NY Times:
.....Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.....
.....The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.
There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry.....
As this was being announced, the Republicans, including old man John McCain, decided to push for off shore oil drilling. Was the GOP's big support of off shore oil drilling used to distract the public from the big oil contracts in Iraq? Were the Republicans trying to cover up the shenanigans of their best friends (and major contributors) the oil companies? Has this all been orchestrated by the White House and the Republicans to have McCain win the presidency and boost the campaigns of the GOPers?
No matter what we've been told, many Americans believe that the invasion of Iraq by the Bush administration had to do with oil, oil, oil.
