Why Iraqi Reconstruction is "Failing"
Far too many in the corporate media report that the reconstruction in Iraq is "failing" or that "not enough diplomatic means have been employed", without ever asking WHY that is happening.
The answer is that if things were actually improving in Iraq, one couldn't loot the country by Executive Order as easily.
I refer to the suitably Orwellian-named, “Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq", otherwise known as Presidential Executive Order 13303, which Bush issued on May 22, 2003. This order, which effectively seized Iraqi oil wells and their revenues, was ostensibly intended to ensure that the funds would be spent on Iraqi reconstruction. What it does in actual practice, is place US oil corporations above the law by rendering any claim or lawsuit brought against them to be invalid. Whoever controls the revenues can thereby do anything they want with them -- like put the money in their pocket and walk away.
But this was not enough for the thieves currently running our government. They wished to go far further, they wanted to make the Iraqis actually consent to the theft. Sort of like making the bank manager sign a contract giving the bank robbers ownership of everything in the vault.
There is currently pending oil privatization legislation (written by the Bush Administration, no less) that the Iraqi Parliament -- foolishly thinking their oil is.... THEIR OIL -- is refusing to pass. And until they pass that bill, the Bush Administration is in effect, holding reconstruction hostage.
THAT is why Iraqis have no power, dirty water, open sewers, etc.
It is notable that Bush wanted benchmarks, not DEADLINES that the Democrats wanted -- but why? The corporate press played it as if the Bushbots were asking for this so that the IRAQIS could be more flexible and have time to meet the goals, but the real purpose was to allow them more time to PRESSURE the Parliament to pass this law that would give away the wealth of their nation to foreign invaders.
It should be also added that the legislation that BushCo. is trying to basically force the Iraqi gov't to sign at gunpoint, is an yet another express violation of the both the Hague IV Treaty and the US Army’s Law of Land Warfare, which says:
In addition to Executive Order 13303, the oil privatization bill is in fact the THIRD violation of these laws and treaties, because on September 19, 2003, Coalition Provisional Authority head, Paul Bremer, enacted Order 39.
Order 39 just arbitrarily "announced" that 200 Iraqi state companies would be privatized; decreed that foreign firms could retain 100 percent ownership of Iraqi banks, mines and factories; and allowed these firms to move 100 percent of their profits out of Iraq.
This information provides the PROOF to charge that the Bush Administration is INTENTIONALLY sabotaging the diplomatic solutions there, because of it's private oil agenda. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is basically using the U.S. Army as the trigger men for an economic hit on a sovereign nation, on behalf of a few amoral rich guys.
And the real reason why "1994 Cheney" didn't want us to topple Saddam, but 2002 Cheney was all for it, is because had we gone in in 1994, with Clinton in charge, it was virtually inevitable that Cheney and his fellow cronies wouldn't have PROFITED PERSONALLY from the invasion, because not only would the contracts have been based on merit and cost-effectiveness (not to mention have been awarded to Iraqi firms first), rather than partisan political loyalty, but because Clinton never would have tried to privatize the Iraqi oil fields in the first place.
If a judge can demand the release of an 'Environmental Atmospheric Report' from the White house, then a judge should be able to demand Cheney's suppressed 'minutes' of his secret Energy Department meetings. I'm certain those meetings were the Administration's launching pad to steal Iraqi Oil.
His energy meetings weren't just about how to hide Enron's cooked books, or how to jack up west coast resident's energy bills, but also about deciding, "Ok, so how do we carve up these 80 oil fields in Iraq?" in much the same way that Hyman Roth sat with Michael Corleone and cut a cake symbolizing Cuba into chunks.
In a broader context, beyond the criminal thugs running our country now, the fact of the matter is, Iraq itself is a foreign construct, not a naturally occurring nation state arrived at by the people themselves. The entire map of the Middle East was carved up by foreign businessmen and colonial masters. There is a reason why Jordan's border runs right along the pipeline. That line in the sand didn't just get drawn there by accident.
And just like Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, where the British slapped together tribes who hated each other and called it a country (then wondered why civil war broke out the minute the colonial government was gone), you have what amounts to the same thing in Iraq. And much like Rhodesia, you're ultimately going to end up with a three-country division of one sort or another, and its gonna be a mess in Sunni-Shia/"Iraq"/Kurdistan for at least the next three decades.
Thank you, President-select Bush.
The desire for a so-called "Muslim Caliphate" does not emerge solely from a religious place. The fact is that much of the Middle East has never had the chance to define THEMSELVES as nationalities, rather their national identity has been largely imposed from outside.
Democracy has to emerge out of SELF-determination. And I think it reveals a real lack of faith in the power of democracy, and the desire for human liberty, to not have enough confidence that eventually, everyone is going to come to some essential conclusions about the best way to run a government.
You cannot liberate people at gunpoint, I don't care how you do it. They have to want it for themselves FIRST. It can't be astroturfed, it has to grow naturally from the bottom up.
But then, as we've now demonstrated, "advancing freedom and democracy" were never the point of this entire exercise in Iraq to begin with. Indeed, these same people aren't terribly interested in preserving freedom and democracy here at home, much less overseas. The point of George's little jaunt into the desert, was to create just enough chaos to cover up the rank thievery of a greedy few.
It is beyond criminal neglect, it is beyond mere incompetence, this is using mass murder to hide what amounts to the biggest bank job in history.
The answer is that if things were actually improving in Iraq, one couldn't loot the country by Executive Order as easily.
