The rape of Iraq's oil

[Dover]

The rape of Iraq's oil
The Baghdad government has caved in to a damaging plan that will enrich western companies.

Michael Meacher
Guardian

About Webfeeds March 22, 2007 1:30 PM | Printable version
The recent cabinet agreement in Baghdad on the new draft oil law was hailed as a landmark deal bringing together the warring factions in the allocation of the country's oil wealth. What was concealed was that this is being forced through by relentless pressure from the US and will sow the seeds of intense future conflict, with serious knock-on impacts on the world economy.

The draft law, now before the Iraqi parliament, sets up "production sharing partnerships" to allow the US and British oil majors to extract Iraqi oil for up to 30 years. While Iraq would retain legal ownership of its oil, companies like Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP that invest in the infrastructure and refineries would get a large share of the profits.

No other Middle Eastern oil producer has ever offered such a hugely lucrative concession to the big oil companies, since Opec has always run its oil business through tightly-controlled state companies. Only Iraq in its present dire condition, dependent on US troops for the survival of the government, lacks the bargaining capacity to resist...cont'd

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_meacher/200...

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Iraqi "leaders" have consigned their citizens and their descendants

to poverty by giving away the only asset that could have offered them a decent economy.

[indepat]

2. That this is the reason an exit plan was never considered, the reason for a $1B

embassy and 14 permanent military bases were always planned should be obvious to all but the brain-dead. Could it be they lied?

[TwilightGardener]

3. I've said before, this is also why we're digging in deeper in Baghdad.

This is why the conventional wisdom will be that the surge is working, and that withdrawal would be disastrous--the neocons will never let us leave, not when they're on the cusp of profitability. Our troops, and American taxpayers who fund them and Halliburton, are their slaves.

[LibertyorDeath]

4. No one is leaving Iraq until the Oil runs dry....

Rec !

[Karenina]

5. Remember the "Plan"

[Felix Mala]

6. As long as the filthy rich can own politicians and order troops around

to enrich themselves, we'll never be free of pollution or terrorism.

[liberal renegade]

7. perhaps when these greedy bastards

depart this earth, they'll be sent to the bowels of hell, swimming in their oil, tending to Lucifers oil fired furnace.....