Oil companies' secret meet to slice up Iraq

Lest there be any doubt why we have gone to war in Iraq, it should be made abundantly clear by the following article. (No, Alice, it's not to fight for freedom and democracy. No, Dorothy, it's not to free the Iraqi people from a brutal dictatorship, and, no, Neo, it's not because Saddam had weapons of mass detruction or that he was in any way connected to 9/11 and terrorists. It's none of that.) Yep, it's control of the oil, for the most part, although I think control of the Middle East in general is the ultimate aim.

This June 23 article on The London Line by Tom Burgis pretty much says it all. Here are the first several paragraphs from Iraq: The carve-up begins:

The Iraq war has so far cost America and Britain £105 billion. But the financial clawback is gathering pace as British and American oil giants work out how to get their hands on the estimated £3 trillion worth of oil.

Executives from BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old firm, are expected to congregate at the Paddington Hilton for a two-day chinwag with top-level officials from Iraq's oil ministry. The gathering, sponsored by the British Government, is being described as the "premier event" for those with designs on Iraqi oil, and will go ahead despite opposition from Iraqi oil workers, who fear their livelihoods are being flogged to foreigners. The Met will be on hand to secure the venue ahead of the conference.

"This is a networking opportunity for UK businesses involved in Iraqi oil," explained Dr. Hussain Rabia, managing director of the consultancy Entrac Petroleum Ltd. "We have the moral support of the UK government. They're bringing the guys over from Iraq, offering them visas. We expect all the big oil companies to be there," he said.

Delegate numbers are described as "confidential." Shell spokesman Simon Buerk would not confirm that a representative of the company would be attending, but said he "wouldn't be at all surprised if they were."

"We aspire to establish a long-term presence in Iraq," he said. "We have been helping the [Iraqi] Ministry of Oil and engineers with training."

Those who have purchased their £1,200 tickets can expect access to executives from Iraq's oil ministry, including Salem Razoky, the director general of exploration.

But Iraqi oil workers are furious about the conference. "The second phase of the war will be started by this conference carving up the industry," said an outraged Hasan Juma'a, head of the Iraqi General Union of Oil Employees. "It is about giving shares of Iraq to the countries who invaded it - they get a piece of the action as a reward.

The British government will back this action in order to pay its debt in Iraq."Hasan, who represents 23,000 skilled oil workers, fears that deals struck at the conference will see profits from Iraq's massive oil reserves - the second richest in the world - lining the pockets of multinational corporations at the expense of the Iraqi people.

Well, I think that about sums it up, Dorothy! Burgis later reports on the protest that was held outside the Paddington Hilton, wherein 60 or so protesters dressed as pirates tried to get inside the building, but, of course, were quickly swept away by security. Here are some of the interview quotes from Pirates raid oil summit:

"These people are inside the Hilton carving up the spoils of war," said Ewa Jasiewicz of the Corporate Pirates, who organised the protest. "The Iraqi workers have reconstructed their industry through three wars and 13 years of sanctions - they don't need help from anyone."

Hani Lazim, an Iraqi from Kirkuk, said Iraqis would resist attempts to sell their resources abroad. "It took Iraqi people over 50 years to reclaim their oil industry. Now the grubby hands have come in again. The war was waged, bringing malnutrition and disease. They won't dare take even a barrel of Iraqi oil."

Despite the government's insistance that no contracts will be signed at the conference, others argue it demonstrates Britain's [and America's, I might add]readiness to profit from the invasion of Iraq. "It proves all the arguments of the anti-war protesters right," said Mark Curtis, director of the World Development Movement.

"The war was about oil. It exposes the government as liars - again."

Right-o, old chap! Business as usual for Bush, Cheney and all of their oil buddies.

And, of course, we heard nothing about this in the state-controlled media here in the U.S. You really have to go outside mainstream sources of U.S. news to get anything that remotely resembles reality. Keep searching, Neo, the real news, the truth, is out there...