The Crime of the Century

Our government is planning the biggest theft in the history of the world. Both Republicans and Democrats are to blame and the media is not covering it.

The Bush administration has crafted an Iraqi “Hydrocarbon Law" and is pressuring the Iraqi Parliament to pass it as one of the benchmarks necessary for continued US support of their government. This document pays lip service to the fair and even distribution of profit among the various sects, but a careful look reveals that it allows huge multinational oil companies to take 80% of Iraq's oil wealth.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) invoked a rarely used House rule of personal privilege to gain an hour of time on the floor of the House on Wednesday May 23rd, to lay out the details of this travesty. “This administration has led Congress into thinking that this bill is about fair distribution of oil revenues. In fact, …except for three scant lines, the entire 33-page hydrocarbon law creates a structure to facilitate the privatization of Iraq oil. Now, the war in Iraq is a stain on American history. Let us not further besmirch our Nation by participating in an outrageous exploitation of [another] nation which is in shambles due to the U.S. intervention.”

Despite the objections from Kucinich, the Congress passed the Iraq Supplemental Bill, including language requiring the privitization of Iraq's oil resources as a benchmark for US support of the corrupt Iraqi government. Bush signed it into law on May 25th. Bush will have ask Congress for another appropriations bill in September. If our representatives felt enough pressure from the people, they could draft the new bill with language that made it clear that the US and the multinational oil companies have no right to control what Iraq does with it's oil. If not, then we have proof beyond any doubt remaining in our minds that this war is about oil.

Vice President Cheney said to Tim Russert (9/13/03) "Iraq sits on top of 10 percent of the world's oil reserves—a very significant reserve, second only to Saudi Arabia. The fact is, there are significant resources here to work with." Most of the oil producing countries in the world have nationalized their oil production. Iraq nationalized theirs in 1972. It's very clear that the intention of our government from the beginning was to privatize those resources. The Center for Global Energy Studies estimates that Iraq could produce 300 billion barrels of oil. At $70/barrel, that comes to about 21 trillion dollars—nearly twice the gross national product of our entire country. No wonder Bush defaulted on his electioneering promise that he was against regime change and lied to us about reasons for invading Iraq.

Here is what Hassan Jum'a Awwad, Head of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, has to say about the Hydrocarbon Law "Everyone knows that the oil law does not serve the Iraqi people, and that it serves the administration, its supporters, and the foreign oil companies at the expense of the Iraqi people, who have been wronged and deprived of their right to their oil, despite enduring all difficulties.”

Vice President Cheney called together his Oil and Energy working group four times between December 2002 and April 2003. He refuses to this day to tell us who was at those meetings, and transcripts have not been released. Cheney recently visited Iraq to urge passage of the Hydrocarbon Act.

Some people might think that it makes sense to use Iraq's oil wealth to pay for the war. I would point out to those misguided souls, that this Hydrocarbon Law is not designed to benefit the American taxpayer who is paying for this war. It is designed to benefit Exon/Mobil, Chevron, Shell and British Petroleum.

This Hydrocarbon Law was made a part of the Iraq Supplemental Bill by a Congress under the control of the Democratic Party. This is a sad reflection on the nature of both parties. I hope it is not a reflection on the American people. I hope we are better than that. I hope that Americans would not want to use military force to steal the resources of another country. I hope that Americans would not want to trade blood for oil. If you agree perhaps you should call your congressmen and senators.