Iraqi Kurd and U.S. oil chiefs meet (also meet with Cheney)

Source: UPI

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. energy secretary "encouraged" the visiting Iraqi Kurdish region's oil minister to work with Shiite and Sunni Iraqis on a national oil law.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's oil minister and the deputy prime minister also met with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and other political and business officials during their two-week visit to Washington.

"The message was quite simply that we encouraged them to work with their counterparts … to develop an oil law in that country that would deal with the needs of all Iraqis," Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said at a news conference Tuesday hosted by the global energy information firm Platts. "I personally met with them and I personally encouraged them, didn't tell them what to do or how to do their job, but I did encourage them to work with the Sunnis and the Shia communities in Iraq to develop an oil law that makes sense. That was all. That was the message."

Bodman also said he's telling the central government of Iraq to make the oil law a priority as well.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Energy/Briefing/2007/12/04/iraqi_kurd_and_us_oil_chiefs_meet/2324/

WTF did they do, send them to Disney World?

The Kurd leaders went off the reservation by making deals for the oil they control. While I agree that this can only lead to more internal problems in Iraq, the only real interest Cheney and his cohorts have in this is limiting the supply of oil coming out of Iraq in order to keep prices as high as possible.

The delayed release of the NIE was meant to accomplish the same ends and oil has already fallen $2.00/barrel and could drop as much as 50% overall when and if this administration stops saber rattling.