China Rushes Toward Oil Pact With Iran

[Tempest]

http://tinyurl.com/jwqyk

<snip>

China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration's efforts to isolate the Middle Eastern nation and roll back its nuclear development plans, according to published reports.

The completion of the agreement would advance China's global quest for new stocks of energy. It could also undermine U.S. and European initiatives to halt Iran's nuclear plans, possibly generating friction in China's relations with outside powers.

<snip>

But the speed with which China and Iran are moving to conclude their agreement and begin development appears to signal China's intent to limit the U.S.-led drive for sanctions against Iran to curb what Washington describes as Iran's rogue effort to develop nuclear weapons.

As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China can veto a sanction proposal at the U.N., or threaten to do so to restrict the bite and breadth of such an initiative.

<more>

[stillcool]

1. showing their cards?...

and what else is * holding....other than nukes?...

[Old and In the Way]

2. Is this a surprise?

China has its own interests to protect. The neo-cons grabbed Iraq's oil under BS pretenses....no way can China and the rest of the world let Bush play the same card again. Why wouldn't Bush be happy to see China helping to influence and moderate Iran? Because that's not what the whole charade is about.

The chess game seems to be on the clock, now.

[HuffleClaw]

3. bush is gonna have KITTENS !

i think their options are rapidly vanishing. only a insta-crisis will 'work' for 'em now, something that would result in an immediate attack and consequences be damned.

[War Pigs]

6. Imagine how pissed you'd be

if you had invaded a country for their oil, gotten 20,000 of your soldiers killed or maimed, killed at least 30,000 innocent civilians and spent $300 billion or so. Then some other asshole (China) figures out a way to get PAID to help part of the "Axis of Evil" extract their oil without all the killing and messy stuff. Kind of devalues an Ivy League education (or 2), doesn't it?? No good bastards!!:wtf:

[Theduckno2]

4. Using the link provided, I find the article dated Feb. 18,2006???

Does this need to be in the LBN?

[PublicWrath]

5. I don't get it. bush already knows this stuff. Doesn't this mean he

can't really attack Iran? With China in the picture? Or is he that crazy?

[K-W]

7. Nothing about this says China would become hostile to the US

if the US were to attack Iran. It certainly says China is going to diplomatically oppose it, but that is a far cry from actually doing something to stop it and reversing Chinese policy completely and risking a cold war at a time when it is finally developing.

[PublicWrath]

9. I guess I was clutching at straws. I wish it would all go away n/t

[dysfunctional press]

8. i wonder if nuke-u-lar strike protection will be part of the deal...?

as in- if "any country" nukes iran, china would be obligated to nuke the aggressor nation in return.

[Heidi]

10. Locking.

Not LBN. Original Washington Post Foreign Service article is dated Feb. 17, 2006.