http://democratictribune.com/...
Just when you think that the Bush Administration's public policies can't get any worse for the American people, the Iraqi Government further casts a shadow on the current state of the United States' foreign policy.
Five years after the U.S invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq and China have signed a $3 billion deal to develop a large Iraqi oil field, the first major commercial oil contract here with a foreign company since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The 20-year agreement calls for the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. to begin producing 25,000 barrels of oil a day and gradually increase the output to 125,000 a day, said Asim Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
The contract revamps a deal the Chinese company had reached with Saddam Hussein in 1997 to develop the Ahdab oil field in Wasit province, south of Baghdad near the border with Iran. Unlike that deal, which called for China to share in the revenue, the current contract is based on a fixed-fee structure (Washington Post, 8/29/08).
This news comes on the heels of a recent McCain campaign appearance on 'Hardball with Chris Matthews', where New Mexico Congresswoman and McCain spokeswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) openly admitted that the Republican Party energy policy consisted primarily of offshore drilling that would lead to oil contracts similar to Iraq’s deal with China. Wilson justified this by pointing to McCain’s support of ‘the world economy’.
It has become appallingly clear that John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the rest of the Republican Party have no intention of formulating and implementing energy policies consistent with the best interests of the American people. Allowing China to seize oil fields in Iraq presents not just energy and economic risks to the United States, but presents a national security risk as well. And the prospects only get worse as you consider the consequences of China National Petroleum Corp. or a shell company of Iran or Venezuela getting its hands on our offshore oil. The McCain-Palin campaign, however, remains undaunted in its support of this failed energy policy.
Add these realities to the out-of-touch economic policy positions of the McCain-Palin campaign and you have a recipe for opportunity for the Obama-Biden campaign. Does a collapsing economy intersect with the interests of the American working class? Do selling oil interests to China reflect the ‘America First’ manta regurgitated by John McCain on a regular basis? Are you willing to endure hardship for another four years while oil executives (both domestic and abroad) pad their pockets and high-five their cheerleaders, the Republican party?
Hit them early and hit them hard, Senator Obama. The list of issues where John McCain is out of step with the American working class continues to grow. Keep this narrative on message and don’t let the Republicans escape their failed policies and abysmal vision for this country. They’re gift wrapping an election for us. Let’s make sure we grab that prize and reform this great nation beginning in January.