I got an email response from Senator Patty Murray today, July 9, 2007, outlining all she has done legislatively to bring about the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Don’t laugh. In the letter she stated that she helped pass the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (H.R. 2206) in May. Thanks.
She states, "In addition to this funding, the bill requires reports on the progress in Iraq. Specifically, the administration is required to report on their success in reaching several military and political benchmarks, among which are: disarming militias, building up the Iraqi security forces, reducing sectarian violence, ensuring minority political rights, and enacting legislation on de- Baathification and oil revenue sharing."
Don’t hold your breath until you hear this report from the Bush administration, and don’t expect the truth.
The oil revenue sharing is the benchmark that shouldn’t be a benchmark. In other words, Senator Murray, like many other Democrats, is either confused about, or ignorant of, what this is. It is another huge giveaway to the big oil companies both here and abroad. This is why we stay in Iraq. It is to gain control of the oil for Exxon-Mobile and BP through Production Sharing Agreements. Oil was the central reason behind the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation.
These PSAs are not protecting the oil profits for the Iraqi people. They are privatizing the profits away from the Iraqi people. This is profiteering at its worse. It is nothing short of piracy and it has become a benchmark for success in Iraq.