Protection of the pipelines in Iraq is most intense. There are daily attempts to
remake the world and serve the Bush and Cheney interests in Iraq. President
George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney’s cocky hopes for a
privatized,
pro-American Iraqi oil industry keep going down like sand in an
hourglass—“These are the Cheney's Cha-Chings of our Lives.” There are
continuous
attacks, sometimes weekly, on installations in Iraq's northern oil fields that are increasingly
well coordinated. Saboteurs have repeatedly blown up segments of the
pipeline leading from the Kirkuk fields to the Turkish Mediterranean Port of
Ceyhan.
The Bush Administration thought it would have access to
the world’s second largest hydrocarbon reserves and produce so much oil that
Saudi Arabia, in charge of OPEC, would lose its grip on petroleum prices.
Did you wonder why the United States started a war in Afghanistan—to start
the smokin’ pipe. America
was in negotiations to deal with the
Taliban for an oil pipeline in Afghanistan.
How did our oil
get under their sand?
Low prices would also mean falling revenues for oil-producers, which in the
Middle East might precipitate the collapse of regimes hostile to the U. S.
Ever since Arab nations imposed an embargo on oil exports to America in
1973, the United States has tried, in theory, to wean itself off foreign
oil. George Bush declared hydrocarbon independence a priority. But the real
issue is not where the oil spurts from, but how much it costs to buy.
Preparing wells and pipes in
postwar Iraq would cost $1 billion--raising oil production to 3.5 million
barrels a day. It would take three years and cost another $8 billion
investment and another $20 billion for repairs to the electrical grid that
powers the pumps and refineries. Bringing production up to 6 million barrels
a day would cost a further $30 billion, perhaps $100 billion.
In other words, assuming only $8
billion of the $20 billion can be used on industry, the Bush overall budget
of $87 billion that horrified Congress and the American public is likely to
rise toward a figure of $200 billion.
Since the 1920s, only around
2,300 wells have been drilled in Iraq, and those are in the valleys of the
Tigris and Euphrates. Its deserts are almost totally unexplored. Officially,
Iraq contains 12 percent of the world's oil reserves--two-thirds of the
world's reserves are in just four other countries--Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Kuwait and the Emirates -- but it could contain up to 25 percent.
It's possible to argue it was
Saddam's decision to switch from the dollar to the Euro in 2000 made regime
change important to the United States. When Iran threatened to do the same,
it was added to the "axis of evil." The defense of the dollar is almost as
important as oil.
On May 22, the U. N. Security Council passed Resolution
1438, which provided gas and oil companies in Iraq with limited immunity
until Dec. 21, 2007. Their reason? To protect the flow of oil revenues into
the development fund that will be used to reconstruct Iraq.
On the same day, Bush issued Executive Order 13303--
called "Protecting the Development Fund and Certain Other Property in Which
Iraq Has an Interest." Unlike the U. N. resolution, the president's order
appears to place U. S. corporations above the law for any activities related
to Iraq oil, either in that country or in the United States.
The United States invaded
Iraq--its chief export oil--and
Iraq now has control of perhaps 25 percent
of the world's reserves. But the U.S. can't make the oil flow. The
cost to get the oil flowing is causing an economic crisis in the United
States. The Bush Administration is more concerned about the flow of
oil than the daily killing of young U. S. soldiers. Washington has got
its hands on the biggest treasure chest in the world, but it can't open the
lid because they are still trying to get the smokin' pipe going.
