A news story I wish we'd see:
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Citing his July 17 executive order authorizing the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of any person or organization contributing to the destabilization of Iraq, President Bush announced today the freezing of all assets of Dallas Based Hunt Oil and of its CEO Ray Hunt.
Hunt Oil recently announced an agreement with Iraqi's semi-autonomous Kurdish government to begin oil exploration in northern Iraq. The agreement, which hasa been call "illegal" by Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani, is seen as a chief cause for the collaps of negotiations surrounding the passage of oil revenue sharing in the country.
A revenue-sharing agreement is widely considered to be a predicate to any significant political progress in Iraq, and thus Hunt's actions are believed to have contributed to continued chaos and violence in the country. As a result, Bush claims, America's mission has been jeopardized and "more lives will be lost."
"As President, my first responsibility is to ensure the success of our mission in Iraq," Bush told reporters. "Even though Mr. Hunt has contributed heavily to my campaigns and sits on my foreign intelligence advisory board as well as the board of Halliburton, that doesn't mean and his company can profit at the expense of our troops, our mission and our country. That's just simply unnacceptable."
Conservative pundits have already jumped on the anti-Hunt bandwagon. Sean Hannity, for example, has called Hunt's actions "tantamount to treason" and demanded a criminal investigation. Bill O'Reilly, host of the popular O'Reilly Factor, has called for a boycott, claiming Hunt's intereference in Iraq is "ten times worse than anything [popular rap artist] Ludacris ever did."
Hunt, who has by some reports fled the country in disgrace, could not be reached for comment.
CORRECTION:
We reported earlier in this diary that the assets of Hunt Oil and CEO Ray Hunt were seized as a result of an illegal oil exploration agreement which contributed to the collapse of oil revenue-sharing legislation in Iraq. While Hunt did in fact engage in such an agreement, it turns out no one cares. Goletada regrets the error.