10 Comments so far

1. Bernice March 13th, 2007 4:51 pm

   Iraq’s parliament is now debating these agreements with the oil companies and SHOULD reject them with gusto, repudiate the U.S.-forced constitution which privatizes the resource that accounts for 90% or more of their income, should nationalize their oil and ask their neighbors for help in getting their oil industry moving again.

   Except for the internet (mostly British writers), the US media have ignored what is to be a gift of Iraq’s oil to the oil companies. Today, however, the Washington Post actually printed a letter to the editor from a Mr. Ali who pointed out the inaccuracies in an opinion piece by Khalilzad.

   Is any journalist asking this question yet: What, if anything, do the oil company agreements have to do with Halliburton’s decision to move its headquarters to Dubai “to be closer to where the oil is?”

2. panamahead March 13th, 2007 5:43 pm

   President Bush said Freedom is on the march!

   Whats all this talk about oil?

3. jp March 13th, 2007 7:37 pm

   my understanding of the proposed law is that it also creates an oil or energy commission that is to include members of the Western oil companies. Can you imagine a federal commission in this country that had foreign commissioners overseeing Americna resources?

4. rtdrury March 13th, 2007 10:02 pm

   The limited use of foreign oil companies by Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia actually reflects the Enlightenment era approach in America, when corporations were allowed to prevail only temporarily to complete limited projects.

   This policy in America was inspired by disgust at the British East India Company’s oppression/exploitation of India and the wars it perpetrated to profit from the opium addictions of millions of Chinese.

   The statement released by the five Iraqi trade unions, that state sovereignty and public dignity are assaulted by foreign control of oil, reflects worldwide consensus outside the US/UK.

   The Iraq insurgency will be strengthened and Iraq security forces weakened by the news that ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell are trying to coerce twice the market rates for oil revenue sharing, through the puppet strings in Baghdad.

5. Miles Q March 13th, 2007 10:07 pm

   Hmmmm…

   No, oil had nothing to do with this war! Of course not!

   Dick Cheney should hang for his crimes against humanity and the earth. I am against capital punishment, usually no exceptions, but I’ll make an exception for Dick.

   I would say Bush too, but he’s already hanging from Cheney’s puppet strings.

   Where is a good ol’ revolution when you need one!

6. Gail March 13th, 2007 10:21 pm

   “Iraq’s neighbors Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia maintain nationalized oil systems and have outlawed foreign control over oil development. They all hire international oil companies as contractors to provide specific services as needed, for a limited duration, and without giving the foreign company any direct interest in the oil produced.”

   Isn’t this what Hugo Chavez is trying to accomplish for the people of his country? What a monster!

7. gladimus March 14th, 2007 12:55 pm

   We must remember that the Iraqi oil reserves were discovered and developed by international oil companies in Great Britain and the USA. The US government (Bush administration, military, and Congress )and the voters that elected this US administration INVADED Iraq to regain access to this valuable resource.

   The quote used in this article of the CEO of Chevron “Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gas — reserves I’d love Chevron to have ACCESS to”) seems to me to be misleading. What does mean something to me is that Chevron, and the other international oil companies will now be able to give ACCESS to these Iraqi oil reserves (gasoline) to the US (voters) consumers. Each one of us needs to step up and take responsibility for what this nation has done to the people of Iraq.

8. Alan MacDonald March 14th, 2007 5:05 pm

   Excellent column — and very surprising to get ink in the NYT (the paper of record, for the Empire).

   Maybe even the Times is getting concerned about the extent of damage that this hidden global corporate Empire will do.

9. bnkawukazevy December 12th, 2007 9:50 am

   titwizanenoko…

   extivywahosi…

10. bnhuhycanyci January 1st, 2008 7:14 am

    titnasycyzopi…

    exrekocatyty…

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