The Iraq Study Group notes on p. 2 of its report at http://graphics8.nytimes.com/... that Iraq has the second largest known oil reserve in the world. The word, "oil," occurs 64 times in the course of the Iraq Study Group’s Report. The report discusses at length the problem of distributing the wealth that Iraq’s oil represents and decries that about a half million barrels a day are being stolen.
Here is one juicy tidbit that appears on p. 85 in the Adobe file (that is, p. 103 of 160 in the document):
Long Term: Expanding oil production in Iraq over the long term will require creating corporate structures, establishing management systems, and installing competent managers to plan and oversee an ambitious list of major oil-field investment projects. To improve oil-sector performance, the Study Group puts forward the following recommendations.
RECOMMENDATION 63:
• The United States should encourage investment in Iraq’s oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies.
• The United States should assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise, in order to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
• To combat corruption, the U.S. government should urge the Iraqi government to post all oil contracts, volumes, and prices on the Web so that Iraqis and outside observers can track exports and export revenues.
• The United States should support the World Bank’s efforts to ensure that best practices are used in contracting.
To paraphrase the Clinton campaign slogan from 1992, "It's the oil, stupid."