[Jane of Arc]

Just when I begin to consider the possibility that some American dignity can be salvaged if we withdraw from Iraq in an appropriate, timely manner as Murtha has suggested ... as the united Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders of Iraqi have suggested ... I read something like the link below and my blood boils!!!

The unmistakable rotten truth slams me in the head again like a ton of bricks ... it's the OIL stupid!!! The United States and England are STEALING THE OIL!!!

I don't care what any right-winger here argues. There is absolutely NO justification for American and British corporations taking Iraqi oil. This is why no matter how much Bush and his NeoCon Chickenhawks talk of "spreading democracy" they are not trusted. They don't give a rat's ass about the "liberty" of the Iraqi people! They're oil businessmen. When American GI's were truly liberating France, FDR and his boys were not in the business of raiding french resources. And any decent Republican must be embarrassed by the hubris of this administration.


This is a MUST READ (have some blood pressure medicine handy) from The Independent, a respected centrist newspaper in England:

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article328526.ece

Iraq's Oil: The Spoils of War: Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200 BILLION of the wealth of their country if an American-inspired plan to hand over development of its oil reserves to US and British multinationals comes into force next year.

I want to puke!!!!!

[haus]

There's something that bothers me about this. In the U.K. "one billion" means (1,000,000,000,000) or what we'd call "one trillion." They usually say "thousand million" when they mean our billion. (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=billion)

200,000,000,000 is a lot of money, around what we've spent on the war.
200,000,000,000,000 is a hell of a lot of money... like a million bucks for everybody in the US

I gotta see an american version of this article...

[Jane of Arc]

Hi Haus~

It's in the article and stated as: $200bn (£116bn).

Does the fact US & British Corporations are stealing Iraqi oil bother you too? :p

Of course it does!!!

[MAGI]

Hi Haus~

It's in the article and stated as: $200bn (£116bn).

Does the fact US & British Corporations are stealing Iraqi oil bother you too? :p

Of course it does!!!

When some of us saw all that was happening before the Iraq Invasion we, BELIEVED it was all for BLACK GOLD!

How betrayed the believers of The Naked Emporer (GWB) must feel!

[snowdog]

I don't know who is more stupid, the US if it is true concerning the Oil.
or the French, Germany, or the USSR with their under the table deals.

[Jane of Arc]

Facts:

(1) The United States reached "peak oil" in the 1970's.

(2) We are dependent on other nations for our energy and we import more oil than we produce.

(3) The United States consumes 4x more oil daily than any other country in the world. Which also makes us the biggest polluter and contributor to global warming.

(4) Fossil oil is a finite resource and is estimated to become too expensive to pump (peak oil) in anywhere from 5 to 50 years depending on which expert you believe.

(5) The United States dependency on oil increases every year.

(6) The emerging Japanese & Chinese dependnce on oil is increasing at an astonishing rate each year.

(7) The cost of oil can only go up.

(8) The United States economy and society would collapse with out oil.

(9) This finite resource, oil, is the basis for the present world economy is the most valuable, sought-after commodity on earth.



"A study by the Council on Foreign Relations and the James A. Baker III Institute at Rice University claimed that Iraq has 220 bbl of undiscovered oil; and another study by the Center for Global Energy Studies and Petrolog & Associates offered an even more optimistic estimate of 300 bbl—a number that would give Iraq reserves greater even than those of Saudi Arabia. In a Guardian interview before the war, Taha Hmud Moussa, Saddam's deputy oil minister, said that all of Iraq's oil reserves "will exceed 300bbl when all Iraq's regions are explored."




Liberty? ... It's the OIL stupid!

[MAGI]

"The Grey Matter
Offering truth beyond the mere black & white:

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith

http://theangryliberal.blogspot.com/2005/11/paul-krugmans-recent-column-time-to.html
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Paul Krugman's recent column ("Time to Leave") is one of his best in quite some time -- and that's saying something. He eloquently makes the case for why we should leave Iraq, doing so without lots of emotional huffing and puffing but as is usual for him employing rational thought. It's unfortunate the column is now shielded via TimeSelect; it's a must-read for all.


The fact is GW/Cheney do not want to take the chance that things will be better off without us there; they're frightened as all heck. A civil war will destroy for good any chance of an upside to their legacy, it will destroy the illusion that an eventual win will come, but most of all turmoil and collapse will doom, or at least heavily complicate, access to the oil. Recall that oil was the point of the invasion."

Recall that oil was the point of the invasion........................

[Jane of Arc]

"The United States and other nations are in a race with the clock to find alternative sources for oil, 'the lifeblood of modern civilization', and avoid potential economic disaster."



http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5742859.html

[Jane of Arc]

The House of Representatives is taking on the pending doom of "peak oil". Modern civilization may just end fairly soon unless ...? Well, no worry, the Middle Ages were sort of fun ... right? I'll miss my computer though!

http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/572

[MAGI]

The House of Representatives is taking on the pending doom of "peak oil". Modern civilization may just end fairly soon unless ...? Well, no worry, the Middle Ages were sort of fun ... right? I'll miss my computer though!

http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/articles/572
:D

I was surprized to learn we have 93 ethanol refineries in the mid west........Hallaluyah! (also my neighbor from Illinois said it's a FARMER co-op.....even better!) and 6 in the west (one to be constructed in AZ. soon.)
We can put those ski hills of corn in Iowa to EXCELLENT use and quit hurting farmers in Mexico & elseware in the world (complements of NAFTA, CAFTA............................................. .SHAFTA!)

