The spoils of war:Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn

[cal04]

Iraqis face the dire prospect of losing up to $200bn (£116bn) 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. A report produced by American and British pressure groups warns Iraq will be caught in an "old colonial trap" if it allows foreign companies to take a share of its vast energy reserves. The report is certain to reawaken fears that the real purpose of the 2003 war on Iraq was to ensure its oil came under Western control.

The Iraqi government has announced plans to seek foreign investment to exploit its oil reserves after the general election, which will be held next month. Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proved oil reserves, the third largest in the world.
According to the report, from groups including War on Want and the New Economics Foundation (NEF), the new Iraqi constitution opened the way for greater foreign investment. Negotiations with oil companies are already under way ahead of next month's election and before legislation is passed, it said.

The groups said they had amassed details of high-level pressure from the US and UK governments on Iraq to look to foreign companies to rebuild its oil industry. It said a Foreign Office code of practice issued in summer last year said at least $4bn would be needed to restore production to the levels before the 1990-91 Gulf War. "Given Iraq's needs it is not realistic to cut government spending in other areas and Iraq would need to engage with the international oil companies to provide appropriate levels of foreign direct investment to do this," it said.

Yesterday's report said the use of production sharing agreements (PSAs) was proposed by the US State Department before the invasion and adopted by the Coalition Provisional Authority. "The current government is fast-tracking the process. It is already negotiating contracts with oil companies in parallel with the constitutional process, elections and passage of a Petroleum Law," the report, Crude Designs, said. Earlier this year a BBC Newsnight report claimed to have uncovered documents showing the Bush administration made plans to secure Iraqi oil even before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. Based on its analysis of PSAs in seven countries, it said multinationals would seek rates of return on their investment from 42 to 162 per cent, far in excess of typical 12 per cent rates.

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

[bahrbearian]

1. Not to mention the 200 billion that Wolfiwitz says they owe U.S.

[Skink]

2. See we have to stay to protect our oil.

[stillcool]

3. I found this part interesting...

Earlier this year a BBC Newsnight report claimed to have uncovered documents showing the Bush administration made plans to secure Iraqi oil even before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. Based on its analysis of PSAs in seven countries, it said multinationals would seek rates of return on their investment from 42 to 162 per cent, far in excess of typical 12 per cent rates.
:puke:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Like I said time and time again, they hate us for our greedom. nt.

[Roland99]

6. Here's more info on that (it was Greg Palast covering) >>>>

Last Updated: Thursday, 17 March, 2005, 15:41 GMT

Secret US plans for Iraq's oil
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4354269.stm

Two years ago today - when President George Bush announced US, British and Allied forces would begin to bomb Baghdad - protesters claimed the US had a secret plan for Iraq's oil once Saddam had been conquered.

In fact there were two conflicting plans, setting off a hidden policy war between neo-conservatives at the Pentagon, on one side, versus a combination of "Big Oil" executives and US State Department "pragmatists".

"Big Oil" appears to have won. The latest plan, obtained by Newsnight from the US State Department was, we learned, drafted with the help of American oil industry consultants.

Insiders told Newsnight that planning began "within weeks" of Bush's first taking office in 2001, long before the September 11th attack on the US.

So, the U.S. *will* get ahold of Iraq's oil revenue. It's just that instead of using that money to pay for the cost of the invasion, it will go to the neocons' oil baron buddies.

[sofa king]

10. "Within weeks" of taking office, eh?

Like, perhaps, at those closed-door energy policy meetings, maybe?

http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/367595.html

It's all starting to fall together now, isn't it? The neocons see the approach of peak oil, and decide they have to win the 2000 election no matter what. Once that election is stolen, they secretly meet with big oil to divide up Iraq's spoils. Larry Franklin keeps the Israelis informed while the terrorist money line is secured with the help of http://www.911digitalarchive.org/crr/documents/992.pdf">Jack Abramoff's Suncruz casino operation. The PNAC's "Pearl Harbor event" goes as planned, taking out the CIA station at the World Trade Center as well as the DoD's counterterrorism planners in the Pentagon, in order to cover their trail. After that, it's simply a matter of forging a case for war, helped by a sprinkle of anthrax.

The plan is ruthlessly protected, from concealing the details of the energy policy meetings to interfering with Senate and FBI investigations to the outing of Valerie Plame. The President's reelection is secured with the help of Diebold and ES&S, and half a billion dollars' worth of smear.

Think about it all for a minute before you laugh. It's not as crazy as it sounded last year, is it? What has changed, besides confirmation of some of our worst fears?

[Roland99]

13. Doesn't sound crazy at all. That's what's scary!

[ninkasi]

16. It all fits...

Yes, it does all fall together. Sometimes, schemes like this succeed simply BECAUSE people think it's all too outrageous, too crazy to believe.

[tuvor]

5. 2,000,000 barrels/day, at $50+ per barrel. Where is THAT moolah going?

Not to its rightful owners, that's for damn sure.

That $100,000,000+ must be ending up in SOMEONE'S pocket.

[Gronk Groks]

7. It was always the Oil...

...everything else was a sham. It was always for the Corporations, never for America.

This mis-administration has been the most criminal cartel in living memory. It even beat out Nixon, which I thought was impossible.

[Thom Little]

8. We stick the American poor with the bill. We can damn-sure do it to Iraq.

Fucking pukes

[HuffleClaw]

9. hmmmmmm

wasn't that part of the pre-'constitution' order things put in place by bremer? i recall plans to essentially hand over their oil interests to the usual suspects. 'contracts' and such.

[Briar]

11. In a companion piece

the Independent adds:

On the eve of the war in Iraq, there was a shocking moment of clarity in the Commons when Jack Straw revealed that when it was all over, France and Germany would not be allowed to "get their snouts in the trough".

This public slap in the face to Britain's biggest EU partners gave an insight into what was really concentrating US and British minds. Having constructed a tortuous case for war over Iraq's lack of co-operation with the UN security Council, plans were being laid for post-Saddam Iraq excluding non-coalition countries.

Straw's remarks revealed the focus on Iraq's oil. The World's four oil giants (BP, Exxon, Chevron and Shell) , have been desperate to get back into Iraq, since being booted out in the nationalisation of 1972...

Iraq's new constitution - practically written by US and Foreign office advisors, guarantees a major role for foreign companies. Production Sharing Agreements would hand over control of dozens of oil fields, like the giant Majnoon.

...
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article328527.ece

[Jose Diablo]

12. Also on the eve of war Bu$h cautions the 'enemy'

to not damage the oil infrastructure in Iraq. As I listened to that statement I had a :wtf: moment.

[Cooley Hurd]

14. Questions by the neocons on what is fueling the insurgency?

They need to look no further than the fuel tanks in their SUV's. We're an occupying force that is robbing them blind, and they wonder why they hate us??? :banghead:

[xchrom]

15. as always -- follow the money.