[CLUE-Talk] Sure its 'Not About Oil' was: Why Iraq? Why now?

[Jeffery Cann]

On Saturday 01 February 2003 12:43 am, Matt Gushee wrote:
>
> If these projections are indeed well-known and believed in the oil
> industry, then we can reasonably guess that they are very much on Dick
> Cheney's mind. So here's a hypothesis:
>
>   Cheney and his war faction believe they are doing us all a favor by
>   going out and grabbing a share of the remaining oil before the shit
>   hits the fan.

Wow!  Matt you are indeed perceptive and it would seem that you share an 
opinion / hypothesis as others.  In this week's Business Week (10 February 
2003), the 'It's Not "All About Oil", but has some interesting facts 
regarding Iraqi oil reserves

This story is available on-line, but only if you're a BW subscriber.  Posting 
full-text by subscribers is specifically excluded from the reader agreement 
(thanks, DMCA!)  I have included a few quotes from the article:

http://www.businessweek.com/print/premium/content/03_06/b3819055.htm?m

My opinion:  It's about oil.  Anyone who believes it's not all about oil is 
naive.  Sure, we in the world can all pat ourselves on the back if Saddam is 
outsted because his is a brutal thug with no regard for human life, including 
his countrymen.  He routinely violates the human rights of the Iraqi people.  
This should be a good enough reason to oust him and the leaders of many other 
countries (c.f., Russia, China, Nigeria, Sudan, North Korea ... ).

Of course, our country's lust for oil has turned us into the same thing -- 
brutal thugs who are willing to kill (Iraqi) people to 'free' Iraqi oil 
reserves -- oops! I meant free the Iraqi people.

My $0.02 worth of Iraqi crude oil...

Jeff

P.S.  Dick Cheney's Hailburton 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's Not "All About Oil," but...
Victory in Iraq would reshuffle the global players with big stakes in the 
country's oil fields (c) 2003 Business Week

...

The suspicion that George W. Bush's showdown with Saddam Hussein is "all about 
oil" isn't just a fixation of the American Left. It's gaining adherents among 
the European intelligentsia and in the Arab world. "Washington says it wants 
to eliminate any threat of interruption of the flow of oil, to ensure that it 
will be accessible to U.S. oil companies," said British Labor Party 
politician Alice Mahon on Jan. 22. "A different and more compliant government 
in Iraq would make that possible."

... 

So who will reap the big bucks from getting Saddam's oil fields back on track? 
At this point, Iraq is believed to have contracts worth about $38 billion 
pending with such companies as Italy's ENI (E ), Royal Dutch/Shell (RD ), 
Australia's BHP (BHP ), TotalFinaElf, and Russian giant Lukoil. 

...

France is by far the biggest player. The giant TotalFinaElf now has 
development rights to roughly 25% of total Iraqi reserves. In theory, 
France's long relationship with Iraq's nationalistic oil technocrats could 
put French outfits in good shape for more deals after any war. 

...

For American energy companies, smarting from the charge that former oil execs 
George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney are spearheading their 
interests, the subject of economic gain from an Iraqi intervention is 
extremely sensitive. U.S. oil executives queried by BusinessWeek would not 
speak on the record. Privately, industry sources familiar with discussions 
with the Administration say the talks focused on nitty-gritty issues such as 
snuffing out oil fires Saddam's forces may set. And the industry remains torn 
on what impact war in Iraq will have on its fortunes. 

...
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