bush has NOT "lost" Iraq ... he's in the process of "closing the deal" ... well, at least those who pull his strings and make him dance are about to close the deal ... Iraq is in a desperate situation ... there are no jobs ... there are no utilities ... there is no infrastructure ... the Iraqi government is beyond desperate ... what better time to send in the BIG OIL boys and Wolfowitz and the World Bank to put the squeeze on future oil revenues ... previous articles about these PSA's (see below) have suggested that these oil contracts could result in as much as 85% of Iraq's future oil revenues going to private mult-national oil giants ...
who in the US government will rise in protest of these exploitive contracts? surely no republicans will! but what about leading Democrats? is this OK with them? because this is really what the invasion of Iraq has been since bush came into office in 2001 ... this is the so-called bottom line ... they know political pressure and public awareness about the occupation are coming rapidly to a boil ...
if you're a candidate supporter, i'd really like to hear YOUR views on this as well as the views of your candidate ... is this OK with you? or do you consider this a legitimate arrangement as long as the Iraqis sign off on the deal?
there is no "centrism" here ... there is no moderation ... there is no gray ... you either believe the Iraqis are being coerced by American corporate interests and the government that caters to them or you don't ... this is RAW IMPERIALISM and the Democratic Party needs to take a stand on it one way or the other ... silence is NOT leadership ... that goes for the party; it goes for your candidate; it goes for you ...
source:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,456212,00.html
Oil, of course, can be politically explosive at the best of times, let alone the worst. So, when the country with the third largest oil reserves in the world debates the future of its endowment during a time of civil war, people sit up and take notice. The Iraqi government is working on a new hydrocarbons law that will set the course for the country's oil sector and determine where its vast revenues will flow. The consequences for such a law in such a state are huge. Not only could it determine the future shape of the Iraqi federation -- as regional governments battle with Baghdad's central authority over rights to the riches -- but it could put much of Iraqi oil into the hands of foreign oil companies. <skip>
Nevertheless, the draft law lays the ground work for private oil companies to take large stakes in Iraq's oil. The new law would allow the controversial partnerships known as 'production sharing agreements' (PSA). <skip>
It's also dangerous. It means governments are legally committing themselves to oil deals that they've negotiated from a position of weakness. And, the contracts typically span decades. Companies argue they need long-term legal security to justify huge investments in risky countries; the current draft recommends 15 to 20 years. <skip>
Last week, the Iraqi Labor Union Leadership suggested the same. "The Iraqi people refuse to allow the future of their oil to be decided behind closed doors," their statement reads. "(T)he occupier seeks and wishes to secure themselves energy resources at a time when the Iraqi people are seeking to determine their own future while still under conditions of occupation." Many worry instability would only get worse if the public feels cheated by the government and multinationals -- the Iraqi constitution says the oil belongs to the Iraqi people. The Labor Union Leadership warned: "We strongly reject the privatization of our oil wealth, as well as production sharing agreements, and there is no room for discussing the matter. This is the demand of the Iraqi street, and the privatization of oil is a red line that may not be crossed." <skip>
Critics say the US is leaning on the IMF and World Bank to push Iraq into signing oil contracts fast, so western firms can secure the oil before Chinese, Indian and Russian firms do. An IMF official told SPIEGEL ONLINE that "passage of a hydrocarbon law is not a condition for financial support from the IMF." Nevertheless, Iraqi authorities found it necessary to promise the IMF a draft petroleum law by the end of this year -- this in the same letter that says "we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the program remains on track."