I believe the Iraq War's real purpose is to gain U.S. control of Iraq's second largest in-ground oil reserves in the world and establish a permanent on-the-ground military presence in the Mid-East.
I also believe that the secrecy of the 2001 Cheney Energy Task Force is to conceal that it started us on the path to attacking Iraq.
If I'm correct, this is the worst lie of the Bush administration and I hope John Edwards will force it into the open during Tuesday night's debate by attacking the secrecy of Cheney's task force records.
Here's an op-ed column I wrote in early September and submitted to three newspapers.
All three rejected it without explanation. Please consider circulating it.
Title: Connecting the Oil War's Dots
Why has it required lawsuits to force the Bush administration to release records of Vice-President Cheney's Energy Task Force as required by the Freedom of Information Act?
The Judicial Watch and National Resources Defense Council organizations endured nearly a year of repeated rejections of records requests until their lawsuits finally forced release of records. But, the lawsuits have only yielded 10,000 censored pages of the 26,000 sought because the administration has appealed a federal judge's order to release the remainder.
What is the Bush administration trying to hide from us?
The administration argues that the task force met in early 2001 to exclusively serve President Bush - not we the people who elected Bush and Cheney, pay for their salaries and generous perks, and, to whom they're supposed to be accountable.
The administration also says that releasing the remaining pages would reveal task force members who don't want to be publicly identified. But, if your squeaky-clean reputation allowed you to serve on a White House task force, wouldn't you proudly disclose your participation? Of course, so there must be another reason for the 16,000 pages' secrecy.
Perhaps it's to conceal why the task force recommended increased subsidies to polluting industries and greater dependence on oil and nuclear power - instead of increased vehicle gas mileage standards and, say, a mandate that 50% of new car production be powered with hydrogen fuel-cell technology within ten years (which would also be a huge job creator).
But, more likely, it's that the 16,000 secret pages will reveal that the task force's main focus was how to: 1) Protect the security of U.S. oil imports from political unrest in the Mid-East, especially in oil-rich Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and 2) Significantly boost the region's oil exports to satisfy our growing consumption.
If so, bet the secret records show that months before 9/11, the task force decided that Iraq must be invaded - but not to find and destroy Saddam Hussein's alleged WMD.
Instead, the war's real goals were to: 1) Get UN sanctions lifted which were severely limiting exporting oil from Iraq's second largest in-ground reserves in the world, and 2) Enable basing permanent U.S. forces in Iraq for quickly responding to possible coups or other threats to U.S. oil imports from the Mid-East.
Such goals explain why Bush never expressed hope that Hanz Blix's UN inspectors would find the stockpiles of WMD that he claimed Saddam possessed. And why Blix was denied use of the intelligence data upon which Bush's WMD claims were based. And why Bush ignored Sadddam's challenge to send the CIA to make its own unfettered search for the alleged weapons.
The goals also explain why, when Bush invaded Iraq, Coalition forces immediately rushed to protect its Oil Ministry Building and gain control of its oil fields. And why, although U.S. troops were able to finally find Saddam in a small hole, nobody can find Bush's alleged stockpiles of WMD - or even someone who caught a glimpse or whiff of them.
Note that the goals have been achieved: The sanctions limiting Iraq's oil exports have now been lifted, American contractors are involved in ramping up Iraqi oil production, and there is no exit plan for bringing U.S. forces home to America [indeed, during the 9/30 Bush-Kerry debate, JFK said we are currently constructing 14 permanent-looking military bases on Iraqi soil]. Bush can now do a "My Real Mission Accomplished" photo-op.
Let's connect a last dot, i.e., the task force records obtained by Judicial Watch`s lawsuit (go to http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.b_PR.shtml to see). The records, dated March, 2001, include maps of Iraqi oil fields, pipelines, refineries, and tanker terminals. Also included are two charts, one detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects and another titled "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts."
Why so soon after Bush's inauguration, was Cheney's task force studying intelligence data about Iraq's oil and gas production capabilities? Answer: Paul O'Neill , Bush's then Secretary of the Treasury, says that the administration began planning its Iraq War from day one.
So, expect the 16,000 secret task force documents to reveal member names like Rice, Rumsfeld, Powell, Tenet and, of course, Bush. And, since the Iraq invasion was originally to be launched from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, their ambassadors' names should show up, too.
Unfortunately, Bush administration lawyers will likely succeed in delaying complete release of task force records until after the November election. But, meanwhile, voters should be asking if this nation of, by and for the people should be governed with secrecy, deceit and lack of accountability.
P.S.
Americans look to the mainstream news media to aggressively ensure that the workings of our government - especially matters like the development of a national energy policy - are conducted openly for all interested citizens' awareness. Yet, I'm unaware of any news organization actively challenging the Bush administration's attempt to deny public access to the Cheney Energy Task Force's records. The newspapers who rejected the above column were The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC, The Herald-Sun in Durham, NC and the New York Times. I'm assuming they support the notion that the Iraq War was "the right thing to do" and that it doesn't matter if it really was, and will continue to be, about oil.