Saturday 8 April 2017

Iraq's Oil and the War fought for it

Was the Iraq war about oil or Weapons of mass destruction?


We already know that the weapons of mass destruction didn't exist, several experts said they didn't exist and one lost his life in what could be said to be suspicious circumstances. The US and UK Governments said they acted on the best information they had at the time, but did they?

Its already been proven in the Chilcott inquiry that they didn't act on the best information and better decisions should have been made.  The main findings of the inquiry were published in Sir John Chilcotts public statement
  • The judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction – WMD – were presented with a certainty that was not justified. 
  • Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate. 
  • The Government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

So we come to the oil, at various points in the lead up to the war the governments and Oil companies stated that they were not interested in the oil at all .. no interest. Blair even said that if they wanted oil they could do a deal with Saddam.  All this was proven to be a pack of lies.

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq
"Plans to exploit Iraq's oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world's largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show."



One of the best sources of information as it provides actual released official documents is this one.
http://www.fuelonthefire.org
"The departure of the last U.S. troops from Iraq at the end of 2011 left a broken country and a host of unanswered questions. What was the war really about? Why and how did the occupation drag on for nearly nine years? And why did the troops have to leave? Now, in a gripping account of the war that dominated the last decade, investigative journalist Greg Muttitt takes us behind the scenes to answer these questions and tells the untold story of the oil politics that played out through the occupation."

Basically if you want proof that Oil was high on the list of priorities, this is it. There are many more links below. But this one has everything.

So Was It A War For Oil?
"I still get asked ´So was it a war for oil?´ I find it a surprising question, as it´s no secret that Iraq has nearly a tenth of the world´s remaining oil, nor that the Persian Gulf region as a whole has nearly a half (and at the time of the war it was more like two thirds). It´s only because of the insistence with which our politicians (Donald Trump aside) denied any role for oil that it became a question at all. And perhaps those very denials stimulated suspicions of a bigger conspiracy than it was."
  1. Oil company meetings with UK government, 2002-3
  2. British government strategy papers on Iraqi oil, 2003-4
  3. Jeremy Greenstock and lobbying for BP entry into Iraq, 2004
  4. BP contract for Rumaila field, 2009
  5. U.S. pre-war plans to privatize Iraq's oil, 2002-3

http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/archives/1153
Today, ten years ago, a global demonstration took place in more than sixty countries around the world, involving millions, to protest against the upcoming war in Iraq. Refusing an illegal war of aggression, protesting against a war for oil, demonstrators firmly rejected the idea a people can be bombed into democracy. Today, ten years after, oil companies are making huge profits in Iraq. While labour rights are not recognised, and Saddam’s era anti-strike laws are still in force, foreign oil companies have signed 20-years contracts and are benefiting from this denial of the fundamental rights of Iraqi workers. Today, representatives of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) from Italy, UK and France went to ENI, the Italian oil company, to deliver the following letter from Iraqi oil workers, which is also being sent to all foreign oil companies present in Iraq.


List of International Oil Companies in Iraqi Kurdistan Ive listed the main ones rest are on link
United Kingdom
Afren
Gulf Keystone Petroleum
Perenco
Sterling Energy
United States
Aspect Energy
Chevron
Hess
Hunt Petroleum
Murphy Oil Corporation
Canada
Groundstar Resources
Niko Resources
Shamaran Petroleum
Talisman Energy
Vast Exploration
WesternZagros
List of International Oil Companies in Iraq

Donald Trump made this comment in 2015


Donald Trump has/had interests in Oil ie. shares in companies it would be interesting to know what ones. Although it does depend where you look.

Trump sold all his stock holdings in June, spokesman claims
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump sold all of his stocks in June as he plunged into the costly general election campaign, his transition team abruptly announced Tuesday. His advisers provided no proof of the transactions and would not explain the apparent sell-off. 
The announcement comes amid swirling questions about potential conflicts of interest between Trump's expansive financial holdings and the decisions that will reach his desk as president. Some details of Trump's finances are unknown given that he never released his tax returns during the presidential campaign, breaking decades of precedent. 
On Tuesday, Trump said the government should cancel its multibillion-dollar order with Boeing for new Air Force One presidential planes. Asked on a conference call with reporters whether Trump had investments in Boeing, spokesman Jason Miller said the president-elect had sold all of his stocks in June. 
Trump's campaign did not announce the sell-off at the time, despite the fact that it could have been politically advantageous for the businessman to be seen taking steps to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

 My questions are

  1. If he did sell why not provide proof or has he just sold them to family if indeed they are sold.
  2. Why not release tax information like every other president has if you have nothing to hide?
  3. Trump capitalises on every possible thing, why not capitalise on the MAJOR fact that you've sold your shares?


I guess that's for another blog, does Trump have interests in Oil? and what are they?. May be a difficult one as hes certainly not very transparent. Something I find strange that Americans are not questioning. Its a bit like religion, blind faith. In my thinking there's a reason hes not being transparent and that's because hes hiding something.

My Opinion on Trump
More slippery than an eel in jelly and you cant trust what he says because he'll say the opposite the next day.



LINKS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Iraq
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