November 21, 2003
IT'S ALL ABOUT OIL
Well, it is if you don’t want Iraq to become a free and wealthy nation.
In happier news, a museum in Kirkuk has been delooted and unpillaged:
Iraqi workmen and American soldiers cleared out debris by the truckload. They swept, scrubbed, rewired and filled the wide halls with the smell of fresh paint.
As completion of the project neared, local artists submitted their work to be displayed in the reborn museum. The 173rd commissioned a Kirkuk sculptor to produce a centerpiece for the courtyard and the grand opening was slated to coincide with the onset of Ramadan.
On Oct. 23, the museum opened to a jubilant throng of proud citizens. The sculpture was unveiled, speeches were made and the old Ottoman structure was baptized by the tears of people who had not walked through its doors for 30 years.
Imagine the draw this place will have on history freaks.
Posted by Tim Blair at November 21, 2003 04:18 PMHello.
That is a succinct description of the USA's intentions, judging by their actions.
Posted by: fatfingers at November 21, 2003 at 04:26 PMCompare and contrast the actions of the 173rd and the folks of Kirkuk with those of that whiny, snot-nosed, pud-knocker Salem Pax. There are those who get things done, and then there are those who write incoherent letters to The Guardian and protest the man/men who saved his sorry ass.
Posted by: Polly at November 21, 2003 at 04:50 PMCommon, that "free" country crap is a load of B.S. moving-the-goal-post shit-thought. The US went there for WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION and TERRORISM. Iraq did 9/11, didn't you get that part of the message?
Posted by: Eric at November 21, 2003 at 09:19 PM"fatfingers" is of course madly wrong. If the US were interested just in oil, it would have not attacked, called off the sanctions, but first used the threat to obtain oil contracts. Just like France, Russia, and the "peace" campaigners wants. The oil companies opposed the war and the sanctions, because it cut them out of business.
"Eric" is also full of "shit-thought." Not only did W. never claim that "Iraq did 9/11," he used the liberation of Iraq as a reason in public speeches at least as far back in March. But "Eric" only listens to what the voices in his head tell him that the President really means, not what's actually said.
Posted by: John Thacker at November 22, 2003 at 02:45 AMfatfingers also has to explain why the USA is spending $87 BILLION to rebuild Iraq, which is of course far more than the oil contracts could have been easily bought for from Saddam's government.
Posted by: John Thacker at November 22, 2003 at 02:46 AMJohn Thacker,
it's not just oil. Oil is simply a very important part of the New American Century. A friendly government in Iraq is far, far better than a minor share of contracts (if they got any). Let's not forget Hussein's intention to price the oil in euros, something the USA needed to prevent.
As for the $87 BILLION - about $66 BILLION isn't for reconstruction at all, but for the military, 55 for Iraq, 11 for Afghanistan. At current spending, that's enough for just one year.
Of the rest, most is being spent on the services of large US companies, sometimes without competitive tendering, with generous terms including a cost-plus basis and bonuses for finishing on time. So the amount of actual money going into infrastructure is more like $15-$18 billion.
That's a long way from the estimated $50 billion needed.
Posted by: fatfingers at November 22, 2003 at 08:28 AMEric and fatfingers should both go and read the article in the Weekly Standard that links Osama and Saddam, and then douche their skulls.
What "New American Century"? Was I sleeping in class again?
Posted by: ushie at November 23, 2003 at 02:32 AMGreat news. Now we're really making some progress. That should really make up for the priceless antiquities that have been sequestered into private US collections.
BTW, was this before or after thursday's truck bombing in Kirkuk, killing five non-Americans and and wounding 30 non-Americans?
Posted by: Miranda Divide at November 23, 2003 at 08:40 AMMiranda continues to reveal more about herself than about the world situation. One gets the feeling that there aren't any mirrors in Ms. Divide's house.
Posted by: Andrea Harris at November 23, 2003 at 06:32 PM"In the latest sign of Iraqi ingenuity, guerrillas fired more than a dozen rockets from wooden donkey carts ... One civilian contractor was wounded when the rockets exploded at the Palestine Hotel and at the nearby Sheraton. There were no casualties at the Oil Ministry, which was closed for the Muslim day of prayer."
Hey, maybe these guys really are compassionate! I mean, a dozen 'rockets' and only one casualty? Didn't soldiers in WWII get that casualty rate with bolt-action and five-round semi-automatic rifles? And attacking an office building the day it's closed? Did they warn the janitor to leave, too?