Is it about oil?
12th August 2007
1) In 1991 major US oil companies were losing the competition for Iraq oil contracts to foreign competitors and Saddam talked about selling oil in other currencies which threatened the US dollar. When Iraq attached Kuwait, the US went in .
2) In the Mid 90s, Michael Ledeen of the conservative American Enterprise Institute said that the US needed to go into the Middle East and foment conflict between tribes, religions, ethnic groups, nations, etc. to use as an excuse to establish a major miliary presenct. This would allow us to insure our access to ME oil.
3) In 1998, the Project for a New American Century issued a position paper urging attacks on Iraq. Many of the signers went on to positions in the Bush administration.
4) In the Spring of 2001, the Cheney energy taskforce was pouring over maps of Iraqi oil fields with representatives to divide up Iraqi oil.
5) “Rumsfeld wants the – best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] ?” This is from notes taken by Rumsfeld’s aide at 12:05 on September 11, 2001.
6) Bush broadcasts a statement to the citizens of Iraq on the eve of our invasion in 2003, telling them to not torch the oil fields.
7) When US forces invaded Iraq, they did not secure the weapons depots, they did not secure the nuclear facilities but they did occupy the offices of the Oil ministry
8) Number 1 benchmark for the current Iraq government is to pass the oil bill which is about giving US oil companies 30 year production sharing agreements where they would own the oil in the ground in Iraq, would not be obligated to hire and train Iraqies to work in the oil fields, would not be obligated to share technology with the Iraqis, would be able to repatriate oil profits immediately, etc. Majority of Iraqis are against this bill being passed.
9) Iraq may have the biggest reserves in the world, the oil is cheap to extract, the value of the known reserves has risen from 2 trillion before our occupation to 9 trillion today.10) In criminal investigations, you look for motive, means and opportunity.
Motive = desire to secure major new reserves in the face of the decline of existing reserves to generate gigantic profits
Means = the US armed forces
Opportunity = 911 attacks.