It's the Oil, stupid!

It's the Oil, stupid!, by Noam Chomsky http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20080708.htmIt's the Oil, stupid!Noam ChomskyKhaleej Times, July 8, 2008The deal just taking shape between Iraq's Oil Ministry and four Western oil companies raises critical questions about thenature of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq — questions that should certainly be addressed by presidentialcandidates and seriously discussed in the United States, and of course in occupied Iraq, where it appears that thepopulation has little if any role in determining the future of their country.Negotiations are under way for Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners decades ago in the IraqPetroleum Company, now joined by Chevron and other smaller oil companies — to renew the oil concession they lost tonationalisation during the years when the oil producers took over their own resources. The no-bid contracts, apparentlywritten by the oil corporations with the help of U.S. officials, prevailed over offers from more than 40 other companies,including companies in China, India and Russia."There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States hadgone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract," Andrew E. Kramer wrote in TheNew York Times.Kramer's reference to "suspicion" is an understatement. Furthermore, it is highly likely that the military occupation hastaken the initiative in ...