As we moved in immediately after the invasion, instead of allowing Iraqi's oil engineers to redevelop their own oil fields, (we are talking about the same men who kept the oil flowing during the sanction years to the amazement of the world, with little more than ingenuity), two American companies, Halliburton and Bechtel, were both put in charge. As recent congressional hearings have discovered, these non-bid corporations were paid on a nominal cost-plus basis, meaning they used the most expensive technology available, thereby running up the costs as well as their percentages, and then stopped, unfinished, right before the wells were working. Now, at this point in time, no one else but either of these two companies can "turn on " the wells, with the quick installation of one or two mother-boards. They sit now, bidding their time, while they wait for a "legitimate contract" which once passed, will guarantee at least 70% of the substantial profits.
This is actually the fuel that flames the insurgency. Iraqis want the oil developed, not stolen. The bomb we saw that almost killed the Iraqi Vice President Mahdi, a feverish PSA oil law supporter, was detonated at the same time while the preliminary oil bill was being debated in their congress. As with all Arab attacks, the timing of these events is important; it is meant to send a message. Again, as far as I know, no one in the US news media, has yet made the connection.
This rape of the Iraqis' oil rights, finally explains why Iraqi sentiment shifted so drastically after the war. In the beginning the Iraqi's welcomed us with open arms, (Viva George Bush) until they realized we really were moving in on their oil. This also explains the timing of the insurgency, and why the fighting continues, as well as to why there is a Civil War.
The Sunnis benefit if the oil bill is to pass, since they will get 10% of the profits: (1/3 of 30%); Sunni's have little or no oil resources on their territory if the country splits into three federations. The Shiites, and Kurds, both who have an abundance of oil, want Iraq to develop their own oil at contracts similar to their neighbors, with oil company's taking a paltry 10% of the profits, and 90% coming back to Iraq.
So what's behind the Cheney visit? Why now?
Last week, the Kurds signed deals with both Norwegian and Turkish companies to develop new oil fields in their province. These were not at 70% PSA rates.
This electrified Cheney and his Iraqi leadership, which said that any contracts signed before the new law was passed, would be invalid and illegal.
Right now the Kurds hold 58 out of the 275 seats in the Iraqi Congress. At a 29.10 % voting bloc, the oil bill can be passed without one Kurdish vote, if the Sunnis decide to hold firm and in one bloc vote together. Hence Cheney's visit to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and now Iraq.
He needs to persuade (pressure) those governments to lean on the Iraqi Sunnis and force them to line up behind the Oil Bill, so that none of the votes of the Kurds are needed.
In a democracy it is commonly assumed that open discussion will generate the best results. However as of May 6, the Iraqi legislature had not yet seen a draft of the Oil bill that Cheney wants passed by May 31st. Who has seen it? Here is what Chinese intelligence had to say about it:
The law was in essence drafted behind locked doors by a US consulting firm hired by the Bush administration and then carefully retouched by Big Oil, the International Monetary Fund, former US deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz' World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development. It's virtually a US law (its original language is English, not Arabic).
The right to self determination in a democracy apparently does not apply to oil. Condoleeza Rice was ineffective in her tactics of persuasion and now Cheney (not as Vice President, but as a representative of "Big Oil"), has gone to play hardball. Expect him to say behind closed doors: "Our meters are on your wells. You will have NO oil, and no income period, unless you give me the PSA's. If you refuse, you no longer have our confidence in your leadership. Without our protection, you are at the mercy of your own people......."
And we saw what happened to VP Mahdi even with our protection.
With this much pressure being placed by the US on this one bill, we can now understand why Cheney and his supporters told us the surge was so important. He needed it to provide enough stability in Baghdad so this bill could pass. It is now clear why Republicans are saying "wait till September". At that point we will have our 70% rate of return. We can further decipher why Democrats are saying "we will know by June". They are implying you've got till May 31st, Mr. President, or we are pulling the plug.
In the meantime, people who we were told are terrorists, continue to fight a nation who seems intent on stealing their livelihood from out of the very ground they stand on.
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