To be FREE from these OIL WAR LORDS running this world! :)

Not to mention our countrymen who are NOW speaking out against our car manufacturers and unions (on Ed Shultz radio the other day.......... got some whistle blowers speaking out now.........) maybe we'll learn we can have clean burning fuel efficient vehicles VERY soon!

[haus]

I got into an interesting argument on oil-independence at the coffee-shop this afternoon and got turned onto a very interesting project. The site's tag line: "The Apollo Allience. Three Million New Jobs. Freedom from Foreign Oil."

Here's an overview of their 10-point-plan.

1. Promote Advanced Technology & Hybrid Cars
2. Invest In More Efficient Factories
3. Encourage High Performance Building:
4. Increase Use of Energy Efficient Appliances
5. Modernize Electrical Infrastructure
6. Expand Renewable Energy Development
7. Improve Transportation Options
8. Reinvest In Smart Urban Growth
9. Plan For A Hydrogen Future
10. Preserve Regulatory Protections

A fuller explanation is available at http://www.apolloalliance.org/strategy_center/ten_point_plan.cfm.

They have a direct-mail campaign worth reading at http://action.apolloalliance.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=27302

[Jane of Arc]

I have to pass on a book I've read twice and need to read again ... it will change your life if you read it. It's called The Party's Over by Richard Heinberg.

The Apollo Alliance is a good group. We need a big segment of our government diligently working on what this small group of innovators is attempting to affect.

Here's a long exerpt from The Party's Over you won't regret taking the time to read:


"To be sure, we should be investing in alternatives and converting our industrial infrastructure to use them. If there is any solution to industrial societies' approaching energy crises, renewables plus conservation will provide it. Yet in order to achieve a smooth transition from non-renewables to renewables, decades will be needed - and we do not have decades before the peaks in the extraction rates of oil and natural gas occur. Moreover, even in the best case, the transition will require the massive shifting of investment from other sectors of the economy (such as the military) toward energy research and conservation. And the available alternatives will likely be unable to support the kinds of transportation, food, and dwelling infrastructure we now have; thus the transition will entail an almost complete redesign of industrial societies.


The likely economic consequences of the energy downturn are enormous. All human activities require energy - which physicists define as "the capacity to do work." With less energy available, less work can be done - unless the efficiency of the process of converting energy to work is raised at the same rate as energy availability declines. It will therefore be essential, over the next few decades, for all economic processes to be made more energy-efficient. However, efforts to improve efficiency are subject to diminishing returns, and so eventually a point will be reached where reduced energy availability will translate to reduced economic activity. Given the fact that our national economy is based on the assumption that economic activity must grow perpetually, the result is likely to be a recession with no bottom and no end.

The consequences for global food production will be no less dire. Throughout the twentieth century, food production expanded dramatically in country after country, with virtually all of this growth attributable to energy inputs. Without fuel-fed tractors and petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, it is doubtful that crop yields can be maintained at current levels.

The oil peak will also impact international relations. Resource conflicts are nothing new: pre-state societies often fought over agricultural land, fishing or hunting grounds, horses, cattle, waterways, and other resources. Most of the wars of the twentieth century were also fought over resources - in many cases, oil. But those wars took place during a period of expanding resource extraction; the coming decades of heightened competition for fading energy resources will likely see even more frequent and deadly conflicts. The US - as the world's largest energy consumer, the center of global industrial empire, and the holder of the most powerful store of weaponry in world history - will play a pivotal role in shaping the geopolitics of the new century. To many observers, it appears that oil interests are already at the heart of the present administration's geopolitical strategy."

Upon finishing this impressive book you will be convinced without a shadow of a doubt ... IT'S THE OIL STUPID!!!! :eek:

http://www.museletter.com/partys-over.html

[snowdog]

Ummm never read any of that info in any of Hannities books, or Goldmans
or Dick Morris's new one out, You know Dick Morris the guy from the Clinton
administration? Just funnin with you What? :)

[Jane of Arc]

You funnnnnnnny snowdog! :p

Read this book!!! THE PARTY'S OVER by Richard Heinberg.
It's not political ... but scientific. It's not overly technical, but a good read. And after you read it ... it's one of those books where you'll feel immediately smarter and you'll run around telling everyone ... "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!"

[snowdog]

I just may do that, may help enlighten me a bit more.

[Jane of Arc]

Excellent snowdog!!! You'll be so smart we'll have to call you "knowdog"! :D

[Jane of Arc]

Oil in Iraq

Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves.

