BP (formerly British Petroleum) has made much of the earnings potential of its deals in Iraq over the past two years, but new reports from the Independent show that the company’s path to a presence in Iraq started months before the 2003 invasion.
Incredibly, leaked memos from October and November 2002 show that BP, Shell, and BG (formerly British Gas) all met with then-Trade Minister Baroness Symons, emphasizing how important the acquisition of assets in Iraq was.
Minister Symons told BP in October that it was the Blair Government’s position that British oil companies should be given a share of Iraq’s enormous oil reserves as a “reward” for Tony Blair’s outspoken support for the war. This is, it must be remembered, five months before the war began.
A November 2002 meeting involved BP apparently saying they were “desperate” to get into Iraq and were concerned that “political deals” might keep them out. At the time of the invasion, officials insisted BP had “no strategic interest” in Iraq – yet they were clearly telling the Blair government the opposite.
The Oil companies.., or what once was called seven sisters still active and Obama is letting them a free market to do whatever they want with increasing the gas prices in US.., Iraq war was theirs, Afghanistan is their sister wars.., The Libya war is their war, the “democrats” politicians are in their pocket and people pay with their life for that.., they have bought the UN and its corrupt politicians to do whatever they want. Do you remember when the UN politicians who were in charge in Iraqi Oil for food program.., have you read the reports how much they were stealing from the Iraqi people.., do you remember that.
Reminds me of gangsters discussing how to split up the heist from a planned bank raid. Purely coincidental, of course.
Lies Lies and more lies. White men in suits and ties are above the international law and can do what they like. Still the power of the masses is being demonstrated in countries like Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Tunisia. Afghanistan is a lost cause and Iraq a basket case.
Aye, and what was Blairs' cut?
AAAAAA…………Gee…….. The plan wuz to steal the oil…??? But I thought it was WMDSs & freedoom…
but only a million died, so it was worth it?..right….. We need to axk Madelain, she knows.. How much money did BP give Blare and or Nu-labor? or were the bribes passed to the real puppetmasters in Washington… or….??? ???? I wonder how many other secrets are lerkin out there, only to be discovered by clever hackers….. still it seems the real dynamite info never raises an eyebrow…
Such a nice picture, he certainly doesn't look like someone willing to kill other peoples children to get campaign contributions……….
All this shows is that the oil companies wanted their slice _given_ that the war was going to proceed.
It doesn't contradict the claim that the main drivers for the war were
(a) Israel (via PNAC etc)
(b) Weird psychological stuff going on in W's head (avenge Daddy? Show Daddy up by finishing what he started? …)
Calouste Gulbenkian must be snickering in his grave. Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) shows its true colors
Breaking news or time warp? Donald Trump wants to seize the oil fields and delusively predicts that 'Iraq oil will make us a fortune.' http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/133391/20110412/d…
“George, let me explain something to you. We go into Iraq. We have spent thus far, $1.5 trillion. We could have rebuilt half of the United States. $1.5 trillion. And we’re going to then leave. So, in the old days, you know when you had a war, to the victor belong the spoils. You go in. You win the war and you take it.” Donald Trump actually believes that we 'won' this war.
Meanwhile the reality is that the Status of Forces Agreement 2008 says that US troops will leave Iraq in December 2011. This Bush era agreement is now being opposed by the Pentagon, with Gates suggesting leaving behind a residual force of 15-20,000. Odierno wants 30,000 to stay behind. Presently there are 50,000, plus an unknown number of Special Forces, plus an estimated 100,000 mercenaries. Maliki himself cannot ask for US troops to stay because the Sadrists are a powerful military force within Iraq once more, and so it would be political suicide.
Sunni's and Shi'ites are at each others throats in the Middle East right now because of events in Bahrain, where Saudi troops are intervening to put down popular protests. This is the Sunni Saudi Arabian leadership helping repress a Shia uprising at the behest of Bahrain and the US.
The Iranians and the Iraqis are among those who are mightily pissed at this turn of events, and the effect therefore is to drive the Iraqi government to align itself even more closely with Iranian foreign policy. The Saudis have been supporting a Sunni insurgency in Iraq for many years now.
According to Gareth Pearce, rumours abound in the region that Iran is intending to involve itself in Bahrain much more, while Maliki's government might not even get through the coming summer.
Then there is the devils bargain that Israel and the US have struck that needs to also be taken into account, and I for one remain clueless as to which one of them is wagging the tail of the other.
Paranoia runs deep, into your life it will creep, and if things are bad in the US, it's probably safe to presume they're dangerously worse in Israel right now as it watches US military might in the area rapidly diminish. What a mess.
Apologies, Gareth Porter speaking on antiwar.com radio, and not Gareth Pearce. Please put the mistake down to early onset dementia maybe. Donald Trump meanwhile is like an earlier incantation of Paul Wolfowitz during the build up to the attack on Iraq. I reckon they might even have the same hairdresser.
Suspicions confirmed. Any thinking person would of known the name of the game was oil. The Brits? They've always been empire minded. Britan lives on other countries wealth, always have and always will. Now, with the help of the Zionist's and America's foreign policy, maybe it will rise again. I've got some of the slimeys blood in me which I'm ashamed to admit. There's another snake in the grass though. Bankrupt America is using the sale of oil in the Mid East in dollars to create a false value to the dollar. Countries that have lots of dollars are protecting those dollars are supporting America's actions.