Letter: Why don't Democrats talk about OIL motive for Iraq War?

[yurbud]

Sent to Randi Rhodes of Air America and Amy Goodman of Democracynow.org

Randi,

You have been very good about having Greg Palast, and others on who have explained the oil and othereconomic machinations that are most likely the true cause of the Iraq War as have most of the hosts at Air America with the glaring exception of Al Franken, who often says he doesn't know why we invaded. Ed Schultz who also covers progressive issues doesn't acknowledge this oil motive either, even when I called him up and talked about the neocon plan for hegemony over the world oil supply, he treated it like a hypothetical at best.

I mention Al and Ed because they seem to represent the thinking of the Democratic establishment, and reading between the lines, since they aren't discussing oil, the democrats must want to hold on to those concessions that Bush gave to American oil companies, which are clearly war crimes.

Every time I hear Democrats talk about Iraq, withdrawal, and timelines without mentioning oil, I feel like they are lying to me, that they want to do what the GOP is doing over there only "better." It seems like they want to tell just enough of the truth and be just enough different from the GOP to win elections. In addition to being dishonest, it is a losing strategy, as Joe Lieberman is finding out as he is the loaf about to be pinched off in the bowl by the voters.

Has anyone asked Democrats about this issue directly, how their withdrawal plans might affect those oil concessions, whether that is a determining factor in any pullout plans, and what assurances if any on the oil issue the Bush administration gave them before the war?

I remember Tom Friedman wrote a column before the war that said if it went well, the price per barrel could drop to as little as $6. Pat Robertson made similar claims, making it seem like this was a "second sell" for people who didn't fall for the WMD/terrorist stuff.

Could you start asking Democrats about this or do some investigation?

Yurbud



BACKGROUND ON OIL MOTIVE:

Greg Palast's timeline of Iraq oil meeings (with video interviews with the players):
http://www.gregpalast.com/iraqmeetingstimeline.html

Detailed report on restructuring of Iraq's oil industry to benefit our oil companies:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2005/crudedesigns.htm

Colin Powell's chief of staff on oil motive for Iraq War:
http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2005/11/powell-aide-says-war-about-oil-so-we.html

Broader background on oil, war, and foreign policy:
http://www.mymethow.com/~joereid/oil_coup.html

Naomi Klein on privatization and its effects in Iraq:
http://www.harpers.org/BaghdadYearZero.html


Economic war crimes in Geneva and Hague Conventions:

The Hague Convention of 1907 (IV) see articles 47, 53, 55
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/195?OpenDocument

The Geneva Convention of 1949 (IV) we've broken almost every section of article 147, and Bush has personally broken article 148.
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/380?OpenDocument


A good brief summary of neoliberalism:
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376

How "economic hit men" set it up and enforce it:
http://www.johnperkins.org/Preface.htm


The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time author's website:
http://www.bushagenda.net/index.php

[HereSince1628]

1. Cause no one criticizes their largest campaign contributors?

Just a thought.

[burythehatchet]

2. Because Americans want oil

and don't care how we get it.

[yurbud]

3. respectable argument, but not true

I have more respect for that argument than the steaming turd about Saddam being a threat that the Bushies dumped on us, but it is still not an accurate explanation.

The Friedman piece I mentioned in the first post said this--we need access to cheap oil.

Ironically, once the sanctions came off, that's exactly what Saddam would have been tempted to provide. Instead, as Greg Palast found and DSM confirmed, oil companies wanted to keep production down and prices up.

If our goal was to secure cheap oil to keep our economy running, china showed an easier way to do it: the bought it from Canada and Iran on long term contracts.

Invading Iraq only insured that American oil companies profit from pumping Iraq's oil and get to determine how much is pumped, thereby setting the price.

The thanks they are giving us for Iraq, a present worth trillions of dollars, is higher prices at the pumps, demands for more tax cuts, and for Iran on a silver platter.

If there are ever war crimes trials, oil company execs and major stockholders should be held more responsible than Bush and Cheney since they gave the orders that heartless and brainless are merely following.