The war was about exactly what the build up to the war was all about: overproduction; decline in rate of return for the oil majors to the mid single digit levels; collapse in price of oil-- in the buildup to the war, in the buildup to OPEC's rescue, Iraqi exports were at their highest levels since the first war-- and the whining from oil majors about this, whispered whining to their senators, congressmen, govt. agents legion.
When the war was initiated it was initiated due to overproduction and the need to aggrandize greater profits, not greater reserves, assets, supplies, or even production. At the risk of censure by the moderator, I repeat what I've repeated before-- OPEC, price, warfare, are all about the reproduction of capital, the enhancement of profit, the destruction of assets when necessary, the removal of potential and actual competitors, sources of production. And yes, at the time, and today, beaucoup maps and studies are published, laws are passed to enhance the attractiveness of Iraqi fields, and potentials, for investment and increased production... but the reality is, no takers. Production languishes, exploration and development just aren't happening-- and that's no accident, no more than the immiseration of Iraq society from top to bottom, its forced disdevelopment, is an unintended consequence-- no more than the death squads, the militias were "unforeseen," "spontaneous" in their origins. Remember that guy named Negroponte? The reason for the war? Restore profits. ----- Original Message ----- From: "The Buffalo In Da' Midst" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 1:35 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Greenspan: the Iraq war was largely about oil > On 9/16/07, sartesian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> opined: > > I do not think there is any evidence that the war was about capturing > ownership of the physical reserves of oil; > > > Really! > > What's all this, then? > > "The documents contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries > and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas > projects, and "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts." The > documents are dated March 2001." > > Orienteering? > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienteering>? > > For Immediate Release > Jul 17, 2003 Contact: Press Office > 202-646-5188 > > CHENEY ENERGY TASK FORCE DOCUMENTS FEATURE MAP OF IRAQI OILFIELDS > http://www.judicialwatch.org/printer_iraqi-oilfield-pr.shtml > > Commerce & State Department Reports to Task Force Detail Oilfield & > Gas Projects, Contracts & Exploration > > Saudi Arabian & UAE Oil Facilities Profiled As Well > > > (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that > investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, said > today that documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under > court order as a result of Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act > (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task > Force, contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and > terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, > and "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts." The documents, > which are dated March 2001, are available on the Internet at: > www.JudicialWatch.org. > > The Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates (UAE) documents likewise > feature a map of each country's oilfields, pipelines, refineries and > tanker terminals. There are supporting charts with details of the > major oil and gas development projects in each country that provide > information on the projects, costs, capacity, oil company and status > or completion date. > > Judicial Watch has been seeking these documents under FOIA since April > 19, 2001. Judicial Watch was forced to file a lawsuit in the U.S. > District Court for the District of Columbia (Judicial Watch Inc. v. > Department of Energy, et al., Civil Action No. 01-0981) when the > government failed to comply with the provisions of the FOIA law. U.S. > District Court Judge Paul J. Friedman ordered the government to > produce the documents on March 5, 2002. > > The documents were produced in response to Judicial Watch's on-going > efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in government on > behalf of the American people. Judicial Watch aggressively pursues > those goals by making FOIA requests and seeking access to public > information concerning government operations. When the government > fails to abide by these "sunshine laws" Judicial Watch files lawsuits > in order to obtain the requested information and to hold responsible > government officials accountable. > > "These documents show the importance of the Energy Task Force and why > its operations should be open to the public," stated Judicial Watch > President Tom Fitton. > > Click here for for maps and charts of oilfields. > > These are documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under a > March 5, 2002 court order as a result of Judicial Watch's Freedom of > Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney > Energy Task Force. The documents contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, > pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as 2 charts detailing > Iraqi oil and gas projects, and "Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield > Contracts." The documents are dated March 2001. > http://www.judicialwatch.org/iraqi-oil-maps.shtml >
