« FISA bill passes the U.S. House of Representatives. | Main | Want to cringe? »

From the National Security Archive last month:

Recently declassified documents show that the U.S. military has long sought an agreement with Baghdad that gives American forces virtually unfettered freedom of action, casting into doubt the Bush administration's current claims that their demands are more limited in scope. News reports have indicated that the Bush administration is exerting pressure on the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to accept a U.S.-Iraq security plan by the end of July 2008. According to these accounts, the plan would give the U.S. more than 50 military bases in Iraq, provide complete freedom of action to conduct military operations, allow complete freedom to arrest and detain Iraqis, and grant U.S. forces and contractors total immunity from Iraqi law. Growing awareness of the implications of the pact have fueled opposition by the Iraqi public -- to the extent that Prime Minister al-Maliki announced today that discussions had deadlocked.

Can this really be a surprise to anyone, especially coming on the heels of the news that the US State Department was instrumental in drawing up oil contracts between the Iraqi government and US oil companies:

A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say.

The disclosure, coming on the eve of the contracts' announcement, is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq's oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism.

Nah...ya think so?

Can it be any clearer that our occupation is about oil and control of the Middle East?

Name (required)
Email
Website
Remember personal info? Yes   No
Comments

home | music | democracy | earth | money | about | contact

site design by Matthew Fries | © 2003-08 Consilience Productions. All Rights Reserved

Consilience Productions   World Financial Center  One North End Avenue, Box 1951  New York, NY 10282  (212) 352-0176