According to oil industry experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq’s reserves to 200+ billion barrels of high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce. The four giant firms located in the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were excluded with the nationalization of 1972. During the final years of the Saddam era, they envied companies from China, Russia, France and elsewhere, who had obtained major contracts. But UN
sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK) kept those contracts inoperable.

Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, everything has changed. In the new setting, with Washington running the show, "friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades.

The new Iraqi constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language that guarantees a major role for foreign companies.

Negotiators hope soon to complete deals on Production Sharing Agreements that will give the companies control over dozens of fields, including the fabled super-giant Majnoon, but no contracts can be signed until after elections, when a new government takes office.

While regional governments angle for influence over the foreign oil contracts, most Iraqis favor continued control by a national company and the powerful oil workers union opposes de-nationalization. Iraq's political future is very much in flux, but oil remains the central feature of the political landscape.

-Global Policy Forum (a United Nations watchdog organization)

[Jane of Arc]

People! More proof that we went to war for OIL! You have to read this Greg Palast article from the UK's Observer:

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=471&row=0


Here's an excerp:


In November 2003, McKee quietly ordered up a new plan for Iraq's oil. The drafting would be overseen by a "senior adviser," Amy Jaffe, who had worked for Morse when he held the formidable title of Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations-James Baker III Institute Joint Committee on Petroleum Security. Jaffe now works for Baker, the former Secretary of State, whose law firm serves as counsel to both ExxonMobil and the defense minister of Saudi Arabia. The plan, nominally written by State Department contractor BearingPoint, was guided, says Jaffe, by a handful of oil industry consultants and executives.

For months, the State Department officially denied the existence of this 323-page plan for Iraq's oil, but when I identified the document's title from my sources and threatened legal action, I was able to obtain the complete report, dated December 2003 and entitled "Options for Developing a Long Term Sustainable Iraqi Oil Industry."


:(

[MAGI]

660,000 killed Iraqis, 20,000 wounded Americans, 2700.....troops killed. How many others from other countries and now we have the
truth of what it WAS & IS Really ALL about!

BLACK GOLD
GREED

As if we didn't know it long ago!


http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/43045/

Bush's Petro-Cartel Almost Has Iraq's Oil

By Joshua Holland, AlterNet. Posted October 16, 2006.


"Even as Iraq is on the verge of splintering into a sectarian civil war, four big oil companies are on the verge of locking up its massive, profitable reserves, known to everyone in the petroleum industry as "the prize." Tools"

Editor's note: this is the first of a two-part series.

"Iraq is sitting on a mother lode of some of the lightest, sweetest, most profitable crude oil on earth, and the rules that will determine who will control it and on what terms are about to be set.

The Iraqi government faces a December deadline, imposed by the world's wealthiest countries, to complete its final Oil Law. Industry analysts expect that the result will be a radical departure from the laws governing the country's oil-rich neighbors, giving foreign multinationals a much higher rate of return than with other major oil producers, and locking in their control over what George Bush called Iraq's "patrimony" for decades, regardless of what kind of policies future elected governments might want to pursue.

Iraq's energy reserves are an incredibly rich prize; according to the US Department of Energy, "Iraq contains 112 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the second largest in the world (behind Saudi Arabia) along with roughly 220 billion barrels of probable and possible resources. Iraq's true potential may be far greater than this, however, as the country is relatively unexplored due to years of war and sanctions." For perspective, the Saudis have 260 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Iraqi oil is close to the surface and easy to extract, making it all the more profitable. James Paul, Executive Director of the Global Policy Forum, points out that oil companies "can produce a barrel of Iraqi oil for less than $1.50 and possibly as little as $1, including all exploration, oilfield development and production costs." Contrast that with other areas where oil is considered cheap to produce at $5 per barrel, or the North Sea where production costs are $12-16 per barrel.

And Iraq's oil sector is largely undeveloped. Former Iraqi Oil Minister Issam Chalabi (no relation to the neocons' favorite exile, Ahmed Chalabi) told the Associated Press that "Iraq has more oil fields that have been discovered, but not developed, than any other country in the world." British-based analyst Mohammad Al-Gallani told the Canadian Press that of 526 prospective drilling sites, just 125 have been opened.

But the real gem -- what one oil consultant called the "Holy Grail" of the industry -- lies in Iraq's vast Western desert. It's one of the last "virgin" fields on the planet, and it has the potential to catapult Iraq to number one in the world in oil reserves. Sparsely populated, the Western fields are less prone to sabotage than the country's current centers of production in the North, near Kirkuk, and in the South near Basra. The Nation's Aram Roston predicts Iraq's Western desert will yield "untold riches."

SKIP

"It's clear that the U.S.-led invasion had little to do with national security or the events of September 11. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill revealed that just 11 days after Bush's inauguration in early 2001, regime change in Iraq was "Topic A" among the administration's national security staff, and former Terrorism Tsar Richard Clarke told 60 minutes that the day after the attacks in New York and Washington occurred, "[Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld was saying that we needed to bomb Iraq." He added: "We all said … no, no. Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan.""

:twisted:

the rest of the story:http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/43045/