISH. The Iraqis didn't even have the ability to READ the law because it wasn't translated into Arabic until recently. So basically, they were asked to pass a law that they couldn't even read. When it got translated, the shit hit the fan. One thing ALL Iraqis can unit behind is their ownership of THEIR oil.
atruepatriot: Good move! Vote Kucinich in the primaries. You may have to re-register as a Dem to do that. Then, when he isn't nominated, switch to any party you want. And let Pelosi and the DNC know AGAIN why you are leaving. Then, in Nov '08, vote or write in the candidate of your choice.
I'm sure Iraq would be perfectly capable rebuilding their oil industry without us -- heck, they could get no-strings assistance from Venezueala!
Kucinich might consider washing his hands of the Dimocrats at some point and running as an independent candidate.
kathyodat,
I think one reason the criminals in Washington don't want to publicize how they are trying to help US oil corporations steal trillions of dollars is that the hapless and hopeless US citizens might start thinking they will get a share of the loot! Of course most Americans might support it if they thought that, but no way will the crooks in charge let a penny slip by to benefit the great unwashed masses, and so they don't want to raise expectations of millions that they know later they will have to crush. Enough people might get angry to actually do something.
And probably another reason would be that if they come clean about it, then it will be that much harder to convince the common ordinary citizens of places like Poland and the Czech Republic to allow secret prisons and anti-missile installations on their territory, or to go along in the next "coalition" to rob and murder more people with the misfortune to sit on top of valuable natural resources that our criminals covet.
I just emailed Nancy Pelosi and informed her that she and her democratic colleagues just betrayed the American people and that they just confirmed my opinion that we have lost our democracy. I also informed them that I was leaning towards Edwards but now am eyeing a Gravel/Kucinich ticket. Have changed my status from Democrat to Independent. This just makes me sick.
Oh, I get it. We bomb the crap out of Iraq, kill more than 600,000 of their citizens, destroy most of their infrastructure, and then take over their oil industry by "helping" them stabilize it. Perfect.
It's not just the omission of the PSAs, there was no mention that the oilworkers union is totally against and a Majority, not just some, MPs are against, and recent polls show about 80% of Iraqis against before they learn the terms, with close to unaminity against when the terms become known. Some 80%+ of Iraqis KNOW they were invaded to steal their oil.
The above is all easilly verified and can be found through Google very quickly. That the reporter didn't include this info, and the likelihood that Kucinich mentioned such info in his speech exposes the reporter as hopelessly biased.
Hitler made his intentions quite clear in Mein Kampf; the neocons made theirs clear through the Project for the New American Century-PNAC. That the goals of the two are in essence the same should come as no surprise. The world recognized the threat posed by Hitler; when will the world recognize that the same level of threat is posed by the PNAC and its allies? And for us Americans, when do we stop being "good" Americans writing letters to and calling our "representatives" demanding policy change and reenact 1776?
Yes! to Dennis, and I was disappointed that the reporter carefully avoided details about the PSAs. Why is it so important to keep the American people in the dark about the PSAs? I know the Iraqis have more problems with the oil benchmark than that - those with the oil don't want to share it. But most of all, they don't want the oil corporations running off with 75% of the profits for at least 30 years. And with extraction costs of $1/barrel, these are immense profits.
Bush is insane to think he can murder them into submission. It's just more and more lives lost - theirs and ours. Mostly theirs. My heart is so sad for the Iraqis. I am so sorry we are doing this to them. They don't deserve what has happened. And a warning to Americans. The Universe makes sure that what we give out we get back.
Thank you, Mr. Kucinich.
The Neo-cons have had the "prize" of Iraqi oil on their minds since the First Gulf War and now that they are about to reap the benefits they will not let it fall to the wayside easily. This will be a nasty fight and the corporations are heavily favored to win.
Dennis Kucinich is just the man we need to stand up and expose the Corporatists nefarious plot.
We all should do as much as we can to see to it that Kucinich's message doesn't get "spun" into irrevelance.
(That shouldn't be too hard. We just have to shout louder then every station on tv and radio and every newspaper in publication.)
Kucinich '08!!!
Peace to you and yours.
Not just oil - the goal is to privatize the entire Middle East in terms of oil, water, telecommunications, etc...
But yeah, oil is the biggest prize in the privatization push.
I want global fair markets, but I don't support using violence to achieve the goal.
Why is everyone,including the dems,to get the Iraqis to pass the oil bill which,in effect,would steal the oil from the Iraqis and give it to the oil companies.Tony
The rat is in charge of the cheese. He doesn't care how smart or stupid we are.
The attempt to grab Iraqi oil is fairly well-documented and quite explicit in the PSA's embedded in the proposed Iraqi Oil Law. That this War was launched to grab Iraqi oil can be proved by the scene recounted by Paul O'Neill in his book "The Price of Loyalty" when he notes that at his very first Security Council meeting in 2001, months before 9/11, Cheney and Condaleeza Rice were already laying out detailed maps of Iraqi oil fields. Paul O'Neill was a lifelong loyal Republican who resigned from the Bush administration in disgust at the Iraq War and budget deficits. Yet somehow, as with so many other inconvenient facts, his book has gone down the mainstream media memory hole.
I have asked NPR repeatedly to cover this story and their only response was "we will investigate it".
If you tell the truth about the great oil robbery, you must be dismissed as a "conspiracy theorist" or a garden variety kook. How stupid do the criminals in Washington and their allies in the corporate media think the American people are?