Surging Bloodshed Undercut Iraq’s Oil-Fueled Economy

[Purveyor]

By Nicole Gaouette and Caroline Alexander - Oct 24, 2013

Surging sectarian bloodshed in Iraq and an escalating regional war are undercutting one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and undermining U.S. aspirations for making Iraq a model for Middle East democracy.

Two years after U.S. forces withdrew, almost-daily bombings and suicide attacks scar weddings, funerals and cafes, as al-Qaeda-linked groups attack Shiite targets. The assaults have killed more than 5,000 people this year, levels that haven’t been seen since 2008 and almost double 2010’s toll, according to the United Nations.

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“It’s striking how different the outlook for Iraq is today than what it was as late as June, when the question was who would make room for growing Iraqi production in the marketplace,” said Daniel Yergin, author of “The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World.” “Everyone is bringing down their forecast in light of what’s actually happening on the ground.”

“It’s hard for companies to operate in Iraq,” Yergin, vice chairman of Englewood, Colorado-based research company IHS Inc. (IHS), said in a phone interview. “The cost of operating there is higher because the cost of assuring security adds significantly to the overall costs.”

Syria Spillover

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who leads a Shiite-dominated government, blames Sunnis for the violence. Larger forces are at work, with spillover from neighboring Syria, where the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad is a magnet for Sunni extremists funded by Gulf nations intent on reversing Shiite Iran’s influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-24/surging-bloodshed-undercut-iraq-s-oil-fueled-economy.html

[reddread]

1. a complete success (NO sarcasm)

http://www.gregpalast.com/how-george-bush-won-the-war-in-iraq-really/

http://wikispooks.com/wiki/Operation_Gladio

[Link Speed]

2. Exactly. That's the part most people just do not understand.

It was about the oil, sure enough, but it was about keeping it in the ground.

[reddread]

3. I'm pretty sure that is all part of

not caring.