First, two key questions:
1. Why is it that neither Bush, Cheney, the mainstream media, nor any member of Congress (besides Dennis Kucinich) has said a word about the Iraq's parliament being pressured, behind the scenes, by the Bush administration, to give up their oil in exchange for a royalty payment that is a measly 12.5% of the value of all the oil that would be taken from their land by US oil companies?
2. Why haven't Americans been allowed to realize that the various Iraqi factions would rather continue killing American soldiers than let themselves be cheated out of 87.5% of the proceeds from the oil that they could split up amongst themselves . . if they were allowed to do business with oil companies of their own choosing, such as those from, say, China or France?
Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the formation of an Iraqi parliament, there has been growing pressure by the Bush administration on the Iraqi Parliament to pass "the Oil Law" which BushCo has proposed on behalf of US oil companies. The oil law would open about two-thirds of Iraq's oil to foreign control through contracts that could last as long as 30 years. Adoption of the law is one of the benchmarks imposed on Iraq by the U.S. as a condition of continued reconstruction aid and support for the Maliki government. Problem is, Iraq's parliament is dragging its feet with regard to passing the law because most Iraqis would regard this as giving away most of the nation’s resources to a foreign power, i.e. the US, the very people who invaded their country, killed tens of thousands of their fellow citizens, and are now occupying their land.
The proposed oil law states that,
"INOC (Iraq National Oil Company) and other holders of an Exploration and Production right (e.g. US oil companies) shall pay a royalty on Petroleum produced from the Development and Production Area, at the rate of 12.5% of Gross Production measured at the entry flange to the Main Pipeline." It further states that "The collection of Royalty shall be in kind or in cash at the option of the Ministry."
Here's a copy of the proposed oil law:
For confirmation of the truth about all this, we must go to the “blogosphere” where we can read reports like the ones that follow.
From the Daily Kos:
“Dennis Kucinich has been the only candidate willing to consistently speak out against the unjust efforts to privatize the national oil wealth of the Iraqi people to multinational oil companies. He was the first to speak out against the hydrocarbon law, a key Iraqi benchmark of the Bush Administration, which, in effect, would privatize over 90% of Iraqi Oil reserves to multinational companies, particularly U.S. oil companies. Further, it not only gives the rights to these oil companies to do business in Iraq, but enables them to have power in making the decisions over the contracts themselves. That is, a Federal Council is established to make decisions upon oil contract negotiations, which allows these private oil companies to be represented on the "Federal" board and thus influencing the approval and terms of contracts.
However, as this national oil law continually failed to pass through the Iraqi parliament, alternative developments ensued. To wit:
CBS/AP) Texas' Hunt Oil Co. and Kurdistan's regional government said they have signed a production-sharing contract for petroleum exploration in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, the first such deal since the Kurds passed their own oil and gas law in August.” http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/12/21258/482
Excerpts from a press release issued by the office of Ohio Rep. Kucinich:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 18, 2007) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is seeking answers in the Administration's involvement in an Iraqi oil deal that appears to benefit a large Republican donor and ally of President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
The recent oil deal between the U.S.-based Hunt Oil Company and the Kurdistan Regional . . appears to undercut the goal of oil revenue sharing but is consistent with the Administration's attempt to privatize Iraqi oil assets. Both Hunt Oil Company and Kurdistan are strong allies with the Bush Administration.
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