Visiting top Iraqi officials today, Defense Secretary James Mattis appeared dismissive of the idea that Iraq’s oil was at risk from the US occupation forces, insisting Americans “have generally paid for our gas and oil all along and I’m sure that we will continue to do so in the future.”
This isn’t some idle concern the Iraqis made up, however. Rather, this concern stems from President Trump’s repeated campaign suggestions to “take all the oil” from Iraq, followed by a comment at CIA headquarters faulting past governments for not stealing Iraq’s oil, and suggesting “maybe you’ll have another chance.”
In not addressing the fact that what he’s saying is in stark contrast with Trump’s stated position, Mattis’ assurances are likely to be taken with a grain of salt by Iraqis, who will continue to have to hope that the logistical impossibility of just “taking” 112 billion barrels of proven reserves out of the ground as a matter of presidential policy.
This is another policy matter on which Mattis is publicly disagreeing with the president, as the two had also disagreed on the torture ban, and Mattis had also downplayed the need for more military forces in the Middle East to “confront Iran.”
Is he in charge?
‘nother broken promise. Sheesh, I hope we’re still on for them CANucks paying for the Frontière entre le Canada et les États-Unis….
…and the naive Americans continue to take the bait.
Long time since you were seen – welcome back. The current pack are decidedly less civil. A murther of crowes, to be sure.
suggestions to “take all the oil” from Iraq…
Stealing Iraq’s recourses was the purpose of the Bush regime’s
illegal war on Iraq in the first place. The bullshit about WMDs,
mobile biological weapons labs, and a so-called ‘Mushroom
Cloud of New York City’, was subterfuge, concocted by the
Bush regime, its neocon flunkies, with help from its whores and
prostitutes in the corporate MSM, most notably, Judith Miller,
and the garbage she was responsible for in the NYT.
Dubya couldn’t give a damn about ‘freedom’ of the Iraqi people.
The establishment used 9/11 as an excuse for ‘Regime Change’.
Iraq was a soft target. Iran would probably had been next if the
Cowpoke Dubya wasn’t ‘bushwhacked’ by some really tough
Iraqi outlaws out on the range.
The ME’s oil is nearly all stolen already. When oil is traded on the world market by US owned oil companies and sold to Americans nobody else profits. The US consumes about 20 million barrels a day and can’t afford to pay high prices so the price is manipulated down through US control of the market.
Saddam nationalizing his country’s oil was a problem the US needed to deal with. Saudi was bought off peacefully.
The saving of Kuwait was about as equally phony as the incubator babies being thrown on the hard, cold floor.
Don, I totally agree with you on the Kuwait ‘incubator’ sham.
It’s a fact that the pretty young lady, Nayirah al-Sabah, who testified before the bogus USG investigation committee was actually the niece of Kuwait’s Foreign Minister.
Her testimony and even fake tears were coached by the USG PR firm Hill & Knowlton. Daddy Bush regurgitated the same misinformation verbatim. As usual, the corporate media bought into the lie
I have original 1991 issues of Time, Newsweek, and US News & World Report, where these rag propaganda publications openly called Saddam Hussein a ‘Madman’, the ‘Mind of a Madman’, and ‘New Hitler’. One issue had even illustrated Saddam’s face in the middle of a gun sight.
To call these people scum would be an understatement.
Great that you have kept those copies of Time, etc. They will be collector items for sure!
Everything you say about the incubator babies and the Kuwait setup, I’m totally aware of. But good on you fro repeating it because you may have educated somebody who doesn’t know. There are probably still a few out there.
And otherwise EME, between you and me, the wars on Iraq weren’t to capture Iraq’s fall cabbage crop!
The Donald didn’t really mean we should take all of their oil. Those might have been his words but no had interpreted them yet.
Now you’re getting it right! Trump didn’t mean that the US should have taken all of Iraq’s oil.
He only meant that the US should have taken ‘all’ of Iraq’s oil.
The confusion isn’t Trump’s fault at all. It’s only something he was ‘told’, the same as he was told that his election victory was the biggest electoral college victory since Reagan.
Could somebody tell Raimondo that it’s not Trump’s fault that he says things?
Whattttaaaaa
That routine should get “Mad Dog” some votes for comedian of the year in Iraq.
The fact that he has to say that…
Truly, then where is all the stuff the western backed terrorists are selling go? Follow the money and it ends in the usual suspects.
Does this ever get old?
No?