Glory, Hallelujia; we won! Exit strategy coming!

George_1950 · #1 Jun 28, 2008, 06:04 PM

Big oil is back, in Iraq! 36 years after Saddam started his havoc with oil production:
"The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/wo...html?ref=world

Credendovidis · Jun 28, 2008, 06:12 PM

"Big oil is back, in Iraq!"

Please take note that the ones that started the havoc with oil production in Iraq were the US troops invading illegally and without authorization by the UN the Iraqi territory after 9-11.

At least have your facts right ....

westnlas · Jun 28, 2008, 06:20 PM

Actually the Havoc was caused by Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. As the Iraqi troops were pushed back, they torched the oil wells. When things happen, they often happen because of prior events.

Of course, further back in time the formation of OPEC played a huge difference in the way oil was handled previously.

tomder55 · Jun 29, 2008, 01:43 AM

Credendovidis

Brush up on history . Prior to the US invasion the Iraqi oil infrastructure was crumbling .The UN had imposed sanctions on Saddam because his WMD program was still unaccounted for .But ;they allowed him to ship a limited amt of oil under the completely corrupt "Oil for Food Program " for humanitarian purposes .

Quote:

The main feature of the containment regime had become the Oil-for-Food program, set up by the United Nations in 1996 with Clinton-administration approval. Within months, the program had become a spigot of cash for Saddam and his family and cronies. The full extent of the corruption, and the full roster of who paid in and who was paid out, may not be known for decades, if ever. But the overall picture is reasonably clear, thanks again in large part to documents seized in the 2003 invasion.
Saddam had shrewdly realized that vouchers for the sale of his oil might serve as a kind of international currency, distributed by him to favored customers who would be obliged to pay him kickbacks, all out of reach of the scrutiny of the UN. Eventually, UN administrators were brought into the conspiracy as well. Within a year the program had miraculously restored Saddam’s personal wealth and power, even as the Iraqi people continued to suffer. By the time of the U.S. invasion, he had skimmed at least $21 billion from the program, in addition to the billions made through smuggled oil sales to other Middle East countries, including his old enemy Iran.
The list of recipients of Oil-for-Food vouchers grew to more than 270 names, constituting a Who’s Who of slippery international politicians and diplomats—all of whom, needless to say, opposed any talk of military action against Iraq. On the Security Council, Russia, France, and China, key adversaries of U.S. policy toward Iraq going back to Clinton days, were among Saddam’s key beneficiaries. Not only was Oil-for-Food the biggest scandal in UN history, it had turned the UN’s mandate inside out. A program established to punish a rogue tyrant was systematically making him more powerful; nations that were supposed to be his custodians had become his accomplices; and the institution whose purpose was to protect international order was destroying it.

Why Iraq Was Inevitable

This and the UN's refusal to enforce their sanctions was causing the containment regime to crumble ;leaving us with a choice of abandoning containment to either allow Saddam to become more powerful and reconstitute his wmd programs and threaten his neighbors ,or remove him.

NeedKarma · Jun 29, 2008, 02:30 AM

Credendovidis · Jun 29, 2008, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

This and the UN's refusal to enforce their sanctions ...

Uhhhhhhh : who was it that refused to accept the UN's decision NOT to invade Iraq, because the supporting evidence for presence of MWD's was lacking any serious credibility?

And who was/is not paying - or behind in paying their dues - for the UN ?

That graphic shows more about you and your opinion, than it shows about the UN ....

·

Credendovidis · Jun 29, 2008, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

The Real McCain

With Obama there is at least still hope , while with McCain there is just more Bush injustice , intolerance, and dilution of democratic rights ...

·

George_1950 · Jun 29, 2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Credendovidis

Uhhhhhhh : who was it that refused to accept the UN's decision NOT to invade Iraq, because the supporting evidence for presence of MWD's was lacking any serious credibility?

·

Just curious: you have some evidence to prove this?

tomder55 · Jun 29, 2008, 10:37 AM

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Read the rest of the essay I posted .It shows that even Colin Powell ;who was opposed to invasion at the beginning came away from the SC meeting frustrated and in favor of the invasion. What he and the rest of use did not know was that 1/2 the SC was on the take from the Oil for Food Program. Yeah of course the UN voted against invasion .We were smashing their piggy bank.



At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you will be able to: Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+ topics. Accept money for answers that you provide. Communicate privately with other members (PM). See fewer ads. Sign Up!