I refer to the suitably Orwellian-named, “Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq", otherwise known as Presidential Executive Order 13303, which Bush issued on May 22, 2003. This order, which effectively seized Iraqi oil wells and their revenues, was ostensibly intended to ensure that the funds would be spent on Iraqi reconstruction. What it does in actual practice, is place US oil corporations above the law by rendering any claim or lawsuit brought against them to be invalid. Whoever controls the revenues can thereby do anything they want with them -- like put the money in their pocket and walk away.
But this was not enough for the thieves currently running our government. They wished to go far further, they wanted to make the Iraqis actually consent to the theft. Sort of like making the bank manager sign a contract giving the bank robbers ownership of everything in the vault.
There is currently pending oil privatization legislation (written by the Bush Administration, no less) that the Iraqi Parliament -- foolishly thinking their oil is.... THEIR OIL -- is refusing to pass. And until they pass that bill, the Bush Administration is in effect, holding reconstruction hostage.
THAT is why Iraqis have no power, dirty water, open sewers, etc.
It is notable that Bush wanted benchmarks, not DEADLINES that the Democrats wanted -- but why? The corporate press played it as if the Bushbots were asking for this so that the IRAQIS could be more flexible and have time to meet the goals, but the real purpose was to allow them more time to PRESSURE the Parliament to pass this law that would give away the wealth of their nation to foreign invaders.
It should be also added that the legislation that BushCo. is trying to basically force the Iraqi gov't to sign at gunpoint, is an yet another express violation of the both the Hague IV Treaty and the US Army’s Law of Land Warfare, which says:
Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV) Article 55
"The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct." (In other words, you can't rob them blind. You only temporarily manage operations, you are NOT the ultimate OWNER of their resources.)
The US Army’s Law of Land Warfare
States that "the occupant does not have the right of sale or unqualified use of [nonmilitary] property."
In addition to Executive Order 13303, the oil privatization bill is in fact the THIRD violation of these laws and treaties, because on September 19, 2003, Coalition Provisional Authority head, Paul Bremer, enacted Order 39.
Order 39 just arbitrarily "announced" that 200 Iraqi state companies would be privatized; decreed that foreign firms could retain 100 percent ownership of Iraqi banks, mines and factories; and allowed these firms to move 100 percent of their profits out of Iraq.
This information provides the PROOF to charge that the Bush Administration is INTENTIONALLY sabotaging the diplomatic solutions there, because of it's private oil agenda. The invasion and occupation of Iraq is basically using the U.S. Army as the trigger men for an economic hit on a sovereign nation, on behalf of a few amoral rich guys.
And the real reason why "1994 Cheney" didn't want us to topple Saddam, but 2002 Cheney was all for it, is because had we gone in in 1994, with Clinton in charge, it was virtually inevitable that Cheney and his fellow cronies wouldn't have PROFITED PERSONALLY from the invasion, because not only would the contracts have been based on merit and cost-effectiveness (not to mention have been awarded to Iraqi firms first), rather than partisan political loyalty, but because Clinton never would have tried to privatize the Iraqi oil fields in the first place.
If a judge can demand the release of an 'Environmental Atmospheric Report' from the White house, then a judge should be able to demand Cheney's suppressed 'minutes' of his secret Energy Department meetings. I'm certain those meetings were the Administration's launching pad to steal Iraqi Oil.
His energy meetings weren't just about how to hide Enron's cooked books, or how to jack up west coast resident's energy bills, but also about deciding, "Ok, so how do we carve up these 80 oil fields in Iraq?" in much the same way that Hyman Roth sat with Michael Corleone and cut a cake symbolizing Cuba into chunks.
In a broader context, beyond the criminal thugs running our country now, the fact of the matter is, Iraq itself is a foreign construct, not a naturally occurring nation state arrived at by the people themselves. The entire map of the Middle East was carved up by foreign businessmen and colonial masters. There is a reason why Jordan's border runs right along the pipeline. That line in the sand didn't just get drawn there by accident.
And just like Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, where the British slapped together tribes who hated each other and called it a country (then wondered why civil war broke out the minute the colonial government was gone), you have what amounts to the same thing in Iraq. And much like Rhodesia, you're ultimately going to end up with a three-country division of one sort or another, and its gonna be a mess in Sunni-Shia/"Iraq"/Kurdistan for at least the next three decades.
Thank you, President-select Bush.
The desire for a so-called "Muslim Caliphate" does not emerge solely from a religious place. The fact is that much of the Middle East has never had the chance to define THEMSELVES as nationalities, rather their national identity has been largely imposed from outside.
Democracy has to emerge out of SELF-determination. And I think it reveals a real lack of faith in the power of democracy, and the desire for human liberty, to not have enough confidence that eventually, everyone is going to come to some essential conclusions about the best way to run a government.
You cannot liberate people at gunpoint, I don't care how you do it. They have to want it for themselves FIRST. It can't be astroturfed, it has to grow naturally from the bottom up.
But then, as we've now demonstrated, "advancing freedom and democracy" were never the point of this entire exercise in Iraq to begin with. Indeed, these same people aren't terribly interested in preserving freedom and democracy here at home, much less overseas. The point of George's little jaunt into the desert, was to create just enough chaos to cover up the rank thievery of a greedy few.
It is beyond criminal neglect, it is beyond mere incompetence, this is using mass murder to hide what amounts to the biggest bank job in history.
posted by CTF Editor at
4:45 AM
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